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March 15, 2016

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.**


27 comments:

  1. YUMMY!! Pinning this, white chocolate in cookies is my fav!! Yay, a Michigan mama!! We are quite smitten with the mitten and vacation there every summer and take day trips to the lake often!!

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    1. Woo hoo! Thank you so much, Andrea! I'm also "quite smitten with the mitten," having lived here my entire life save a couple years after college in Virginia. I'm so glad to have "met" you this morning!:)

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  2. Both recipes sound inviting. Pretzels and chocolate are my two favorites! Thanks for bringing these recipes to Tuesday Talk today. Sharing on Instagram as my pick today.

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    1. Oh my goodness...thank you so much, Michelle! You are such a precious encourager in my life. Bless you! And thank you for hosting Tuesday Talk so graciously.

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  3. Oh my goodness, do these ever sound FABULOUS! I love salty/sweet combos.

    Pinned to my Deliberate COOKIES board.

    Thanks for sharing and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop.

    Wishing you a lovely weekend.
    xoxo

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    1. I know, right, Jennifer, about that combo? Thanks so much for the kind words and for the pin!!! I'm so honored! And as always, thanks for making Thursdays SHINE. :)

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  4. Yup, Regine, that was pretty much my family's opinion, too! :)

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  5. Oh my goodness, Elizabeth. I just made these and they're delicious! Definitely going in my "to be made regularly" file. Next up to try, the confetti cake batter cookies. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Aw, thank you, dear Julie! That's so nice of you! Shall we put these on the menu for our cookie business? ;)

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  6. What a great cookie that I wish I had right now. Hope you have a very special week and thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Miz Helen

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    1. Aw, I wish I could send you a cyber-batch, Miz Helen! And I will say that in spite of the lack of "real" chocolate in these cookies, I am quite fond of them. Thank you for being a gracious hostess at Full Plate Thursday!

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  7. Hi Elizabeth! So excited to let you know that you, and these cookies - which are good. Like crack good. - were my main feature this morning on the You Link It, We Make it party! Please send me your email address to knockitoffcrafter@gmail.com to be added to our group Pin board. Thanks for a great recipe and I hope you'll drop by and see us again! Happy Wednesday!

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    1. Woo hoo!!!!!!!!!! This is such an honor and so exciting! Thank you so much, Kim! I bless this recipe because it's how I found you and your fabulous and creative and interesting link party! Imagine if I hadn't put this up and had gone to my grave not knowing about You Link It, We Make It. Perish the thought. Thank you and thank you again...I'm sending you my email this very minute. :) (And then I'm coming to this week's party.)

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  8. These cookies are made in our house on a regular basis. They are "like crack good"!

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    1. Aw, that's awesome, Leigh! There are worse things to be addicted to, right?! ;) I was just over liking your FB page a second ago...how had I not already done that? Must start sleeping so my brain will work. Thanks so much for the sweet comment!

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  9. Congrats on your feature on You Link It, We Make It! I'm pinning to a couple of boards because Kim texted me and said they were so good they were "like crack". Don't ask me how she knows that ;)!! Thanks for linking up, so glad to have you along on this journey!

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    1. Wow, thank you so much! I am seriously--like, actually--LOLing at your comment that you don't know how Kim knows those cookies are "like crack." I think we can assume she's just assuming, yes? ;) I will forever bless that little recipe because it led me to you two lovely ladies and your fabulous party!

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  10. Wow those look yummy! I wouldn't have thought to add pretzels!

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    1. Thank you, Shan! There is something to be said for the sweet-salty, crunchy-chewy combo. Something along the lines of, "I think I'll eat 6 of these right now with a glass of milk," for instance. ;) Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  11. I love white chocolate and totally don't care that it's not real chocolate, either. Pretzels sound like such a yummy edition to these cookies, too!

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    1. Well, you see, Lisa, that's because we are equal-opportunity chocolate lovers and do not want to be too snobby. ;) Sending you a virtual care package of these right now. xoxo

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  12. Yum, I kill for salty and sweet, so this is right up my ally. Thanks for sharing this at #HappinessIsHomemade this week, pinned for later!

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    1. So glad if I can help feed a salty/sweet addiction! ;) Thanks so much for pinning and for stopping by! Love your blog name, by the way...just liked your FB page so I can follow along now! :)

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    1. Thanks, Morgan! If you like white chocolate, I feel pretty safe in saying you'd like these cookies. Full disclosure: based on personal experience, they're a little addictive! ;) Thank you for stopping by!

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    1. Thanks, Debra! We do find these cookies to be rather addictive around here! ;)

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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!