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The BEST Salted Caramel Pretzel Snickerdoodles for your holiday cookie baking. Homemade snickerdoodle cookies, made with browned butter, plenty of chocolate-covered caramel chunks, pretzels pieces, and a small pinch of flaky sea salt. Each cookie dough ball is rolled through cinnamon sugar for that classic snickerdoodle finish before baking to perfection. There’s nothing not to love about these sweet Christmas cookies. Each bite is slightly crisp on the edges but soft and gooey in the center…with just a little pretzelly crunch.
The minute Thanksgiving was over, I received message after message about holiday dinner menus, entertaining ideas, and most of all…Christmas cookies! I couldn’t believe the number of messages from those of you inquiring about holiday cookies. Questions like, “when will you be sharing your 2019 Christmas Cookie Box?” “What’s your favorite Christmas cookie?” “What’s the best cookie to gift?” “What are the best boxes to use?” …and so many more.
I have to say, I’m pretty happy you all are so excited to bake this season because I am too! So much so that I’m stressing about the fact that I really do not have enough days leading up to Christmas to share everything. It’s a good problem to have, but I have SO much I want to share with you. Fingers crossed I can get you all everything you need by the 24th.
So, I’m officially kicking the holiday baking season off with these snickerdoodles. These are decadent in all the best ways. And yes, you do need to make them this December, preferably several times!
My snickerdoodle story.
I didn’t grow up eating snickerdoodles, but instead grew up eating mom’s chocolate chip cookies. Even at Christmas time, she’d opt for chocolate chip cookies over anything holiday-themed. I didn’t know other cookies existed. But then I grew up, and I made snickerdoodles, and wow, they are so GOOD.
But here’s the thing. I love a crisp on the edges, doughy in the center, chocolate chip cookie more. So much more.
Which brings me to this cookie. It’s a snickerdoodle on the outside, but a chocolate chip cookie on the inside. And it’s all done up with extra special touches like pretzel crumbs and chocolate-covered caramels.
Delicious!
To make the best snickerdoodles…
One, brown half of your butter, but leave the other half at room temp. This gives you the flavor of browned butter but leaves you with a cookie that has great texture too. Shocker, I know, I added brown butter. But the browned butter really does add so much to cookies. It’s worth the extra step.
Two, tap that baking sheet on your counter midway through baking, then finish cooking. When the cookies have completely finished baking, remove them from the oven, and tap the baking sheet once more. You guys, this step is KEY. It will ensure you have the least cakey snickerdoodle cookie. Instead you’ll get a cookie with crisp edges and a gooey center. Tapping the baking pan on the counter deflates the center of the cookie, pushing the edges out. I used this same method for my pumpkin cookies and I now do it whenever I bake any cookies…because it works.
It’s a method I learned from the New York Times and you need to do it too.
The “special” Christmas touches.
…chocolate-covered caramel chunks, you can use regular chunk chunks of course, but these are better. I use Dove milk chocolate caramels.
…cinnamon sugar, roll the dough balls through the mix to your liking.
…smashed pretzels on the outside, only just a few for the slightest salty, crunch with every sweet bite.
…a little pinch of flaky sea salt, simply because it makes everything better.
What I love about these cookies is that they’re easy to make, require no chilling, and take less than an hour…simple.
But my favorite part? These are just perfectly crisp on the edges, but soft and gooey in the center. The best kind of cookie. I’m not normally such a decadent cookie person, but as I always say, I like to really do it up for the holidays. They only come once a year, so let’s just have fun and enjoy every minute of the season. It’s cheesy, but they do only come once a year!
Let’s bake cookies on a Tuesday night and enjoy them while watching your favorite holiday movie. Then take the leftovers to work and make everyone’s day. You should do this.
‘Tis the season for giving after all!
PS. if you’re looking for a snowman version try these cute little eggnog frosted chai snickerdoodle snowmen!
