Keto Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've tried it, and I wouldn't recommend it. That small amount of coconut flour pulls its weight here, absorbing extra moisture and giving the cookies structure so they bake up thick instead of spreading flat. Without it, I ended up with fragile, greasy cookies that fell apart when I picked them up.

That's exactly what you want. I pull mine when the edges are just starting to turn golden, and they firm up as they cool. If you wait until they look fully done in the oven, they'll be dry and crumbly once they hit room temperature. I learned this the hard way with my first few batches of almond flour cookies.

Nope. I bake these straight from the bowl every time. The almond flour and coconut flour combo holds the dough together without chilling, and I've found the pretzels actually stay crunchier when they haven't been sitting in wet dough. If your kitchen is really warm and the butter is getting soft, 10 minutes in the fridge won't hurt, but I've never needed it.

I use Schoolyard Snacks classic twists. I've tested a few brands, and these hold their crunch the best once baked into the cookie. Some low-carb pretzels got soft and almost gummy in the oven, which defeats the whole purpose. Whatever brand you pick, snap one in half first. If it breaks clean with a good crunch, it'll work in these.

I use Swerve brown or Besti brown because they cream well with butter and give that slight molasses-like warmth. If you switch to a liquid sweetener like monk fruit drops, the dough will be wetter and you'll need to adjust. I'd stick with a granulated brown sugar substitute for the best texture in these.

The ones I use (Schoolyard Snacks) are made with wheat protein isolate and fiber, which is how they keep the carb count low while still having that real pretzel crunch and snap. I'll be honest, I didn't look at the ingredients until my son asked. They taste like regular pretzels to me, and he can't tell the difference either. Most low-carb pretzel brands use some version of wheat protein or a cheese-based dough. If you're gluten-free on top of keto, check the label first because most of them do contain wheat-derived ingredients.

I haven't tried brown butter in this exact recipe yet, but I've used it in my other keto cookies and it adds this nutty, almost toffee-like warmth that I think would pair really well with the pretzel salt. If you go that route, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until it turns golden and smells toasty, then let it cool to room temperature before creaming it with the sweetener. The cookies may spread a touch less and come out a bit crispier around the edges since browned butter has less moisture. I'm planning to try it on my next batch because that butterscotch-meets-pretzel-salt combo sounds worth testing.

I had this problem with my first couple of batches until I figured out two things. First, crush size matters. If you pulverize them into dust, they absorb moisture from the dough and disappear. I settled on roughly pea-sized pieces after testing six batches, big enough to hold their structure through the oven. Second, skip the chill time. I know most cookie recipes tell you to refrigerate the dough, but the pretzels stay noticeably crunchier when they go straight from the bowl to the oven instead of soaking in wet dough. If you're storing baked cookies, the pretzels will soften slightly after a day or two on the counter. I pop them back in the oven at 300 degrees for 3-4 minutes and the crunch comes right back.