cook like james

From the brilliant folks at America’s Test Kitchen, they describe these cookies as “chewy, crunchy, salty, and sweet. The addition of crushed pretzel sticks and crunchy peanut butter give the cookies a unique and satisfying texture, and if you are a fan of salty and sweet, you love the balance derived from a sprinkling of flake sea salt and sweetness of dark chocolate. You can find this recipe and many more in their cookbook The Perfect Cookie

Download Salted Peanut Butter–Oatmeal-Pretzel–Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe

1 ¼ cups (6 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 cup (3 ounces) quick oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 ¼ cups packed (8 3/4 ounces) light brown sugar

⅔ cup Skippy crunchy peanut butter

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

1 ½ ounces pretzel sticks, coarsely crushed (2/3 cup)

Flake sea salt

1. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add peanut butter, egg, and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.
2. Reduce speed to low and slowly add flour mixture; continue to mix until just combined. Add chocolate chips and pretzels and mix until just incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
3. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with 2 tablespoons chilled dough at a time, roll into 1 1/2-inch balls and space them evenly on prepared sheets, 12 per sheet. Press each ball to 3/4-inch thickness using bottom of greased dry measuring cup.

4. Bake until puffed and cracks just form on top, 11 to 13 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes. Sprinkle cookies with sea salt, then transfer to wire rack. Let cookies cool completely before serving.