walker's mom found extra butter for us so i didn't feel as bad about using almost 3 sticks on one recipe that makes 16 cookies. oh wait, no, i still feel bad.
recipe
unfortunately behind the
nyt paywall
but it's easy enough to skirt. it's basically a normal shortbread recipe
plus some toasted pretzel crumbs (i used pretzel goldfish because they
were cheaper) and brushed with baking soda solution before baking. i used
salted butter so i skipped the flaky salt on top but i think they need it.
the baking soda solution helped the browning a bit but you can see the
tops of mine are uneven because the solution settled into the texture. i
think my pretzel crumbs weren't ground fine enough and made a slightly
craggly surface. use a baked baking soda solution (sodium carbonate) for
more intense pretzel flavor.
instead of cutting and rolling, i pressed the dough into a 9 inch metal
brownie pan. i scored them after freezing and before baking and cut them
while hot, which is what i saw recommended. i do not recommend this! i
found these to cut much more cleanly once fully cooled. use a sharp
knife.
i used toasted sugar in this
to amp up the toastiness and give it some caramel flavor. a+ choice.