Valentine's Peanut M&M and Pretzel Cookies

Continuing on with our Valentine's theme, here is a recipe for a sweet and salty cookie that will be sure to tickle the fancy of your valentine this year. I simply changed some ingredients in my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe to end up with this, but it could not be better! I'm such a sucker for crunchy, salty, peanut flavored and chocolate. I've been known to cover pretzels with chocolate and sprinkle them with peanuts for a snack so it kind of amazes me that it took me this long to come up with these cookies.

These are an all butter cookie so watch them carefully or they might get a little too brown. Take them out and leave them on the cookie sheets for a couple of minutes before moving them and they will continue to cook but not brown. Soft and chewy, crunchy and salty these cookies have everything you want and more!

Valentine's Peanut M&M and Pretzel Cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups peanut M&M's
• 1 cup tiny pretzel twists

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, beat together the butter, sugars and egg until light and fluffy. Stir in the flour, baking soda and vanilla. Add the peanut m&m's and pretzels to the bowl and beat for 1 minute on medium speed to break up the pretzels and m&m's a bit. Drop by tablespoon on a cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes or until the edges are brown and the middles are set. Let cool on the cookie sheet and then remove. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen

Served up with a tall cold glass of milk these cookies are amazing. The pretzels stay crunchy and the chocolate from the m&m's melts slightly....yum! They take on a slight peanut butter flavor from the peanuts in the m&m's that is perfectly complimented by the salt from the pretzels.

What else can I say? These were really, really good. Really.

This recipe has been linked up to Little House Livings Old Fashioned Recipe Exchange