As cookies go Chunky Triple Chocolate Pretzel Cookies are nothing short of EPIC. Epically big, epically moist, and epically chocolaty! They have a reputation of irresistibility at our house and have become known as ‘Chonk Cookies’. Cookies so big, so chunky that they are, as the kids say, ‘Chonk’. Embrace the chonk!
These Were Not The Cookies I was Looking For
Ever notice how different folks like different cookies? Some like chewy, gooey soft cookies, some like crisp cookies, and some like thick, almost dough-like cookies. This Chunky Triple Chocolate Pretzel Cookies recipe leans decidedly thick, moist, and doughy in the center.
Not the cookies I was aiming for, I wanted flat, gooey, soft cookies.
Flash forward to the household reception which was a unanimous “OMG, THESE ARE THE BEST COOKIES YOU’VE EVER MADE!” Accompanied by squabbles over the last one. Some of my best recipes are happy accidents!
Sweet & Salty
The success of Chunky Triple Chocolate Pretzel Cookies is their balance of sweet and salty snacks. The touch of crunch from the pretzels. The undertones of white, milk and dark chocolate are at once sweet, and semi-sweet. They hit a lot of late-night snacking notes.
The recipe calls for one cup of chocolate. I literally used every leftover bit of chocolate in the house, including the remains of a milk chocolate bunny from Easter. (Honestly, the holidays are right around the corner, time to say goodbye to ‘Mr. Solid’ the Easter Bunny.)
The ‘one cup of chocolate’ could be any chocolate or chocolate candy you choose. Try this recipe using only semi-sweet chocolate chips, M&M’s, or chunks of candy bars you love, like Flake, Aero, Skore, or Toblerone. Huge thumbs up on any of these gooey-fun chocolatey substitutions.
Technique-wise, this is a very simple recipe. First, cream your butter and sugar, add your egg and vanilla, then beat well. Add your flour and leavening agent (baking soda) to your wet mix and finally, fold in your chocolate and pretzels.
Many bakers recommend chilling your dough, then rolling and baking for cookies. I’m a roll, chill, then bake, baker.Why? Because soft cookie dough is easier to portion and roll.
This is the method used in every professional kitchen I’ve worked in. Professional pastry chefs portion their cookie dough while soft, chill, then bake, either straight from the fridge or directly from frozen. This is how they control their results. No matter how hot, or cold the kitchen is, the cookies are always consistent in timing, lift and texture.
Now, who wants a Chunky Triple Chocolate Pretzel Cookie?! I know I do.
In our house, we call these Chunky Triple Chocolate Pretzel Cookies “Chonk Cookies”. We like ’em big, we like em’ chunky, we like em sweet, we like ’em fluffy!
Ingredients
UnitsScale
3/4cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla paste/extract
1 3/4cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup mini pretzels, lightly crushed
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°f (175°c). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and reserve.
2. In a large bowl (or stand mixer), cream butter and brown sugar together until light & fluffy. Add egg & vanilla and beat until well blended.
3. Add dry ingredients; flour, and baking soda, to the butter mix, and beat to combine to make a shaggy dough. Add your chopped chocolate & pretzels and gently fold so you don’t crush the pretzels.
4. Form into large, roughly three-tablespoon-sized cookies (mine were 100g each if you’re scale-inclined). Flatten the top of the cookie dough balls slightly, then very gently press a whole mini pretzel onto each cookie.
5. Chill dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
6. Bake at 350°f (175°c) for 12 -15 minutes. Makes 10 large or roughly 24 medium-sized cookies (see note)
Notes
Should you reduce the size of the cookie, then you must reduce your baking time to around 10 minutes. Best practice: Bake a test cookie to check spread and timing. The benefits of a test cookie include ensuring you don’t burn an ENTIRE sheet of cookies, plus you have to eat that one. It’s a cookie law.
Cooking in her home kitchen just outside Ottawa, Canada; Cori Horton is a food photographer and recipe blogger. A Cordon Bleu-trained Chef, Cori spent five years as the owner of Nova Scotia's Dragonfly Inn and has been sharing all things delicious - right here - since 2010.
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