Sweet and Salty Cookies

This post has been a long time coming.  I have been experimenting with this cookie recipe for quite some time now.  I wanted a cookie that embodied the perfect amount of sweet and salty without one over powering the other.  Well, the day has finally come!  I have the perfect recipe that includes it all; sweet, salty, crunchy, chewy, rich and of course, Oh. So. Yummy!  I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of this recipe and how excited I am to finally be able to share this with you. 

I have tried multiple recipes that claim to be the perfect combination of sweet and salty but every time I just haven’t been wowed.  All that changed once I had these cookies.  I can honestly say I’ve never had a cookie that incorporated a little bit of everything in each bite, until now.  These cookies have it all.  I love how they are thick, gooey, rich, sweet, chocolatey and salty.  This sweet and salty trend may be a craze to some but to me, it’s my perfect dessert.  I started mixing these two flavors a long time ago.  I remember when I was little, I would make some popcorn then sprinkle in M & M’s, peanuts, pretzels and raisins.  When I had that snack I was one happy little girl.  My love for these flavor combinations has only grown over the years and I jump at the opportunity to try or create recipes that involve these flavors.  I loved this combination long before it became a craze and I’ll love it long after it’s lost it’s luster. 

Sweet and Salty Cookies

Ingredients:

For the cookies-
1 Cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 Cup brown sugar
3/4 Cup granulated sugar
2 Eggs
1 Tsp vanilla
1 1/2 Tsp sea salt
2 Cups flour
1 Tsp baking soda
1 Cup (about 6 pretzel rods) roughly chopped
1/2 Cup dry roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
1 Cup pretzel M & M’s, roughly chopped
3/4 Cup chocolate chips
Kosher salt, for sprinkling

For the ganache-
2 Tbsp butter
6 Oz semi-sweet baking chocolate, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp heavy cream
Kosher salt

Direcetions:

For the cookies-

Preaheat oven to 350.  Line baking sheets with a silicone baking mat, or spray with cooking spray and set aside.

Sift together the flour, sea salt and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside.

Place butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until light, about 1-2 minutes.  Add the brown and granulated sugar and mix until light and fluffy, another 2-3 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing to make sure each is incorporated.  Add the vanilla and mix until combined.  Slowly add the flour mixture until thoroughly mixed. 

Once all the ingredients are mixed together remove the bowl from the mixer.  Add the pretzels, peanuts, chocolate chips, and M & M’s and stir until evenly incorporated.

Place rounded tablespoons of dough on the prepared cookie sheet.  Press the ball of dough slightly with the bottom of a glass, press just enough to flatten slightly but allowing the scoop to remain thick.  Repeat process with remaining dough.  Sprinkle the cookies with Kosher salt and place in the preheated oven and bake for 8-9 minutes, until cookies are golden brown.  Remove from the oven, allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, transfer to a cooling rack to allow to cool completely.

For the ganache-

Place the butter and baking chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.  Heat the two ingredients in 25 second intervals, stirring after each interval until completely melted.  Add the heavy cream and stir to combine.  The ingredients may need to be heated an additional few seconds to combine.  At this point the mixture should be shiny, thick and smooth.

Dip the bottom of the cookie in the ganache then place the dipped cookie upside down on a cooling rack and sprinkle with Kosher salt.  Repeat the process with the remaining cookies. 

Allow to completely cool before storing in an airtight container.  Place a layer of wax paper between each layer of cookies to eliminate the chocolate sticking to the top of the stacked cookies.

Recipe source: A Lynsey Original