Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies

From Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup unsalted roasted peanuts, chopped
6 cups miniature pretzels, chopped

Directions:
1. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350°. In a bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and peanut butter on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture, beating until just combined; stir in the peanuts.

3. Place the pretzels in a bowl. Using a 1 1/2-inch-diameter cookie scoop and working in batches, drop a few balls of dough in the bowl and toss to coat. Place the cookies on the prepared pans. Bake, rotating the pans after 10 minutes, until golden but still soft to the touch, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly before transferring to racks to cool.

Comments:
These were easy to make but I'm not sure I'd repeat them. The first batch I made as written - rolling the dough in the pretzels. The bottoms burned. The second batch I just sprinkled some pretzels on the top of the cookies and that worked a little better. They all still turned out kind of dry. If I'd try a peanut butter-pretzel mash-up again I might stick with my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe and add some pretzels to the dough.