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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
Could I make the dough, refrigerate, and bake later? Can’t wait to make these !
Hey Julianne,
Yes, that is fine to do! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I cannot source cinnamon sugar where I live. If I were to make my own, what would th eratio be?
Thank you
Hey Anna,
Just mix 1 tablespoon of cinnamon with 1/4 cup of sugar. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Can I use health bars in place of the chocolate chunks?
Hey Ari,
I haven’t tried this and worry the heath bars would be super crunchy. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I don’t have dark brown sugar, can I just use old fashioned brown sugar? 🙂
Hey Genevieve,
Yes, that is fine to use. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
This cookie box is beautiful! Just so you know, what makes a snickerdoodle a snickerdoodle is cream of tartar.
Thanks so much Corey!
These are amazing! So decadent and delicious! I always bring these to large parties and they’re immediately gobbled up!.We don’t have the caramel chocolates in Australia, so I just chop up some dairy milk chocolate we have readily available and it’s perfect 🙂
Hey Monica,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
So much effort,expensive not worth it. Your photos always look way better than the outcome of recipes. Disappointed
Hey Nancy,
So sorry you did not enjoy the recipe. Can I help in anyway? Let me know! xTieghan
I made these for a party and everyone at the party was raving about them, a few people said they were the best cookies they’ve ever had in their life. The butter took a little longer in the freezer, just check on it every few minutes after it’s been in there for ten minutes. Just freeze it until is become like regular butter consistency. Very very good recipe.
Hey Katie,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving this a try! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
So I made these tonight but mine never really flattened out. Could something have been off with the flour or another ingredient? They tasted good but didn’t quite look as pretty.
Hey Kirstin,
Sorry these didn’t flatten for you. Was there anything adjusted in the recipe? Did you try the tapping trick? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
I’ve made these twice already, delicious both times(reason for 5 stars), but they were thick both times as well, they didn’t flatten out at all, even after being hit on the counter. My browned butter was still liquid after I chilled it and the other butter was melted the first time, softened the second time. Not sure what I am doing wrong. Butter consistency was not exactly specified but other than that I followed all the directions. What could be the problem?
Hey Moy,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad you have been enjoying the cookies. Next time, try the tapping process earlier in the baking. I hope this helps! xTieghan
I believe my oven baked faster and got too done in the 7 min. I will try again and do 4 then hit on counter. They didn’t sink down and they seem to be a little dry. Will keep experimenting.
Hey Sharise,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, let me know if there is anything I can help with! xTieghan
These cookies are delicious, however they didn’t flatten out like yours so they’re not gooey at all. This is the second cookie recipe I’ve tried where they just don’t flatten, maybe mine are cooked more at the 7min mark or something that keeps them from flattening when I tap them on the counter.
Hey Nevada,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, I am sorry they did not flatten for you! Next time, try tapping at the 2 minute mark, again at the 6 minute mark, and then right after you pull them from the oven. I hope this helps! xTieghan
These cookies are delicious!
Thank you so much for the recipe!
Thank you so much Lisa! xTieghan
Made them for the first time yesterday, such a great recipe. A little extra work but well worth it! They are off in my kids’ Christmas care packages now since I can’t see them.
Thank you Valerie! I am glad these turned out so well for you! xTieghan
These cookies are delicious! Mine don’t look as a nice as yours but still tasty. I tried baking them but my dough came out really wet so when I baked them they flattened a lot…thinking maybe I didn’t let the brown butter cool enough? Any thoughts?
Thanks for all these delicious recipes. Love the blog and IG page!
Hey Vicky,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! Yes, cooling the brown butter full is key!! If not, it will result in wet dough. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan