I make cookies at least once a week and No bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies are still one of the crowd favorites! Who can resist peanut butter cookies that are loaded with chocolate? But, it gets even better with thanks to the salty sweet combination from the pretzels! I’m going to warn you right now, these cookies are ADDICTING! But so worth every bite!
There are two major reasons No Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies are so darn dangerous!
- I bet you already have all the ingredient in the pantry which means you can make them at a moments notice!
- The take about 15 minutes to make, from beginning to end! That means 15 minutes after the peanut butter chocolate cravings hit you’ll be chowing down on these cookies!
Peanut Butter Pretzel No Bake Cookies are perfect for sharing!
My boys had their piano festival and recital last weekend! Sometimes I wonder why I keep pushing music lessons. Wrangling these boys into practicing the piano is about like herding cats. Then I remember it’s one of those skills they will use their entire lives, and they have a super uplifting teacher which is exactly what they need after putting up with me all week!
She asked me to bring cookies the recital and right away I knew I’d make No Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies! They’re always gone in a flash, and people always come back for seconds because they’re just too hard to walk away from!
How to easily crush pretzels
You don’t want the pretzels to be crumbs here, big chunks are perfect. Obviously pretzels can be added to a food processor and broken up, but I don’t really like doing dishes so I don’t go to the trouble.
Add pretzels to a heavy duty sealable bag and whack a few times with a rolling pin until they are in chunks.
Measure rice crispy cereal and chopped pretzels. These 8 cup measuring cups {amazon affiliate link} work great for measuring ingredients like this. If you don’t have an huge meausuring cup like this, it’s worth the investment! I use mine ALL the time!
Don’t cook this mixture too long!
Add sugar, light corn syrup, and peanut butter to a large pan.
Heat peanut butter mixture until smooth. It doesn’t need to boil, or even cook for a certain amount of time. Just until it’s mixed together and smooth. If you overcook it, the cookies will be hard! No one wants to chip a tooth on your cookies!
Once it’s smooth, remove it from heat and add vanilla and salt.
Quickly add dry ingredients
Add measured cereal and pretzels to peanut butter mixture.
Gently fold until cereal and pretzels are coated.
Wait for a minute before adding chocolate!
My friends, this is the hardest, and most time-consuming, part of making these cookies. No worries though, if you’ve got five minutes you’ve got this!
Wait for a few minutes, 3-5 minutes is perfect. Wait long enough to let the cookies cool a bit so they don’t completely melt the chocolate chips. Don’t wait too long or the cookies will be already set up and firm.
Add chocolate chips. Stir as gently as possible so the chips don’t get all melted together, which won’t taste bad, it’s just not as pretty.
Drop Cookies onto parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with a little extra sea salt to drive home that salty sweet flavor!
Let cool. They will set as they finish cooling.
Here’s the printable No Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies
I’ve made these cookies hundreds of times and every time I do they vanish immediately! I’m not kidding, they are super irresistible. I have to make them when I know I’m going to be able to share them with other people or I’ll eat them all! They are as dangerous as a bag of Flipz!
You know what else is dangerous about them? I can litereally make these from start to finish in about 10-15 minutes! I’m in trouble! Come on and be in trouble with me! Gather some friends to share with! You won’t regret it!
No Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies
Print Pin RateIngredients
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1 1/4 c. peanut butter
- 1 c. sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- dash sea salt
- 3 c. rice crispy cereal
- 1 c. roughly crushed pretzels
- 1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
- dash of sea salt for tops
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Measure cereal and pretzels into a large measuring cup or a bowl.
- Add peanut butter, sugar and corn syrup to a large pan. I used a 5 quart pan. Cook over medium heat until smooth and creamy, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat. Add vanilla and a dash of seas salt. Stir.
- Add cereal and pretzels. Toss until coated.
- Let cereal mixture sit for 3-5 minutes until it has cooled a little. It needs to be cooled enough that the chocolate chips don't get completely melted (a little is okay) but you want to move to the next step before the cookies are completely set up too. It's a little tricky!
- Add chocolate chips and quickly toss to incorporate.
- Scoop cookies onto lined baking sheet.
- Let sit until cool and firm.
You had at no bake. You stole me at peanut butter.
Ha! We could be really good friends!
These cookies have all of my favorite ingredients. I wish I could have one right now!
Thanks! They are easy enough you could have one in just a few minutes if you had all the ingredients on hand!
These look easy and delicious! I can’t wait to make these!
I love a few super easy recipes for the holidays, well really any day!
I like to balance out the traditional cookies that are more time consuming with a few easy ones, so this is perfect! Love the flavor combo too!
Me too! I have to have a least a few easy ones for those super busy days!
