1 cup softened butter (2 sticks, 1/2 lb)*
2 cups sugar
3 tbs molasses
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2 beaten eggs
2 cups crushed salted thin pretzel sticks (measure AFTER crushing)**
2 1/2 cups (packed) flour
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

*THE BUTTER SHOULD BE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

**IF YOU CAN’T FIND THIN PRETZEL STICKS, YOU CAN USE MINI REGULAR PRETZELS. JUST MAKE SURE THAT ANY PRETZELS YOU USE ARE SALTED.

preheat the oven to 350° with the rack in the middle position.

mix the softened butter with the sugar and the molasses. beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, and the molasses is completely mixed in.

add the vanilla and baking soda. mix them in well.

break the eggs into a glass and whip them up with a fork. add them to your bowl and mix until they’re thoroughly incorporated.

put the pretzels  in a ziplock plastic bag. seal it carefully and place it on a flat surface. get out your rolling pin and run it over the bag, crushing the pretzels inside. do this until there are no large pieces and the largest is 1/4″ long.

measure out two cups of crushed pretzels and mix them into the dough in your bowl.

add one cup of flour and mix it in. then add the second cup and mix thoroughly. add the final cup of flour and mix that in.

measure out 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips and add them to your cookie dough. if you’re using an electric mixer, mix them in at the slowest speed. or, if you prefer, you can mix them in by hand.

drop by rounded teaspoons onto greased (or sprayed) cookie sheets. you can also line your cookie sheets with parchment paper, if you prefer. place 12 cookies on each standard sized cookie sheet.

bake the cookies at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until nicely browned.

let the cookies cool for 2 minutes and then remove them from the baking sheets. transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Makes approx 5 dozen cookies