If you make these salted caramel pretzel snickerdoodles, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Salted Caramel Pretzel Snickerdoodles
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 217 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups chopped chocolate covered caramels or chocolate chunks
- 1/3 cup cinnamon sugar
- 1 cup mini pretzel twists crushed
- flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- 1. Add 1 stick butter to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Cook until the butter begins to brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a heatproof bowl. Stick in the freezer to chill, 10-15 minutes, but no longer.2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.3. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the remaining 1 stick butter, the cooled browned butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until combined. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, until combined. Add the vanilla, beating until creamy. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Fold in the chocolate caramels.4. Roll the dough into rounded 1 tablespoon size balls and then roll through the cinnamon sugar. Place 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Gently push a few crushed pretzel pieces into each dough ball (see above photo). 5. Transfer to the oven and bake for 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and tap the baking sheet on the counter 2 times to flatten them down. Return to the oven and bake another 1-3 minutes or until the cookies are just beginning to set on the edges, but still doughy in the center. Remove from the oven and tap the baking sheet on the counter 1-2 times to flatten them down again. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They will continue to cook slightly as they sit on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with flaky salt. Eat warm (highly recommended) or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
Cinnamon Sugar: mix 1/3 cup sugar with 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon. Store in an airtight container.
Caramels: I use Dove milk chocolate caramels.
Freezing: the cookie dough balls can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw, then bake as directed.
This post was originally published on December 3, 2019
I just made these for the second time. The first time my cookies came out cakey and almost scone-like as some of the others have mentioned (still yummy but didn’t look like the pictures). The second time around, I experimented and did one tray with no parchment paper – just used a light colored baking sheet – and that made my cookies flatten and be a little more crispy (yet still soft in the middle). My entire family loves these. Don’t skip the browned butter and use the dark brown sugar, as listed (versus light). You won’t regret it!
I am really glad you and your family love these, Alyssa! Thank you so much! xTieghan
These were incredible – a huge hit with my whole family and the perfect balance of sweet and salty. I already know I’ll be gifting these in Christmas cookie boxes this year and for years to come. Thanks for another fabulous recipe Tieghan!
Thank you for trying this Emily! I am really glad it turned out so well for you! xTieghan
These cookies are DELICIOUS. Do you have any recommendations for keeping that caramel from spilling out of the cookie, leaving you with a not so pretty cookie (visually, still tastes amazing)! I found the caramel leaked pretty bad on most of my cookies, even the ones I tried to manipulate so they didn’t! (I used mini rolos cut in half)
Hey Tiffany,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! I would use a different caramel, I really like the dove ones! I hope this helps for next time:) xTieghan
SO good
Thank you Jenna! xTieghan
Just made these cookies tonight and wow, this is everything I ever wanted in a cookie – sweet, salty, chewy, crunchy, buttery, chocolatey. Someone please stop me before I eat the whole pan.
Haha I am so happy you enjoyed these! Thank you so much Jen! xTieghan
I also had an issue with the dough being too soft to roll into balls. Do you know this may have happened? Thank you.
Hey Paula,
It is key for the browned butter to be fully cooled back to room temp. If the butter was warm it made the batter too soft, you can try adding it to the fridge. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
Ok. These did NOT work for me. I followed the recipe to a T and they just spread out and flattened. The dough was extremely wet, more of a thick cake batter consistency than a dough consistency you can roll in a ball. They are the saddest looking things I’ve ever seen.
I’m going to try to trouble shoot a fix as I would hate to lose all this dough but not sure I’ll be able to course correct since the caramels are now mixed it.
Hey Amanda,
So sorry about this! I think it is super important to note that the brown butter needs to come back to room temp, if it is liquid or warm at all it is going to make the dough super sticky. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
deliciousss!!! i just made this beautiful snickerdoodles the other day and definitely recommend making them, the salty touch just tops off the deliciousness of these amazing cookies! thanks so much for the recipe!
Thank you so much Amanda! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I made these last night and they turned out perfectly. Huge hit with the whole family. My daughter said “next time don’t cook up all of the batter b/c I can’t stop eating the cookies!”
Haha that is amazing! So happy you all loved these!! xTieghan
Do these baked cookies freeze well? I bought Carmel chips, do you think these would work if I combined with chocolate chips?
Hey Jessica,
I would freeze these before baking and then add the pretzels when you are ready to bake. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Absolutely divine – best cookie my husband has ever eaten!
Thank you Michelle! xTieghan
These came out amazing! ❤️
Thank you Sonia! xTieghan
I’m GF so I made these with King Arthur GF all purpose flour blend and GF pretzels and they came out amazing! I find that GF cookies don’t flatten out as much, so I gave them a little flattening before I put them in the oven. I also did the taps in between. These were a huge hit and will definitely be on the rotation from now on!
Thank you so much Brenda! xTieghan
I had been eyeing these and they exceeded my expectations! My husband keeps saying how balanced they are. They are delicious! And I made them gf!
Thank you so much Stacy! xTieghan
Made these today with no pretzels and they were insane. SO good <3
Thank you so much!! xTieghan