Caramel Pretzel Nutella Cookies
An unbelievably delicious chocolate chip cookie stuffed with Nutella and pretzels and drizzled with yummy caramel, this cookie recipe is about to knock your socks off. It is the perfect combination of salty and sweet! This cookie is one of my guilty pleasures and if you try out this recipe, you will see why!
If you love a good salty and sweet dessert, you have to try these!
Want to see some of my other recipes that are a little more simple? Check these ones out:
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies with Creamy Frosting
Brown Butter Fruity Pebbles with Marshmallows Cookies
Caramel Pretzel Nutella Cookies
These cookies were dreamed up when I was still running my order/delivery cookie service…and let’s just say I haven’t stopped dreaming about them since. I was hoping to find a nice salty and sweet addition for my cookie boxes and thought I’d go all out and add both pretzels and Nutella to my chocolate chip cookies. The results were sooo good but then I had the idea to add some caramel to the top and they turned out even more amazing!
For this recipe, the kind of pretzels used is super important! I have used a wide variety of pretzels but have found that the saltier and thicker they are, the better. The pretzels are such an important ingredient in this dough and if you use “buttery” pretzels they will not have the same effect as super salty ones. My absolute favorite pretzels to use in this recipe are these ones from Costco. If you have a membership, I would highly suggest going and buying these! If you don’t, then make sure you choose something pretty similar at the store!
As I do with all of my recipes involving caramel, I prefer to use this kind. It is the best caramel out there and it’s so convenient to have the loaf of caramel in my pantry for anytime I may need to use it. You can also use the Kraft caramels, but I can definitely tell a difference in my baked goods when I use Peter’s!
It is also so, so important that you use COLD Nutella in this recipe. You may also choose to make the cookie dough balls and then refrigerate them before baking. Read more below to see why this is crucial while making these cookies!
Can I Bake Nutella?
Yes, you can bake with Nutella! It is one of my favorite things to do. Nothing beats that creamy chocolate goodness. When using Nutella as a center of a cookie you’ll want to make sure that after baking there is still a big “blob” left in the center. You achieve this by using COLD Nutella or refrigerating the cookie dough balls after forming them (prior to baking). If you skip this step and use room temperature Nutella, you will be disappointed when you discover that it has baked into the center of your cookie!
How to Make This Recipe
To make the cookies you will need the following ingredients:
- Cold Butter, cut into tablespoons
- Granulated Sugar
- Light Brown Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Baking Soda
- All Purpose Flour
- Cake Flour
- Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
- Pretzels
- Caramel
- Nutella
REFRIGERATE NUTELLA. Before starting your cookies, place Nutella in the refrigerator (or freezer if short on time). Nutella must be cold for this recipe or it will bake into the cookie and you will have no center filling!
MIX. To make the cookies, add the cold butter (must be completely cooled), brown sugar, and granulated sugar and cream until well combined. Add in the eggs and vanilla, mix on low until the ingredients are well mixed. Sift together dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Fold in the chocolate chips and pretzel chunks.
MEASURE AND ADD NUTELLA. Measure cookie dough into 2.5 ounce round mounds of dough. Cookie dough should be cold and stiff. Push in the center of the cookie dough balls and place a teaspoon or so of COLD Nutella. Fold the edges around the Nutella center. Make sure your cookie dough balls are cold or else your cookies will fall flat. Pop dough into the refrigerator for 30 minutes if you are nervous that your dough is too soft/warm. Place cookie dough mounds on a lined cookie sheet about 2-3 inches apart from one another.
BAKE. Place cookie mounds onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mats to bake at 375 for 11-13 minutes. When edges of cookies are set and the tops begin to brown, remove from the oven. Allow cookies to finish baking on the warm sheet, at least 20 minutes, before removing.
DRIZZLE CARAMEL. Once cookies have cooled off, drizzle as much caramel on top as you would like!
Oooh these are just TOO good! Grab the recipe below!
Caramel Pretzel Nutella Cookies
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1 C Cold Butter, cut into tablespoon chunks
- 1/2 C Granulated Sugar
- 3/4 C Light Brown Sugar
- 2 large Eggs
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Dry Ingredients
- 1 3/4 C All Purpose Flour
- 1 C Cake Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
Mix Ins/Center Filling/Topping
- ¾-1 C Chopped Sourdough Pretzels
- ¾-1¼ C Chocolate Chips
- 1 small jar Cold Nutella
- 15-20 small Caramels, melted
Instructions
- Refrigerate Nutella 1-2 hours prior to making cookie dough.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Cut cold butter into tablespoon chunks and add to mixer. Beat butter until it has softened a little. Add in sugars, cream until there are no chunks of butter left.
- Add in eggs and vanilla, mix until well combined.
- Sift together dry ingredients and add to wet ingredients. Mix on low until just combined, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Fold in pretzel chunks (Make sure to have a variety of sizes) and chocolate chips.
- Form cookie dough into 2.5 oz balls/mounds and create an indentation in the center of the cookie dough and fill with 1-1.5 tsp of COLD Nutella. Form the cookie dough around the Nutella so that the center isn't exposed at all. If cookie dough is too soft or warm, refrigerate filled dough mounds in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so. Cookie dough mounds should be tall and not perfectly round.
- Bake for 11-12 minutes, until tops are lightly browned and edges are set.
- Allow cookies to sit on warm cookie sheets for 30 minutes to finish baking. Once cookies are cooled, drizzle over the tops with melted caramel.
