What to Do with Stale Pretzels

Are you a sweet and salty personality type? Or, do you just enjoy the recent snack craze that doesn’t make you choose between a sweet tooth craving and a salty desire? If so, this cookie is for you. What we like about it is that it can clear the counter of some large snack bags that have been sitting there long past both the party and/or their best before date. It’s a shame to throw out the half eaten bag, but they have begun to taste stale and therefore just don’t satisfy any craving.

This bag is actually best before September of 2019, but it was opened long before the Super Bowl and is still sitting around (because you know we just don’t have the heart to throw useful food away). This jumbo size bag isn’t going anywhere because it tastes very stale after being opened for so long.

What to do with Stale Pretzels

Enter that sweet and salty desire… and we decided to make some cookies! They were a hit so we made more cookies and then more cookies… nearly two pounds is a huge quantity of lightweight pretzels to get rid of!

What to Do with Stale Pretzels

Ingredients to Make Stale Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks unsalted Butter, softened (can be reduced if desired)
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Sugar (can be eliminated if desired)
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla (or seeds from a vanilla bean)

3 cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Sea Salt
2 cups Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup shaved or chopped Dark Chocolate
2 cups Stale Pretzels – crushed (but not pulverized)

What to Do with Stale Pretzels

Recipe for Stale Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

  1. Using a mixer, beat the butter on medium speed for about 2 minutes.

  2. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy.

  3. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat 2 more minutes.

  4. Combine the dry ingredients and then add them to the mixing bowl, mixing on low just until combined.

  5. Add the chocolates and pretzels and mix by hand until combined.

  6. Press the mixture into a rectangular pan, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight (or at least a few hours).
  7. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

  8. Carefully remove the rectangle onto a cutting board and slice the rectangle into squares and place them onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle each cookie with a few bits of coarsely ground sea salt.

  9. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. (Some like them chewy and some like them crispy, so adjust time to personal preference.)

What to do with Stale Pretzels

These stale pretzel cookies have a shelf life of at least a few days on the counter, but ours have never lasted more than one!

What to Do with Stale Pretzels

Additional Info

This recipe can also be followed to use up stale potato chips. Use ridged chips and substitute them for the pretzels. Be careful not to over mix or the chips will become pulverized and the cookies very dry.

Many stale products only need a touch of heat to regain their crunch and lose that stale taste. Pretzels are definitely one of the products in this category. Try different types of nuts and crackers too. Place them in a pre-heated oven (at about 325°-350°F) for about 3-5 minutes and they are quite often as good as new. Flat stale pretzels like these are enhanced even more with a little dark chocolate placed on top during the last minute of baking.

To find out how long cookies last, see our cookie page.

To find out how long chocolate lasts, see our chocolate page.

To find out how long pretzels and potato chips last, see our potato chip page.

To find out how long other foods are good for, please visit the Dairy, Drinks, Fruits, Grains, Proteins, Vegetables and Other sections of Eat By Date or use the search function below.

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