These gluten-free salted caramel pretzel chocolate chip cookies are chewy and crunchy, salty and sweet, and perfect for all your Christmas cookie needs!
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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! And by that I mean holiday cookie season is upon us. You will truly be obsessed with these Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies. They’re sweet and salty, chewy and crunchy, and totally gluten-free! Run don’t walk to make these delectable treats.
Wet Ingredients for Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Butter: Make sure it’s softened! I like to take my butter out of the fridge about an hour before I plan to start making the dough. Salted or unsalted butter works here.
Brown Sugar and White Sugar: You’ll notice a higher ratio of brown sugar. That’s to keep these cookies softer and chewier, but also to evoke those molasses vibes just a lil’ bit.
Eggs: For that structure and binding!
Vanilla Extract: To emphasize the other flavors in this recipe.
Dry Ingredients for Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Almond Flour: Make sure it’s packed tight in that measuring cup for best results. Costco has the best deal around on almond flour.
Oat Flour: Gluten-free if needed! Bob’s Red Mill is my fave certified gluten-free oat flour.
Baking Soda: The baking soda will react with all that brown sugar to make these cookies thick and puffy.
All the Salt: You’ll add a half teaspoon of sea salt to the dough. You can also add flaky sea salt to the top of the cookies once you pull them out of the oven (optional but strongly recommended).
Mix-Ins
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips or Chunks: Both work great!
Sea Salt Caramel Chips: These can sometimes be hard to find (I used Trader Joe’s), but have no fear! Butterscotch chips work wonderfully here too.
Gluten-Free Pretzels: Any pretzel works, but I actually prefer gluten-free pretzels in this recipe because they tend to keep their crunchiness better.
Baking Tips & Tricks
- Measuring the Flour: Make sure to spoon your oat flour into the measuring cup and then level it with a knife. If you pack the oat flour into the measuring cup, it may cause the cookies to be dry and doughy, which no one wants! Almond flour, on the other hand, should be packed tightly into the measuring cup for best results.
- Baking Soda: Make sure you’ve purchased in the last six months for best results. It loses its effectiveness over time.
- Mixing Your Batter: Don’t over-mix! The almond flour will begin to get oily which significantly affects the outcome of the cookies.
- Mixing Speed: While it can be tempting to crank that speed up on your mixer to quickly combine everything, this is not recommended. It will melt the butter and break down the eggs too much which will make the cookie lose its structure. It will create a pretty flat cookie. No fun! I recommend using low to medium speed and paying good attention throughout the mixing process.
- Oven Time: Ovens are finicky and they are not all the same. Temperature can vary fairly significantly depending on what oven you have. Therefore, I recommend you begin checking these cookies around the 11-minute mark. It’s okay if they’re slightly undercooked, as they will continue to bake on that hot sheet pan!
If you make these Gluten-Free Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies, be sure to leave a rating and review! This encourages others to give the recipe a try. You can also find me on Pinterest and Instagram. I always love hearing from you!
More Fun Holiday Desserts
- Super Fudgy Gluten-Free Brownies (Made with Olive Oil!)
- Pumpkin Pie with Pretzel Graham Cracker Crust
- Vegan and Gluten-Free Oreo Pie
- Orange Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan/Gluten-Free)
Gluten-Free Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Hand or Stand Mixer
- Baking Sheet
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup salted or unsalted butter (1 stick) softened
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup cane sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour packed
- ½ cup gluten-free oat flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp sea salt
- flaky Maldon sea salt for topping at the end
Mix-Ins
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
- ½ cup sea salt caramel chips butterscotch chips work too!
- 1 cup gluten-free pretzel twists crushed
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat for easy clean-up.
- Place all wet ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer (using dough hook attachments) or a stand mixer (using paddle attachment) on medium speed for 1-2 minutes until just combined.
- Whisk together dry ingredients in a separate medium bowl and add to wet ingredients. Beat with hand or stand mixer until just combined.
- Add chocolate chips, sea salt caramel chips, and pretzels and mix by hand with wooden spoon or silicone spatula until well-distributed.
- Use a small cookie scoop or rounded tablespoon to form the cookie dough into 20 balls. Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. You may need to do multiple batches depending on the size of your baking sheet. Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until the top of the cookies are just slightly golden brown. Remove from oven and top with flaky sea salt. Let them set and cool for 20-30 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
Notes
Photography by Hope Agresti
these cookies are a drool they smell so good whilst baking and taste better in my mouth!