These White Chocolate Pretzel Cookies are chewy, crunchy and delicious! Made with oats, sunbutter, and pretzels, they're like a monster cookie but with all white chocolate.
This recipe was inspired by my craving of monster cookies all during pregnancy. Typically I can get away with eating some chocolate without it causing a migraine attack. But with the amount of cookies I wanted postpartum combined with lack of sleep, it was a recipe for disaster. I wish I had this cookie recipe! You'll love this one because:
- It's a great combination of sweet and salty with the white chocolate and pretzels.
- They're easy to make at home, even if you don't own a mixer.
- White chocolate cookies are a migraine-friendly alternative to cowboy or monster cookies which contain common triggers like chocolate and nuts.
- This is a nut-free and peanut-free recipe so would work well in school lunches or baking events as an allergy friendly cookie.
- These cookies keep well for a few days and freeze easily.
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Ingredients
Rolled Oats - Use regular rolled oats (not quick cooking) for this recipe as the main binder. If you're gluten free, choose a certified gluten free brand like Bob's Red Mill.
All Purpose Flour - I like to use Bob's Red Mill Organic or Gold Medal flour. For gluten free, use a 1:1 baking flour.
White Chocolate Chips - For this recipe, I used Ghirardelli since I had those on hand. I also like Callebaut and Divine. A good white chocolate can be tricky to find, but it's worth searching for.
Pretzels - Any favorite pretzel brands will do, although small sticks are easiest to smash up. For those on a migraine diet that need to avoid malt, look for Rold Gold or Utz Honey Twists.
Sunflower Seed Butter - For this recipe I used Trader Joe's Sunflower Seed Spread which is slightly salted, but Sunbutter brand will also work. Just make sure it is drippy with the oil mixed in (not hard) and that it is not sweetened.
Egg - I used one large egg for this recipe, but you could also substitute with ¼ cup applesauce.
Butter - Kerrygold is the brand I like to use most, just make sure you buy it in the stick form and not as a tub. Even the large blocks come with measuring lines (and cost less than the pre-formed sticks!) but you should just need ½ a block or 1 full stick. Make sure this is at room temperature by bringing out of the fridge 1 hour before baking. If you don't use Kerrygold, look for a brand of butter that does not contain natural flavoring.
Sugar and brown sugar, salt, vanilla, and baking soda round out the ingredients but are all pretty standard. Just use your favorite brands.
How to Make Chocolate Pretzel Cookies
- Begin by mixing the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl - oats, flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a larger mixing bowl, cream the butter either with a mixer on medium speed or by hand with a wood spoon, beating rapidly till smooth and fluffy. Add in both sugars plus the sunflower seed butter and continue beating till well-combined. Mix in one egg and vanilla on low speed till just incorporated.
- Slowly stir in the oat and flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture, about ½ cup at a time till completely combined.
- Take the pretzels and place them in a plastic bag. With your hand or a mallet, smash the pretzels till in very small pieces. Measure out ½ cup. With a wood spoon or spatula, stir in white chocolate chips and pretzels. Transfer the dough to the fridge for at least 30 minutes to chill.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a ice cream scoop or large cookie scooper, scoop cookie dough and form into a ball. Place on the baking sheet and smash them down slightly.
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until lightly brown around the edges. Allow to cool for 3-5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- Butter must be at room temperature to mix properly and avoid lumpy cookies. It also helps if other items are at room temperature as well, like the egg.
- Sometimes sunbutter can become green if too much baking soda is acid. I've tested this recipe multiple times and have yet to have that happen at the amount given in the recipe. If it does, it should not affect the taste.
- Make sure the sunflower seed butter is drippy and not hard. I also prefer unsweetened and salted for the flavor profile.
- Use parchment paper or a silicone mat to prevent cookies from sticking to the baking sheet.
- The cooking times are set for oversized white chocolate cookies (about 2 inches+) so adjust baking times if using a smaller scoop. White chocolate can overcook more easily than semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- When the cookies are still hot, they will fall apart easily. Allow them to cool unless you can CAREFULLY transfer them to a cooling rack without them falling apart. They are perfect once they cool.
White Chocolate Cookie Recipes
For more recipes like these pretzel white chocolate cookies, check out these posts.
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White Chocolate Pretzel Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter at room temperature
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup sunflower seed butter
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips
- ½ cup crushed pretzels
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring well to combine. In a large mixing bowl, mix butter on medium till light and fluffy. Add in both sugars, mixing till thoroughly combined, then mix in sunflower seed butter till smooth. On low speed (or by hand) stir in egg and vanilla till fully combined.
- Slowly pour in the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in ½ cup increments, stirring on low or by hand with a wood spoon. Crush pretzels by placing them in a plastic bag and smashing with your hand till in very small pieces. With a spatula or wood spoon, stir in pretzels and white chocolate chips to the cookie dough. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and cover baking sheets with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop dough (about 2-2 ½ inches) and roll to a nice ball. Flatten just a bit on top (these don't spread much) and bake for 10-12 minutes till light brown. Depending on your oven, go with a lower time as white chocolate pieces can burn easily.
- Allow them to cool at least 5 minutes on the tray before transferring to a wire rack. These are very delicate till they have cooled a little bit!
Notes
- For gluten free, use gluten free certified oats and gluten free all purpose 1:1 flour, like Bob's Red Mill, as well as gluten free pretzels like Snyders.
- For white chocolate I like to use Divine, Callebaut, or Ghirardelli.
- For sunflower seed butter, I prefer to use Trader Joe's Unsweetened Sunflower Seed Spread. Just make sure it's drippy. If you're not sensitive to peanuts, peanut butter can also be subbed in.
Made these this morning. So delicious!
I’m thinking about adding toasted coconut and roasted sunflower seeds to these. Do you think I can keep everything else in the recipe the same, or would it be better to reduce the amount of pretzels and white chocolate chips so they have enough batter to hold together? I’m really excited to try these. Thanks for sharing all your recipe ideas. It’s been a big help on the HYH diet.
That sounds great! I would reduce some of the pretzels for the sunflower seeds and just go easy on the coconut. That way it won't get too crumbly.
These look great! I'd be interested in making them as bars in a square pan, seems like it'd be easier. Any suggestions for that as to modifications?
Wow, these are amazing! Definitely a keeper recipe! So nice
to have safe choices!
These are delicious! I did a mix of cinnamon chips and white chocolate chips and they turned out great. Will definitely be making again!
Thank you, Liz!
These are awesome! We made these pretzel cookies for Christmas and they didn't last very long. Thank you!