Salted Butterscotch Pretzel Cookies

Sweet and salty, these Salted Butterscotch Pretzel Cookies – a butterscotch cookie packed with pretzels, chocolate chips and toffee – are hard to stop at just one. 

I know, I know. I’ve been quiet for a few weeks. It wasn’t intentional. Life got in the way. 

I spent a day in the kitchen, with 2 of the 3 recipes I made fail – or at least not even close to blog-worthy. Virtual learning jacked out WiFi for a couple of days as we updated some things and failed to get it right for all of the devices. I finally carve out some time to work on this post and my laptop is close to dead and it won’t charge. The dog had chewed just enough on the wires to make it useless. So a new one gets ordered. 

Then I end up working a lot – stuff needs to get done and extra reinforcements come in to help with childcare/distance learning. It was all just so much.

You know what was also so much? These cookies. So much sugar. Probably too much sugar. Sweet and salty. Probably too much salt – pretzels and a generous sprinkle of sea salt on top. BUT IT ALL WORKS. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside for about 2 days, these cookies were totally irresistible. I pretty much always ate one too many. And I made them twice within a week. If that isn’t indicative of a winner, I don’t know what is.

Not all weeks are easy but take an hour, pour yourself a glass of wine or beer or mix up a fancy cocktail, and make these cookies. They make everything better.  

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Salted Butterscotch Pretzel Cookies

Sweet and salty, these Salted Butterscotch Pretzel Cookies - a butterscotch cookie packed with pretzels, chocolate chips and toffee - are hard to stop at just one. 

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 22 minutes

Servings 40 cookies

Calories 191 kcal

Author Liz

Ingredients

• 1 c. unsalted butter at room temperature
• 3/4 c. granulated sugar
• 3/4 c. light brown sugar packed
• 1 box butterscotch instant pudding and pie filling mix a 4-serving box
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 c. mini pretzel twists coarsely chopped
• 1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 c. toffee bits may be plain toffee bits of chocolate-coated toffee bits
• 1 tsp. course sea salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium until well combined. Scrape down sides of the bowl and with the mixer on low, beat in butterscotch pudding. With the mixer still running, add eggs and vanilla.

3. Again scrape down sides of the bowl. On low, beat in flour, baking soda and salt. Finally, add pretzels, chocolate chips and toffee. If the mixer is having trouble combining, switch to a wooden spoon and stir until evenly distributed.

4. Using a standard ice cream scoop, portion cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, setting cookies about 2 inches apart. Generously sprinkle with sea salt and bake in preheated oven until edges are starting to brown and center is set, about 9-12 minutes.

5. Remove baking sheets from oven and allow to cook for a few minutes, before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

6. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Recipe Notes

If you have a stand mixer, I recommend using it, as the dough is thick. If you're using a handheld mixer, stir in pretzels, chocolate chips, and toffee with a wooden spoon so that you don't burn out the motor of the hand mixer. 

This recipe was adapted from Betty Crocker.