Sweet and salty is the best! I love the idea!
Sweet and salty is the death of me!
Love sweet and salty. How do you store them ? Do they need to stay refrigerated? Thanks for this easy recipe.
I’m a complete sweet and salty addict! I store them at room temperature in an air tight container. They don’t usually last very long so I’m not exactly sure how long they keep. I’m guessing a few days. Happy Holidays!
Can these be frozen
I haven’t ever had them last long enough to get the chance to freeze them because I live with a house full of boys!
Hello, how many will this make?
It depends on how big of a cookie scoop you use. I use a two tablespoon scoop and get about 24-30 cookies.
How do you not give any exact measurements??
There are exact amounts in the box with the printable recipe on the second page. At the end of the page there is a box that reads “click here for recipe”. If you click on that box it should take you to the printable recipe! Sorry for the confusion. Let me know if you can’t find it!
OMG! I just made these for our family’s Christmas Eve gathering. I just had to taste one and they are SERIOUSLY delicious. I can’t even begin to tell you how good these are. Its a must try!
Yay! Thay are one of my favorites! Have fun at your family party! Merry Christmas!
You were right; timing is everything. Mine turned out chocolate through and through but still tasted great!
Haha! That chocolate will melt in a hurry if you don’t have time to wait for the cookie mixture to cool down just a little bit. But then again, having chocolate through and through never hurt anything and actually sounds pretty tasty! Have a great day!
Great recipe! First candy of the Christmas season. Love the PB and chocolate 🙂
Thanks! Bring on all the holiday baking and no baking! Merry Christmas!
I just made these today and they turned out great! I let them cool for 5-7 minutes but the chocolate chips still melted, which wasn’t a problem at all. I used a tablespoon cookie scoop and it made 42 cookies. Thanks for sharing!
Getting them mixed without the chocolate melting is the trickiest part of making these. And I’m with you, melted chocolate never hurt anything! I find I get the best results if I don’t over mix after I add the chocolate chips! So yummy though!
looks good, where can I find the recipe? thanks mary
At the bottom of the post there is a grey box that says Click Here For the Recipe. It should take you to a printable recipe. If it doens’t work let me know and I’ll be sure to get it to you!
Could you make these using Rice Chex cereal for those gluten free folks?
Yes! That’s a great idea! You could really substitute any add ins as long as they add up to the same amount of add ins listed in the recipe. Does that make sense?
I made these today. Super easy & SO GOOD! They didn’t last. Thanks!
I LOVE how easy they are to make and I think I’m even more in love with the salty sweet! Glad you enjoyed them as much as I do!
Hi there! Could you replace the corn syrup with brown rice syrup?
Hi Lil! I’ve never used brown rice syrup before so I can’t really give you advice on that. Sorry!
These are some of the best cookies I’ve ever had! Super easy to make… I didn’t even wait to stir in the chocolate, and they were still so tasty! My husband isn’t usually a fan of no-bakes, but the sweet & salty get us every time! Thank you for this unique and delicious recipe!
Hi Emily! These are some of muy favorite cookies too! I’m madly in love with salty sweet combos and cookies don’t get any easier than this! So glad you enjoyed them!
I’m going to make these, but will press them into a pan to make bars. I lost a lot of flexibility and strength in my dominant arm four years ago, so have to compensate any way I can, and bars will help a lot.
These do sound delicious, and I’m looking forward to sharing them with my beloved extended family 🙂
Your family is going to go crazy over them! Making them into bars is such a time saver, and deifinitely easier! Enjoy!
I see the steps but no measurements for each ingredients. Would you share them with me PLEASE.
Hi Janice! If you scroll all the way to the bottom of the post you will see a grey box that says something like “click here for the recipe” if you click that box it should take you directly to a printable of the recipe! If it doesn’t work for you let me know and I’ll be sure to get it to you!
This is the BEST and easiest recipe !! So addictive too! We are peanut butter lovers. Thanks!
YES! I’m so glad you love them! That salty-sweet combination gets the best of me every time! I can’t leave it alone!
Is there a substitute for corn syrup?
I’ve never tried making these cookies without the corn syrup. I know people have used honey instead. I’d use the same amount of honey as you corn syrup, so one cup of honey for this recipe. I can’t guarantee results with this substitution but I would love to know who it goes for you. Let me know if you try it!
I enjoyed this twist. I bake every week for the Ohio legislature as my husband is a leader. theynloved them!
I bet the people in the legislature love you! These cookies are so easy, and that sweet and salty combo is always addicting! Glad everyone enjoyed them!
Can’t wait to share them with my grandkids!
They’re going to love them! My kids go crazy for these cookies!