Cowboy Cookies

I stumbled upon this recipe for cowboy cookies via stumble upon months ago and have been dying to try them ever since. I love anything that is both salty and sweet so the concept of putting pretzel bits into a cookie just sounded  brilliant to me. They turned out to be pretty darn  good, but not the best i've ever had. However in the recipe's defense, my mom and I both decided that they cannot be compared to my all-time favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe - from the infamous Neiman Marcus scandal (which I will post eventually) - because they are in totally different leagues. For one, this cookie has pretzels in it, which in my opinion makes it more of a day time snack-like cookie versus a more decadent dessert cookie (like the NM' s). They are chewy and chocolaty, and the pretzel adds a unique texture that is somewhat salty but not at all overpowering.  

This recipe is based off of one I got from a blog called My Baking Heart which was ultimately inspired by the book entitled Baked Explorations 

Ingredients 

1-3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 c rolled oats
14 tbsp (which means 2 sticks minus 2 tablespoons) of unsalted butter
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 c dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 lg egg
1 lg egg yolk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp espresso powder - also called instant espresso coffee (found in the instant coffee section NOT the baking section. make sure to ask for help before you completely give up. It can be found in your regular grocery store but don't bother looking at whole foods they don't have it.)
2 c semisweet chocolate chips (which is one regular sized bag)
3/4 c thin salty pretzels, broken into tiny pieces but not crushed into dust

1. Set the oven to 350. In a large bowl, blend the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. then add the eggs and beat until even lighter and fluffier.

2. beat in the vanilla until just combined. *remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl between each step

3. microwave 1/4 of a cup of water for about 35-40 seconds and stir in the espresso powder until it has completely dissolved.

4. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt). In a coffee grinder, blend 1 cup of the rolled oats. Then partially blend 1/4 of a cup and do not blend the remaining 1/4 cup of oats. This is not required but I personally am not wild about the texture that oats give a cookie (although I love the flavor) If you do blend the oats it gives the cookie a nice chewy texture which I personally enjoy. Add all of the dry ingredients together and stir until they are pretty well combined.

5. Starting with the dry ingredients (ALWAYS start and end with dry) rotate blending the wet espresso mixture and dry (about 2 or 3 times each). This way you have the most control over the consistency of the cookie and are less likely to get a clumpy or runny dough.

6. Add the chocolate chips and then add the pretzels. (If you aren't baking all of your cookies at once, I suggest you leave the pretzels out until it's time for baking so they stay fresh and crunchy. if you leave them in the dough over night the pretzels tend to soften)

7. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

8. Roll about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoon sized balls of dough and slightly flatten them so they look like fat disks. Leave about 3 inches of space between each cookie. Bake for 12 minutes (11-13) or until golden brown.