Chocolate Peanut-Butter Pretzel Cookies

This being my first post on this new blog, I thought I'd share the recipe for cookies with the best possible combination of ingredients known to man. Chocolate, mmmm. Peanut-Butter, mmmmm. Pretzels, mmmmmm. You get the idea. Actually, taken individually these ingredients aren't uncommon or particularly noteworthy, but together, and even better, together in a cookie? The only word I can come up with is SUBLIME! I truly have to give myself credit here, I mean, there are chocolate cookies, and peanut-butter cookies, and even chocolate peanut-butter cookies, but with pretzels? Nope. At least not that I've ever seen. They have just the right hint of salty to balance the sweet, and just the right crunch to go with the gooey.

This week Laylah, Connor and I made these cookies in honor of my Dad's birthday. We are sending him a big batch in a birthday package. They are a slightly (only slightly because girls can like this stuff just as much) manly cookie, I think maybe because of the pretzels. They remind me of my dad because he loves pretzels, and peanut-butter, and chocolate. I think if he could eat these with a pint of good chocolate stout, he'd a be a happy happy man. Just think, cookies that go with beer just as well as they go with milk? HOW COULD THIS GET BETTER? It does, because kids love them too and love to make them. Pulverizing the pretzels is especially fun.

So, give them a try, see what you think. I welcome comments and suggestions, it shows you actually read this and maybe even made the cookies I dreamed up. Hopefully next week I'll think up something equally delicious, I kind of doubt it, but we'll see how much sleep I get.

Sublime (new name) Cookies:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening (or just more butter, but this adds a certain crunchiness)
1 egg
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp Vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup crumbled pretzels (we used pretzel sticks, easer to break up/smash into 1/4 inch pieces)
1 cup peanut-butter chips
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup creamy peanut-butter


1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (you don't have to, but I highly recommend it).

2. Combine flour, baking powder and cocoa powder and either sift, or use a whisk to break up any clumps and combine well.



3. Beat butter, vegetable shortening, and sugar in a mixer. I used the paddle attachment because I think it does a good job with cookie batters. Once creamy, add the vanilla and egg. Put mixer on slowest setting and add the flour and chocolate mixture a little at a time.


4. Once all the flour is incorporated, stop the mixer, take your bowl out and start adding the yummy stuff (chips and pretzels) it's way easier to do this with a spatula than with the mixer. These are very chunky cookies and take some muscle to mix. Once the chips and pretzels are evening distributed, add the peanut butter. This is kind of tricky. You don't want to mix it in too much, you want to kind of marble it throughout the dough, it will leave streaks of peanut-yummy goodness.



5. Take ice-cream scoop sized, umm, scoops and place them about three inches apart on the parchment paper. These cookies are so full of chunks that they really don't spread too much. Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until the edges are set. While one batch is baking I get another piece of parchment paper ready with the next batch, then when the cookies come out of the oven, I slide one paper off the cookies sheet onto the counter and slide the new one right on to go in the over. Saves time. This recipe should make about three dozen cookies depending on size.




They should probably cool, but frankly, they taste and smell so darn good I never really let them. Have a glass of cold milk (or beer) standing by and enjoy! I'm going to go eat some now, hope we have enough left for Dad....