National Chocolate Chip Cookie Week: White Chocolate Pretzel Cookies

Welcome to Day 2 of National Chocolate Chip Cookie Week! 

If you missed the set-up for this series, I'd love to have you click back to Day 1 so you'll be up to speed on, among other things, my philosophy about chocolate chip cookies. (For starters, I have one.)

Today's CCC honoree is the White Chocolate Pretzel Cookie. 

Now. I can imagine what you might be thinking. "Guilty Chocoholic Mama! What are you DOING?! Don't tell me you don't know that white chocolate is not ACTUALLY chocolate? What kind of so-called chocoholic are you?"

Fret not. I am well aware of the controversy surrounding white chocolate. Which, on account of containing 0.00 percent cocoa liquor, cannot technically be allowed into the chocolate hall of fame. But if you can get your hands on a version that is made with cocoa butter, which melts on the tongue in a lovely chocolate-like way, you've got something worth eating. On the other hand, if all you can find is faux white chocolate made with hydrogenated oil (that, as far as I know, doesn't melt anywhere), well, maybe go back to Day 1.

If you're still here, just know that the combination of soft/chewy/crispy-edged cookies with sweet vanilla-y white chocolate and salty, crunchy pretzels is possibly one of the better ideas that have ever popped into my otherwise sleep-deprivation addled brain. But don't take my word for it. Find some good white chocolate, stir up a batch of these, and let me know what you think.

White Chocolate Pretzel Cookies {print}
1 1/2 cups pretzels (any shape)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups good white chocolate chips and/or chunks cut from a bar (look for "cocoa butter" on the ingredient list)

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread your pretzels on the sheet and put it in the oven. Turn the oven on to 350 degrees to preheat with the pretzels in there. You're removing a little moisture from the pretzels so they will be crispier in your finished cookies. Remove the pretzels from the oven once it has preheated (set the timer for 10 minutes just to be on the safe side) and cool slightly before putting them into a plastic bag and smashing them slightly into irregular pieces. 

Meanwhile, beat the butter for a minute or so by hand or (even better) with an electric mixer. Dump in both sugars and beat another minute or so until light and fluffy. Beat in the oil, vanilla, corn syrup (which will slide right out of the tablespoon if you measured the oil first), and egg. Beat just until incorporated. Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour-salt) and dump on top of flour mixture. Beat in just until incorporated. You're not making yeast bread here, so don't overbeat. Gently fold in the white chocolate and the pretzel pieces. 

Drop by globs (I use a 2-tablespoon scooper) onto your prepared cookie sheet. Press globs down slightly with the back of your hand. Bake at 350 degrees for about 6-7 minutes. I like mine just starting to crack at the edges. Remove from oven and cool on the sheet for 2 minutes. Remove cookies to a wire rack to cool completely if you're storing them. Or don't cool them at all (other than that first 2 minutes) and eat them straight away with a big glass of milk. If you are storing them, make sure your container is airtight and that spaghetti sauce wasn't the last thing you stored in it. 

If you don't want to bake any or all of your dough right away, you can chill it for a few hours or overnight and then bake as directed. You just might have to add a minute or two to the baking time. You can also make these cookies bigger or smaller or flatter (just smoosh the dough balls with the palm of your hand before you bake them); again, adjust the baking time accordingly. You can even "burn" them if that's your thing. It's not mine, but then, I have a lot of things that aren't anybody else's. (See "Why I Love Winter.")

Thanks for stopping by! I'd be ecstatic if you checked back tomorrow for another CCC installment. Teaser alert: there will be dark chocolate involved.

**This post may have been shared at these bloggy bashes.**