Remember my pretzel m&m obsession? It actually started over the summer. You see, I’d been wanting to try them ever since I heard they were a real thing. But I figured trying, and inevitably falling in love with a new type of candy was probably a horrible decision. Then my friend Kara had some in her freezer (yes, they are delicious frozen), and I caved.
She lurred me in by telling me they had less calories than other varieties. That pretzel takes up all of this room, and has less calories than chocolate. Well, okay then…that makes it a healthy candy, right?
Ever since, I can’t get them out of my mind. Sweet chocolate, salty pretzel with a candy crunch? What’s not to love?? Well, obviously the only way to make them better is to put them into a cookie. A peanut butter cookie to be exact.
The first time I made these was for book club and although I liked them enough to bring them, they weren’t perfect yet. I knew I didn’t want to share them with you guys until I was 100% in love with them, so I tried again, and this time I added chocolate chips, took out a little flour, and didn’t chill the dough. I think the rice krispies soaked up too much liquid when I chilled it the first go around, and they lost their crunch.
I am SO glad I gave them a second try! They ended up with the most perfect cookie texture–you know, crunchy on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside. The extra chocolate worked like a charm, and the cereal was crunchy, and added that little bit of extra texture I was craving. They were a huge hit, and Steve even said he had a new favorite cookie! 
Pretzel M&M Peanut Butter Cookies
yield 1 1/2 dozen
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 4 oz light cream cheese
- 1 cup peanut butter (I used White Chocolate Wonderful)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup crispy brown rice cereal (or just regular rice krispies if you have them on hand)
- 1 cup pretzel m&ms
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 large cookie sheets with silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a large bowl (I used my stand mixer), beat together cream cheese, peanut butter, and sugars until combined. Beat in egg and vanilla followed by flour mixture. Gently, fold in rice cereal, m&ms and chocolate chips. I ended up just using my hands to get everything combined.
- Roll dough into balls just over 1″ and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bake until edges are golden and cookies are just set, about 12-15 minutes. Do not over bake.
- Let stand for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store completely cooled cookies in a tupperware with the lid sitting on top, but not sealed–these will get mushy if they are in a completely airtight container–for up to one week.
Love all the good stuff in these, especially the pretzels!
Thanks Rachel–I love anything with the sweet and salty combination!
Looks INSANE– My daughter would LOVE LOVE LOVE
Thanks Laura! They are definitely kid friendly, especially with all the bright colors!
The fact theyre the best you’ve ever made speaks volumes – saw that on tasteologie! Love the M & Ms, too!
Thanks Averie!! I know, when you bake as much as we do, words like “best” don’t come around very often (well, I think my husband just tends to love whatever’s in front of him, because he’s said this about 3 different cookies in the last two months!), but when it does, it’s like one of those happy baking moments where you want to do a little dance around the kitchen. Or at least I do
These cookies are a dream come true.
I’ve made them before with a different cookie base. I must try cream cheese!! PS: I love white chocolate wonderful!! Saw these on foodgawker this morning and KNEW they were yours Ari 
Happy Valentine’s Day my friend!
Happy Valentine’s Day to you too! I actually ran out of apple butter, and I had already set out to make the cookies, so I used cream cheese. It’s always been one of my favorite butter substitutes–it doesn’t save allllll that much, but it makes me feel a little better
Oh my goodness, these look beyond tasty! I love peanut butter and chocolate, and the addition of salty pretzels sounds so perfect! Thanks for sharing this recipe
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Thanks Hannah! I totally love how the pretzel being in the m&m keeps it extra crunchy too, and it doesn’t get absorb all the liquid from the dough, ya know? Those m&m people are life savers!
I really need some of these in my life…..
What can I use instead of cream cheese for a substitue. I’d like a non dairy option. I saw your comment about apple butter. Is that an option?
Totally! You may need to add a bit more flour–check the texture, and make sure the dough isn’t too sticky. I probably would have used it, but the pretzel m&ms have dairy in them, so I just went with the cream cheese. Let me know how you like it with apple butter instead!
Congrats on making this on dailybuzz top 9! Whoohoo…and they loook sooo yummy!
Thanks Tiffany!
These sound amazing – yum! Love the addition of cream cheese; need to try it.
I LOVE cream cheese as a butter replacement! So creamy, and the texture comes out perfect!
Sounds wonderful. Wish I had one of your cookies.
Thanks Heidi!
Making these right now & cant wait
Just a question, are you supposed to kinda smush the balls down before baking? Mine dont seem to be flattening out at all? Also in the directions you never said when to add in the flour mixture 
Thanks for the great recipe!!!
Thanks Nichole, I updated it–right after the egg and vanilla. I flattened my first batch slightly, then didn’t flatten the second. I liked the second batch better. I found that mine fell a little after cooling, so while they were both large and puffy, the second batch was just a litttttle better. However, if you haven’t cooked with low-fat ingredients and whole wheat flour, I find they spread less in general, so you may wish to flatten a little. I hope you enjoyed them!!