Pretzel Shortbread Cookies Recipe on Food52 (2024)

5 Ingredients or Fewer

by: molly yeh

April25,2021

4.4

7 Ratings

  • Makes 18 to 20 cookies

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

To make the pretzel flour, blend approximately 240 grams of pretzels (they can be gluten-free) in a food processor until you have a very fine "flour." —molly yeh

  • Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients
  • 1 cupunsalted butter, softened
  • 2/3 cupsugar
  • 2 cupspretzel flour (see headnote)
  • chocolate, for drizzling (optional)
  • sprinkles, for decorating (optional)
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease 2 cupcake pans and set aside. (If you're just using 1 pan, you can keep the dough at room temperature while the first batch bakes and cools.)
  2. Beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the pretzel flour and beat until combined and the mixture forms large crumbs. Fill up the cupcake tins halfway and then press down firmly (it helps to use the back of a spoon or bottom of a glass). Bake for 20 minutes, until they start to brown. Important: Let them cool in the pan and then gently lift them out. You can use a sharp knife on the edges to loosen them from the pan.
  3. If desired, drizzle with melted dark chocolate and decorate with sprinkles. Enjoy!

Tags:

  • Cookie
  • American
  • 5 Ingredients or Fewer
  • Make Ahead
  • Dessert

Recipe by: molly yeh

molly yeh recently moved from brooklyn to a farm outside of grand forks, north dakota, where her husband is a fifth generation farmer. she writes the blog my name is yeh.

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13 Reviews

Liza P. January 28, 2023

After two weeks of making these cookies, it's still on my mind. Based on reviews, I added an egg. I also made it with wheat flour and part white sugar and part brown sugar. I tried both the mini muffin and regular sized muffin tins. I prefer the latter. I plan to return to this recipe and play around with adding other ingredients- like peanut butter.

kimrw10s April 16, 2020

Made these exactly as described and they were delicious!! Having read the comments I may try the roll and cut method as well, next time. Also thinking will sprinkle mine with some flaky sea salt on the chocolate, just to up the ante a little with the saltiness. Amazing how good four ingredients work so well together!!! Thanks Molly!

Alisa L. October 9, 2019

These are so good. I made them just as the recipe described in 2 muffin tins. When they were done, I sprinkled some chocolate chips on top to melt because I was in a hurry, but wanted that salty/sweet. That made them kind of ugly and they're already hard to eat because they're so crumbly. Next time I'll melt chocolate using a double boiler method so it stays shiny and dip the cookies. These are a keeper and the best cookie recipe I've found lately.

am April 26, 2019

I tried these as the recipe stated but didn't love the flavor (I used extra dark pretzel splits by accident!). I went back and did it again with regular splits and subbed 3/4 pretzel flour for whole wheat flour. Got an even bake with a great pretzel flavor and not too salty! Pressed into a pan and baked for 35, then spread chocolate chips over the top while it was still warm.

Kirsten S. November 14, 2017

What a rich, delicious flavor! Making pretzel flour is genius, and I love the uniform size and shape that the muffin tin gives. Definitely crumbly (I even added an egg to the recipe), but a nice, easy recipe and one that is worth the crumb catching! I kind of want to top this with some sweet peanut butter and dunk the entire thing in a chocolate coating. But that's for another night!

Kendra A. June 22, 2015

These are amazingly delicious! I used mini muffin tins as Angie suggested, and filled them about to the top. It made 26 with plenty of dough for nibbling. Total cook time was about 18 minutes. They are pretty crumbly, but I pressed them in with the back of a spoon. They are holding together fine to eat as cookies--but I think they might be great crumbled over ice cream too!

Teri P. February 11, 2015

can't I just roll these and chill 'em a bit and then cut them like a traditional shortbread cookie? anybody try this or are they too crumbly?

Jeanette A. April 1, 2019

I was planning to do the same - thoughts?

Teri P. April 1, 2019

I haven't tried it yet! Wow, internet... Now I'm hungry...

Morgan December 13, 2014

I just made these and they're tasty! But soooo crumbly! I added an egg to the second batch to get them to hold together better and that helped.

etalerman December 5, 2014

Should the pretzels be with or without salt?

Beth December 6, 2014

Probably with, since there's no salt anywhere else in the recipe.

Angie December 7, 2014

Definitely with salt. I just made these and they're delicious little bites. I used mini muffin pans so I could have more bite-sized versions to use on cookie trays for the holidays. If you do this, just bake them for 12-14 minutes vs. 20. I love the salty/sweet combination of these!

Pretzel Shortbread Cookies Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

Why did my shortbread turn out chewy? ›

Undercooked shortbread will be doughy and chewy. Slightly overcooked and it will become chalky, brittle and hard. Is shortbread supposed to be soft when it comes out of the oven? Yes, upon cooling it will firm up.

Why are my shortbread cookies tough? ›

It's important to avoid over-mixing shortbread dough, which will develop gluten and make the finished product tough, not tender. To make sure that the flour mixes completely with little effort, sift the flour first to get out all of the lumps.

What is the secret of good shortbread? ›

Shortbread has so few ingredients that you can't get away with cutting corners; good quality butter and sugar are essential, and plenty of them. Rice flour gives it that special sandy texture that sets it apart from the common biscuit, and a pinch of salt helps to balance that rich, delicious sweetness.

What are common mistakes when making shortbread? ›

The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour. The less you work the dough, the more crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth your shortbread cookies will be.

How to fix undercooked shortbread? ›

If they are only slightly undercooked, you can try returning them to the oven and baking for a few more minutes. If they are significantly undercooked, you may need to extend the baking time significantly. This can be tricky, as it may cause the outside of the baked goods to become too dry or burnt.

Why did my cookies come out chewy? ›

The ingredients you use and how you shape your cookies both play an important role in whether your cookies turn out crispy or chewy. The type of flour and sugar you use, if your cookie dough contains eggs, and whether you use melted or softened butter all factor into the crispy-chewy equation, too.

What happens if you overwork shortbread? ›

The high butter (or shortening ) content helps to keep the gluten in the flour short and soft. But, for that delectable, friable texture, it's also important to keep a light hand. Overworking the mixture will make the dough oily; it will also develop the gluten in the flour and make the shortbread tough.

What texture should shortbread be? ›

Shortbread should always have a tender, melting texture, but be slightly crisp when you bite into it.

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