Did anyone else grow up eating Jello Pretzel Salad at Thanksgiving and at family parties? You know the dish with a pretzel crust, a cream cheese/Cool Whip filling and topped with raspberry Jello with fresh raspberries in it? I definitely did and as a kid it was one of my favorite parts about Thanksgiving but as I have gotten older I have started to really dislike Jello. In fact, I think its pretty disgusting now. So now at Thanksgiving and really, any chance I get, I make a Strawberry Pretzel Crack Salad instead (I will share that recipe soon). Which is basically an elevated version with no Jello in it.
The other day I got the idea to turn this classic dish into a cookie. I decided to start with a classic chocolate chip cookie base but instead of chocolate chips, I added lots of crushed pretzels, chopped pecans and about a cup of frozen raspberries. The cookie dough tasted incredible so I was hopeful! The cookies baked perfectly and so I moved onto the frosting. I wanted to stay true to the classic dish and use a Cool Whip based frosting. Now if you know me, you know I typically refuse to use Cool Whip and 9 times out of 10 will make homemade whipped cream instead. This time I made an exception, and I’m glad I did because it turned out just how I wanted it! I used a combination of Cool Whip, cream cheese, powdered sugar and some raspberry jam.
My idea turned out better than I could have even imagined and I might have a new favorite cookie recipe now. I LOVE these cookies. Because of the Cool Whip, they need to be stored in the fridge and honestly they taste the best cold which makes them a perfect summertime treat and gives warm chocolate chip cookies a run for their money on a hot summer day. I hope you try them and love them as much as I do!
Tips & Tricks:
- Make sure you measure your chopped pretzels AFTER they are chopped and not before. If you measure 2 cups before chopping them, you won’t be using enough. I typically will get 2 cups chopped pretzels out of 3 cups of whole pretzels.
- It’s important that you use frozen raspberries inside of the cookies and not fresh, if you use fresh, they will bleed too much and result in a soggy cookie.
- I made my cookie dough the day before I baked them, and left the cookie dough balls in the fridge overnight. You can totally do this is you prefer!
Raspberry Pretzel “Crack” Cookies
Description
A twist on the classic Raspberry Jello Pretzel Salad we all grew up on but in cookie form. A brown sugar cookie base loaded with chopped pretzels, pecans and raspberries and frosted with a homemade raspberry whipped cream frosting. Served cold for the perfect summertime dessert.
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 sticks salted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups chopped pretzels
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup frozen raspberries
For the Raspberry Whipped Cream Frosting:
- 8 oz container Cool Whip Extra Creamy
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup raspberry jam
- Fresh raspberries to top with
Instructions
For the cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium sized bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine.
- In a large bowl or stand mixing bowl add butter and sugars. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes until smooth.
- Add eggs and vanilla and beat on medium speed for another 3 minutes.
- Add flour mixture a little bit at a time and mix on medium/low speed until just barely mixed and no flour streaks remain.
- Add chopped pretzels and pecans. Mix until just barely combined.
- Add raspberries and mix for 10-15 seconds until raspberries are dispersed throughout the dough but don’t over mix or else the raspberries will fall apart.
- Scoop dough into 3 oz sized cookie dough balls or 1/4 cup sized balls.
- Chill dough for 1 hour in the refrigerator or 20 minutes in the freezer.
- Bake for 11-14 minutes or until edges are slightly golden brown and the centers look set.
- Remove and let cool completely while you make the frosting.
For the frosting:
- In a medium sized bowl cream together cream cheese and powdered sugar for 2-3 minutes until smooth.
- Fold in Cool Whip until smooth.
- Stir in raspberry jam.
Assembly:
- Put frosting into a piping bag or gallon size Ziploc bag and cut off the bottom (or the corner) so that it has a nickel sized opening.
- Frost the cookies with the frosting and serve immediately or store in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Cookies should be stored in the fridge and are delicious cold or at room temperature.
Leave a Reply