These salted caramel pretzel chocolate chip cookies are the perfect sweet and salty cookie. They are loaded with pretzels, chocolate chips, and stuffed with gooey caramel in the middle, all topped with a little sea salt!
This week we made these salted caramel pretzel chocolate chip cookies and everyone loved them! My oldest even helped me make them by helping me scoop the dough and stuff it full of the caramel.
These cookies are thick, chewy, and so delicious. Packed full of chocolate chips, salty crunchy pretzels, and gooey caramel and topped with sea salt.
I love the combination of sweet and salty together, like our sweet and salty popcorn balls, or our peanut butter pretzel bites. And these salted caramel pretzel chocolate chip cookies are the perfect way to enjoy sweet and salty.
The cookies are loaded with sweet chocolate chips and caramel, and salty pretzel and sea salt. There is something about the sweet ans salty combo that everyone (including me 😉 ) just loves!
How to make Salted Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies?
These cookies start with basic cookie ingredients, butter, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, flour, cornstarch (keeps the cookies extra soft), baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Then you’ll need chocolate chips, pretzels (chopped up) and store bought soft caramels. You can use Kraft Caramels, or Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel Caramels, or Werther’s Chewy Caramels, Mrs Calls, etc.
First you’ll cream together your butter and sugars. I use cold butter straight from the fridge for this recipe, which helps keep the cookies thicker, and you don’t have to remember to set it out to warm to room temperature either.
Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and stir till just combined. Then add in all your dry ingredients, and stir it together till you have a nice soft dough. You want your dough soft, but not too sticky, so add in a tablespoon or two of flour extra if you need to for your dough.
Then you’ll add in your chocolate chips, and pretzel pieces. You’ll want about 1 1/2 cups of each, which also keeps the cookies nice and thick. Scoop the batter into balls that are about 2 tablespoons, or 2 heaping tablespoons. I made about 30 cookies from this recipe, so you can kind of figure out the size I made.
Then with each cookie ball, press it a little flat and put in your caramel. I cut each of the caramels in half that I used, but if your caramels aren’t big you don’t have to cut them in half. Just make sure they’re small enough you can wrap your cookie dough all around the caramel. Then place the cookie dough balls onto a cookie sheet, lined with parchment or a silicone liner is best, but greasing one with nonstick spray works too. Place 9 cookies on each tray.
Then bake in the preheated oven for 8-12 minutes (mine usually take 10) until the sides of the cookies start to turn golden and the tops are set. The cookies will keep baking on the cookie sheet, so let them cool on the sheet for 10 minutes, then remove them to a cooling rack to cool, or enjoy them right away, nice and warm!
These cookies are best enjoyed warm fresh from the oven, because as you bite into them you can enjoy the gooey melty caramel in the middle. But the cookies stay good stored in a ziplock bag, or other airtight container for 3 to 4 days. So you can zap them in the microwave for 10-20 seconds to enjoy them warm like they’re fresh out of the oven.
These salted caramel pretzel cookies are a dream come true. They’re thick, and chewy, and stuffed full of melty chocolate chips, crunchy pretzel pieces, with a gooey melty caramel right in the middle. You won’t be able to stop at just one!
Looking for more cookie recipes?
- Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Orange Zest Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Rolo Cookies
- Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Salted Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (cold, unsalted, two sticks)
- 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (add more 1 TBS at a time if dough is too sticky, or if cookies come out too flat)
- 1 TBS cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pretzels
- 15 soft caramels cut in half
- 1 TBS coarse sea salt
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cut your butter into slices.
- Place butter slices into a large mixing bowl and beat with mixer (stand mixer is preferred if you have it - use the paddle attachment) until it starts to smooth.
- Add in the sugars and beat for about 1-2 minutes until smooth.
- Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until just incorporated.
- Dump in the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix on low speed until the wet and dry ingredients are combined.
- Pour in the chocolate chips and pretzel pieces and fold them into the dough.
- Cut your caramels each in half if they are big enough, or use the whole caramel if they are smaller
- Measure out the batter to be 2 heaping tablespoons.
- Press the dough flat and stick a caramel piece in the middle. Roll the cookie dough around the caramel.
- Place 9 cookies per cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone liner.
- Place in the oven to bake for about 8-12 minutes, or until the cookie top and bottom are golden. (Mine usually take 10 minutes)
- Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with coarse sea salt.
- Allow the cookies to rest on the pan for about 5 minutes.
- Remove to a cooling rack to cool completely, or enjoy warm.
- Store cookies in an airtight container, or ziplock bag for 3 to 4 days.
Nutrition
Kelli says
I also had to adjust the time and temperature. I used the little caramel bits from Kraft and sprinkled pretzel salt on top before baking. They are delicious! Will be a headliner in the cookie rotation. Thank you for a super yummy recipe!
Aimee says
So glad you loved them!
Diane says
Can I use almond flour for GF recipe
Aimee says
I haven’t tried almond flour, I’d probably use a 1 to 1 flour sub for closer results
Mel says
I have not tried this yet, but what kind of caramels should I get?
Aimee says
I like Kraft caramels or werther’s soft caramels!
Marion says
can I leave ou the pretzels and add more flour or perhaps something else – not a fan of pretzels – love chocolate and caramel!
Aimee says
Hi, I’d sub potato chips, or nuts to get the same sweet/salty flavor. Otherwise I’d just add more chocolate chips
Anita says
Can you use all purpose flour instead of having to use flour cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder?
Aimee says
all purpose flour is the flour you should use, but it does not contain rising agents so you will need the baking powder and baking soda. The cornstarch makes the cookies extra soft but you can use an extra TBS of flour instead if you dont have it.
Stef says
Question – if they are left at room temperature before eating does the Caramel because hard and chewy? I bake cookies and leave them until next day sometimes to eat but don’t want the caramel to be chewy would love them to stay soft and melty and gooey
Aimee says
It’ll definitely get a little more chewy when left out at room temp. You can microwave for 10-20 seconds and the inside should get gooey again.
Maria says
Can I use Carmel chips (like choc chips) that came out this year?
Aimee says
Are you wanting to sub those for the chocolate chips, or for the caramel middle? They should work fine instead of the chocolate chips
Mike says
I baked these loaded cookie at the recommended temp/time (400/10) and they were a bit too done. I backed up the time by batch twice, (9 and 8), then I lowered the temp to 350 and baked them for 10 minutes and they were perfect. I also put the Coarse Salt on before baking. I don’t get the cornstarch??
Aimee says
I’m glad you figured out how to make them work for you – I make the cookies quite large, so maybe yours were a bit smaller, or our ovens are different 🤷♀️ The cornstarch makes the cookies a bit softer, you can leave it out if you want, maybe add 1 more TBS flour to replace it
Alexis says
These are so good!
Amy says
This is one of our go-to cookie recipes! We have made these multiple times and they always turn out great. They are a perfect combination of sweet and salty. Thanks for the recipe!
Jennifer Black says
These cookies are amazing! I followed the recipe except for the milk chocolate chips. I only had semi-sweet and they turned out perfect. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Aimee says
So glad you loved them! They’re great with any chocolate chips!
Navneeta says
Hi Is possible to have metric conversion to grams for this recipe?
Aimee says
I added it with the recipe card! Hopefully they’re all right! Let me know if you try them
heather grant says
just made this recipe, and loved it!
Ellen says
We are so glad. They are pretty yummy. Thanks for letting us know.