Brown butter salted caramel pretzel thumbprint cookies. These are for all the salty-sweet lovers out there. I love these cookies and I know you will too. They are worth the effort to make.
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Thumbprint cookies are always a holiday classic, made many ways. Different flavors and fillings. These thumbprint cookies are perfect for those who adore the salty-sweet combination as much as I do. You might also enjoy my Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies and my Pineapple 5 Spice Thumbprint Cookies too.
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Ingredients:
- Unsalted butter - browned and cooled
- Bourbon - go for the good stuff if you want
- Vanilla extract
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Large eggs - yolks and whites separated
- Salt ( sea or kosher)
- All purpose flour
- Skinny pretzel sticks
- Salted caramel sauce (store-bought or homemade)
- Flaky salt - Maldon
See recipe for full amounts.
Instructions:
These start off with browned butter. I love using browned butter in cookies. It adds more depth of flavor and a nuttiness that works so well in these cookies. Browning butter is easy to do. I use a wide saucepan and stir until I see brown flecks at the bottom of the pan after the butter has melted and started to foam. It goes from brown to burnt quickly so keep a close eye on the butter while you brown it. Transfer from the pan to a bowl to help cool it down quickly and prevent burning.
I have always been a fan of salted caramel. I cheat a little with these cookies and use a jarred salted caramel sauce from Trader Joe's. Its so good in these cookies, also amazing on vanilla ice cream. Yum!
Equipment:
Please buy a food scale. This will make all your bakes the exact same each time.
- Food Scale - see below about weighing ingredients
- Mixer - stand or hand mixer with a large mixing bowl
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Wire cooling racks
Weighing ingredients Vs using cups:
I use my food scale and weigh out ingredients in grams because this is the most accurate way to get the best quality baked goods. Cups aren't accurate because not only are all cups not the same the sizes vary from brand to brand as well as from different countries. I have done tests with different brands of measuring cups and they all came out with different weights after I did the spoon and level as well as scoop method and then weighed in grams.
Baking is a science and science needs accuracy. Weighing is accurate and precise. Not to mention a lot easier. Another issue with cups is that I have no control over how people use measuring cups to measure dry ingredients especially flour. You could pack in way too much which would result in a sub-par baked good. Too much flour could throw everything off. Same with not enough. Not to mention also some ingredients are difficult to measure in cups such as nuts, dried fruit, chocolate etc. This is why weighing in grams is the most accurate.
I also use grams for most liquid measure since 100 grams equals 100 ml of water. Smaller amounts of items measured in teaspoons I usually leave as teaspoons, tablespoons are sometimes listed in grams as well but for the most part the different tablespoons I have used have all resulted in the same amount. Aside from cute, decorative ceramic tablespoons and teaspoons are never accurate. Those are better as decoration than for being used for baking.
Top tips:
- Read all the instructions carefully. Have all your ingredients ready to go
- Prep time is approximate. Give yourself plenty of time to make these
- Browning butter is easy but it can go from brown to burnt quickly. Don't leave the butter to melt then come back to a burnt mess. Whisk the entire time and watch for color changes. Remove from pan to a bowl or measuring cup so it doesn't cook further
- You can omit the extra salt on top and use pretzels without salt if you want to keep the salt content down. Even with how much salt there is, these really aren't a salty cookie
- You can make the dough ahead of time and chill. Thaw at room temp so they are soft enough to roll out
- Once baked the cookies keep well at room temperature for a few days in an airtight container, a few months frozen. Also in an airtight container or bag. I would thaw a little if frozen before eating, the caramel will harden when frozen.
More holiday cookies to enjoy:
Brown Butter Salted Caramel Pretzel Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 282 g sticks butter, browned and cooled (unsalted butter)
- 275 g All purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 66 g Granulated sugar
- 66 g Light brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Bourbon, (good stuff such as Makers Mark)
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon Honey
- 2 Large eggs, (yolks and whites separated)
- 100 g Skinny pretzel sticks, (smashed into little pieces)
- 150-200 g Salted caramel sauce, (Store bought or homemade)
- 2 Tablespoons Large Flaky sea salt for sprinkling on top, (Maldon, might not use all 2 Tablespoons)
Instructions
- Make the brown butter first.
- Heat the butter in a medium sauce pan over low until melted, stirring often. Watch for it to start to get foamy and whisk slowly until brown flecks start to form on the bottom of the pan and it has a nutty aroma. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. The butter will go from browned to burnt fast so keep a close eye on it as you are stirring.
- Whisk the flour and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add in just the egg yolks one at a time and mix well after each addition. Add in the bourbon, vanilla, honey and mix again. Scraping down the sides of the bowl when needed.
- Mix in the flour on low. The mixture should resemble wet sand - easy to form a ball with.
- Scoop up a heaping tablespoon of dough (about 30 g) and roll into about a 1” ball, repeat with remaining dough. Refrigerate for at least 30 min to firm up.
- While the dough is chilling prepare the pretzel crumbs. Either place them in a small bowl and smash them with the bottom of a glass or place in a resealable baggie and smash with a rolling pin.
- Whip the egg white in a small bowl until foamy. You might only use one of the remaining egg whites os only whip one at a time.
- Preheat oven to 350 deg. Prepare cookie sheets with parchment or silicone bake mats.
- Using one chilled cookie dough ball at a time, first roll in the whipped egg white then in the pretzel pieces and place on cookie sheet. Gently press down in the middle with your thumb.
- Bake for 15 min. Once out of the oven, press down with your thumb again on any cookies that lost the indent, cool for 5 min, then cool completely on a wire rack
- Once all the cookies are cooled, fill the middles with salted caramel sauce and sprinkle some sea salt flakes on top.
Notes
If you adore thumbprint cookies as much as I do, along with salty, sweet, crunchy, you will love these brown butter salted caramel pretzel thumbprint cookies.
Catherine says
I know this may seem like a dumb question...but, salted butter?
Shanna says
Not a dumb question at all! Unsalted. I will edit the recipe. Already a lot of salt in it, doesn't need more