Peanut Butter Caramel Pretzel Cups

Knowing that I had pretzels remaining as well as some leftover Halloween candy, I went looking for a recipe where I could use them. I have made many cookie cups for this blog and they are one of my favorite things to bake. When I came across this recipe, which is cookie dough, stuffed with a peanut butter cup, topped with caramel and a pretzel, I knew that I couldn’t go wrong.

Since these cookies bake in a regular-sized muffin tin, they do make big cookies. Thankfully, the recipe only makes a dozen, which is somehow better. I didn’t change anything from the recipe with the exception of the caramel- I used a prepared caramel sauce rather than making my own by melting down caramels. The prepared sauce is a lot easier, but it doesn’t firm up quite as much. Ultimately, these cups are on the messy side because of that.

Despite having several steps, this cookie is very easy to make. I liked not having to measure the dough between the muffin pans. I just guessed and had a little dough left, so I added a bit more to the smaller ones. The baking time is best calculated by when the edges of the cookies are golden. If they are slightly under baked it works out in the end as you press down the cookie with a peanut butter cup. These are said to mimic a Take 5 candy bar, and they are pretty close. Not nearly as close as the Take 5 candy that my dad makes, but very tasty!

Peanut Butter Caramel Pretzel Cups
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 peanut butter cups (snack size, not miniature)
12 mini pretzels
Caramel sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a standard muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla and stir to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, salt, and baking soda and stir until the dough comes together.

Divide the dough between the 12 indentations in the muffin pan.

Bake for about 14-16 minutes, until the edges of the cookie cups are golden.

Once the cookies come out of the oven, top each with a peanut butter cup, pressing the cup into the cookie until the cup is lower than the edge of the cookie. Place the muffin tin in the refrigerator and allow the chocolate to set.

Once the chocolate has set, remove the cookies from the pan and transfer to a wire rack. Spoon a small amount of caramel on top of each cookie, and then press a pretzel into the caramel. Allow the caramel to set before serving.

Recipe from Lovely Little Kitchen