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These salted pretzel peanut butter bourbon chocolate chip cookies are crunchy, chewy, and so flavorful! The bourbon adds just a kick of flavor, without being too dominant. A fun option for Father’s Day or cookie swaps!
Peanut Butter Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies
It’s no secret I love baking with bourbon! I’ve made everything from bourbon brownies to bourbon peach crisp to bourbon pumpkin pie! But up until now, I’ve never combined bourbon and peanut butter…
Which is crazy because they make such a delicious combination! And I’ll definitely be making more recipes with this flavor combo in the future. Aka making up for lost time!
But for now, let’s focus on these crazy delicious bourbon peanut butter cookies! They’re definitely a maximalists dream come true because they’re loaded with chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, 3 shots of bourbon, a pinch of cinnamon, peanut butter, mini pretzels, and flaky sea salt! So yeah, if you’re a “more is more” kind of person, you’ll love these cookies!
Can I leave out the Bourbon?
Please don’t! I understand not everyone drinks, but that’s why I have TONS of other peanut butter cookie recipes for you in my recipe archives. This recipe was developed to include bourbon, so leaving it out will alter the taste and texture. May I suggest you browse my other peanut butter cookie recipes? A few great options would be my bakery-style peanut butter chocolate chip cookies or my soft-batch peanut butter chocolate chip cookies! Just add pretzel pieces on top before baking!
Best bourbon for Baking?
Honestly, use what you have on hand! And if you don’t have anything on hand, buy something you’d enjoy drinking or baking other recipes with. You can also buy those mini bottles they sell at the liquor store! They’re a great option if you don’t drink or use bourbon often and want just enough for this recipe. Personally, I use Bulleit bourbon because it’s what we have on our bar cart.
Do I have to chill the dough?
Yes, but only for 30 minutes! Or up to 48 hours. Chilling the dough is going to give you BIG thick bakery-style cookies, like the ones you see here in my photos. If you skip the chilling process, you’ll still have some delicious cookies on your hands, but they’ll spread A LOT in the oven.
Make them Extra Pretty…
As soon as your cookies come out of the oven, press some extra chocolate chips or chocolate chunks on top! You can even add more pretzel pieces if there’s room on the cookies. And of course, sprinkle them with flaky sea salt!!! These little additions give the cookies extra pizzazz and make them look like they came from a fancy bakery!
Pro tip: If you chill longer then 2 hours, allow your dough to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before scooping.
More Peanut Butter Recipes:
- Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cheesecake
- Creamy Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
- Easy Peanut Butter Fudge
- Thick and Chewy White Chocolate Peanut Butter Blondies
- Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles
Salted Pretzel Peanut Butter Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour (360 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter (269 grams)
- 1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (199 grams) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (142g) light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 and 1/2 Tablespoons bourbon or whiskey
- 1 and 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus extra for decorating
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped into chunks
- 1 cup mini hard pretzel twists, roughly chopped
- Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat the peanut butter and butter until smooth.
- Gradually add in both sugars, one at a time, and beat until well combined, about 2 minutes.
- On low speed, add in the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla and bourbon.
- Gradually add in the dry ingredients, beating on low speed until just combined. Turn the mixer off.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips and chocolate chunks.
- Using a large cookie scoop, scoop out 1/4 cup portions of the cookie dough and roll it into balls. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 2-inches between each cookie for spreading.
- Gently press pretzels pieces down on top of each cookie ball, slightly flattening the ball. This will help them spread evenly in the oven.
- Bake, one tray at a time, for 14 to 16 minutes, or until golden brown and set. Repeat with all cookie dough.
- When the cookies come out of the oven, press a few extra chocolate chips and/or chocolate chunks on top while they're still warm, and sprinkle with sea salt, if desired. Serve warm or cooled!
Video
Notes
- If you're not using a digital scale to weigh your ingredients, you may want to reduce the flour to 2 and 1/2 cups. Fluff up your flour first, then gently spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife. But for best results, weigh your ingredients.
- Do not use natural peanut butter for this recipe. I recommend a regular creamy peanut butter like JIF or Skippy.
- I have not tested this recipe with crunchy peanut butter and do not know how it will work.
Would these work leaving the peanut butter out? I’d love to try these but my son has a peanut allergy.
So delicious! Made these for Father’s Day and they were a HIT! Flavor of the bourbon really came through which surprised me. My family is already requesting another batch. I refrigerated my dough overnight and it baked perfectly fluffy and delicious
So happy you enjoyed these, Lydia!
Are these better a day or two later because the liquor has a chance to develop?
This looks amazing! Going to try. One question, has anyone use Honey Whiskey? or should I stick with plain. We dont drink much so i cant see buying a whole bottle, but I will if you suggest!
Took these to a cookie exchange and they were the hit of the party. The salty pretzel paired with the sweet chocolate and warm bourbon flavors were perfect. Will be making again today for the family! Perfection.
These are absolute perfection! Crunchy, chewy, salty, sweet, and delicious. I baked them for 14 minutes and sprinkled with flaky salt at the end. I am so confused about all these negative reviews. If you follow the directions they will turn out perfect. Thank you!
Delicious! They make a large batch which I enjoy to share with family snd friends! Love the sweet and salt combo! I wonder what a little caramel drizzled over would taste like! Lol.
Hey! I just made this cookie dough and realized at the end you say to not use natural peanut butter. I was wondering what this will do to the cookies? I make my own peanut butter and used it before seeing the note. Thanks so much. ❤️
Hello,
I’ve accidentally made PB cookies with natural PB before and it was definitely a mistake! It’s too oily and causes the cookie to spread a ton. It’s also very difficult to even scoop and batch out on the pan to bake bc the dough is so tacky.
I really wanted to love these cookies but I found them a little bland. I noticed that the recipe calls for unsalted butter yet no salt is in the recipe and I think it is needed. Also for the amount of dough I think it could use a little more chocolate chunks or perhaps some mini peanut butter cups added in. If I made this again I would also mix the crushed pretzel pieces right into the dough. The bake up beautifully and look impressive.
Sorry you found these bland, Sam! The recipe does call for salt, twice. Once in the dry ingredients and then again sprinkled on top of the cookies. I also didn’t put too much chocolate in the actual cookies because I recommend pressing extra on top for a pretty look, but you could definitely add up to a 1/2 cup more. Peanut butter chips may also be a nice addition, if you do try them again.
These were fantastic! Easy to make, so yummy big hit with my family.
I love them so much Im making them again today 🙂
So happy you enjoyed them, Maggie!