Recipe: Charlie Brown Thanksgiving-Inspired Cookies

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This is less recipe and just fun. Way too much sugar, I-can't-believe-I'm-eating-this. Cooking fun with the kids. As you introduce and share the time-honored holiday TV special tradition, get a little messy and bring the flavors of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving into your home :)

Ingredients

Basic Cookie Dough

Adapted from:

Chopped Chocolate Chip Cookies with Brown Butter

BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts *Amazon affiliate link*

By Stella Parks

https://www.seriouseats.com/bravetart-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe

BraveTart has been my baking bible. And it should be yours too. For ingredients and directions, follow the Serious Eats link above with the following adaptations:

• no chocolate

• 2 1/4 stick unsalted butter -> brown butter

keep the toasty brown bits (buttered toast was part of the Thanksgiving meal after all)

wait until the brown butter has cooled and then combine with the white sugar, brown sugar, etc.

Learn more about making brown butter here

• If using a cup to measure flour, first fluff flour with fork, spoon flour into cup, and level off

• 2 eggs

Pretzel Topping/Mix-In

Inspired by:

Pretzel Pie Crust

By David Lebovitz

https://www.davidlebovitz.com/pretzel-pie-crust-recipe/

• 1 1/4 cups pretzel crumbs

• 3 tablespoons white sugar

• 8 tablespoons coconut oil *Amazon affiliate link*

• Simple syrup (2 tablespoons white sugar + 1 tablespoon hot water)

I used the rolling pin + ziploc bag method for the pretzel crumbs. Mix the pretzel crumbs and sugar. Then stir in the coconut oil. I let the oil absorb a bit; about  an hour or so and then stirred in the simple syrup. Let sit overnight in the refrigerator. I had hoped to get a more uniform consistency but it didn’t happen. In the future, I might use a food processor instead for the pretzel crumbs. No white sugar and increase the amount of simple syrup to 4 tablespoons white sugar + 2 tablespoons hot water.

Glaze/Frosting

Adapted from:

French Cruller Donuts

Meals by Molly

https://mealsbymolly.com/french-cruller-donuts/

Just adding popcorn to the cookie felt kinda dry. I thought a glaze could help with that. And there were already so many various forms of sugar going on in this cookie so I adapted (during which, the glaze sorta became a frosting):

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted & cooled

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

• 5 tablespoons cream

• Pinch of salt

I mixed the butter and cream first, then added the powdered sugar and salt.

Fruit Jellies

I felt that the pretzels already had enough crunch and figured jellies would work better than jelly beans in the cookie. Also, who doesn't love a stuffed cookie? I used Trader Joe’s Fruit Jellies Candy but in the future I would try Sunkist’s Fruit Gems *Amazon affiliate link*. I think the fruit gems have more of the classic jelly bean flavors.

I decided to flatten the jellies before adding to the cookie (put jelly in between two sheets of wax paper and flatten with object of your choice - I used a metal container lid). I hoped that it might lead to more bites with jelly in it but alas, while baking they puffed up. This created a raised part of the cookie. All well, nothing a little glaze/frosting can't cover up.

Microwave Popcorn, Kettle Corn *Amazon affiliate link*

Directions

1 tablespoon cookie dough for small cookies

2 tablespoons cookie dough for large cookies

These are directions for the small cookies, double measurements and bake 15 minutes for large cookies

Your choice - to make make ahead and refrigerate or not. Here’s an interesting article on the effect of chilling cookie dough. Given the different components, I found it easiest to make ahead the brown butter, pretzel topping, and glaze first. Later reheat the brown butter and make the cookie dough. Then you’re ready to assemble and bake!

1. Oven rack in middle position, preheat oven to 350︒

2. Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough, separate into two pieces

For Pretzel Topping

3. Layer - dough, jelly, dough

4. Mold the dough around the jelly into ball, making sure the jelly is completely covered

5. Top with 1 teaspoon pretzel topping/mix-in

Or for Pretzel Mix-In

3. Fold in 1 teaspoon of pretzel topping/mix-in into one of the dough pieces

4. Layer - dough, jelly, dough with pretzel topping/mix-in

5. Mold the dough around the jelly into ball, making sure the jelly is completely covered

6. Line baking sheet with parchment paper

7. Place dough 2 inches apart

8. Bake 12 minutes (adjust time according to your oven and cookie doneness preference)

9. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes and then move to final cooling spot for 10+ minutes, until they are no longer warm to touch

10. Reheat or make glaze and microwave popcorn according to directions and glaze and top cookies to your liking (here’s a good read on different ways to ice cookies, I did “dip, drip, flip”)

Storage

See the USDA food storage recommendations on cookies, here (homemade cookies can be stored at room temperature). And frosting, here (glaze/frostings with dairy must be refrigerated). If you don’t want cold cookies, then I recommend storing the cookies and glaze separately. Then reheat the glaze in the microwave as needed.  

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Adobe Firefly - image of dinner plate with popcorn, pretzel sticks, toast with butter on it, and jelly beans