churro-pretzel dulce de leche cookies

with browned butter & a dulce de leche frosting + accepting that i’m not perfect and never will be

need an extra hand in the kitchen? don’t worry, i’ve got you! see my baking buddies: the beginner version of this recipe for more in depth explanations and steps!

churro-pretzel dulce de leche cookies

sometimes, i find myself getting easily upset at myself because of how much i put on my plate and how slowly i eat my food. i take on too many tasks, too many projects, with the intention and excitement of doing well only to mess up and let myself down. i used to think it was a negative, and yeah, poor time management is a probably a negative, but i’m starting to understand that not being good at everything, and sometimes walking away from certain things in order to make space for new experiences, or to just give yourself time to regroup and try again is actually a positive thing to do in life. how boring would life be if no one messed up and had to try again? or… if no one quit one thing to do something even more fulfilling and extraordinary?

i recently took a big step back from my cafe job, and have given myself more time to focus and get back on track (ish) with school. even though i’ve fallen behind, i don’t want to give up. how boring and easy would that be? i would have nothing to be proud of. and although i’m losing money by basically cutting my hours down to zero at work, i’m gaining a lot of peace. i’m excited to lose my pre-work anxiety and my post-work agitation. i’m excited to go on walks in the middle of the day or in the evening again, and i’m even more excited to have time to work on things at gloria bakes. :-)

i made the decision to step back at work with no real game plan or career alternative in place. and, i also decided to open up paid subscriptions for my substack. i told myself i’d wait until i reached a certain number of subscribers, or that i’d put my recipe archives in a paywall, but i don’t feel comfortable doing that right now. so, if you’d like to support gloria bakes, and me, gloria, it’d mean a lot if you considered becoming a paid subscriber. it’s five buck-a-roos monthly (the lowest substack will allow) and it’s ONLY to support me if you want to. and if you want to remain a free subscriber, you won’t miss out on anything from my new beginner series or any of my recipes and ramblings i post here. nothing will change, so don’t worry. ❤️

now, onto the cookies!!! 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪

these churro-pretzel cookies are so frickin chewy and delicious and are packed with gobs of dulce de leche, and topped with a super easy dulce de leche frosting, but it’s totally optional. the browned butter is always a must, and just adds so much complexity to cookies, especially ones with brown sugar notes.

for this recipe, i used a #24 scoop twice to make 1 cookie, and used a #40 scoop to portion out the dulce de leche. in total, one cookie was about 6 tablespoons, with the dulce de leche in the middle. because of this, my cookies ended up being larger than normal, but you can use whatever measuring scoops you want or eye ball it when you portion and stuff your cookies.

i hope you guys enjoy this recipe! if you make it, please share a picture, i love to see them!

also, there’s a beginner version of this recipe if you need some additional guidance, or if you want a more in depth method. :-)

churro-pretzel dulce de leche cookies

for the cookies

• 340 g unbleached all purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 226 g (2 sticks) butter, browned to stage d

• 100 g granulated sugar

• 165 g brown sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 tbsp malted milk powder

• 1 can dulce de leche, divided (you’ll have some leftover)

• 30 g crushed pretzels

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• flaky sea salt for garnishing — optional

for the cinnamon sugar

• 60 g granulated sugar

• 5 g cinnamon

for the frosting

• 60 g dulce de leche

• 165 g powdered sugar

• 1/2 - 1 tsp milk

1. preheat oven to 350F. line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. in a medium saucepan, brown the butter until you reach stage d. then, let cool slightly in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.

3. on a plate or small baking sheet, portion out dollops of dulce de leche for the amount of cookies you’ll be making, making sure the dollops are an appropriate size. don’t use the whole can, we’ll need some for later! cover with plastic wrap and set in the freezer while we make the dough.

4. combine the cinnamon and sugar for the cinnamon sugar mix in a small bowl and set aside.

5. in a large bowl, combine both sugars, vanilla, and salt.

6. add browned butter into the bowl with both sugars and mix well until fully combined. then, stir in vanilla, salt and cinnamon.

7. add in eggs one at a time to the sugar and butter mix, mixing after each addition.

8. fold in flour, baking soda, and crushed pretzels. be careful not to over-mix!

9. portion your cookies into balls, flattening slightly, then place one of the slightly firm dulce de leche mounds inside, covering with more cookie dough.

10. before baking, roll the stuffed cookie dough balls in the cinnamon sugar, then place on a plate or sheet pan and allow to chill in the freezer for 10 minutes.

11. bake cookies for 10-12 minutes or until the edges have slightly browned and the cookie has set slightly around the edges.

12. allow to cool COMPLETELY on baking sheet before serving.

13. to make the frosting, in a medium bowl, combine all ingredients for the frosting and mix well. spread on top of cooled cookies and garnish with flaky salt and pretzels (optional).