First Post: Salted Caramel Butterscotch White Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cookies

Hello All!

Happy Sunday...(At least today is my first weekend on summer break. Yippee!!! No school tomorrow!)

After a day at Costco, I wanted to bring my grandparents a treat. When your grandparents are 95 and 91, it is really hard to come up with a nice gift for them, but, everyone likes food... right? I know my grandparents sure do! I wanted to make an easy recipe that could be thrown together without much trouble. I had cookies on my mind and in the pantry saw too many cake mixes! I don't know about all of you, but do you ever feel like your pantries are too stocked? Is there such a thing in the baking world? Probably not.

I have never made Duncan Hines Caramel Cake Mix before. Frankly, I would rather make a caramel cake from scratch. I remember buying this mix from Woodman's several months ago. What was I thinking? If it weren't for these cookies, the box probably would have gone to waste. I also had a lot Jell-O pudding mixes on hand. When digging I noticed one was about to expire. Crapolla! That was going to get thrown into the batter too.

After baking these cookies, I noticed that they are extremely versatile. Basically, you can use whatever cake mix or pudding mix flavor you desire! For mix-ins (which are optional), you can use whatever you have laying around. Be creative! There are soooo many additions that can add some pizzazz.

But, enough of my ramblings!

Below is my concocted recipe for Cake Mix Pudding Cookies (with my variations).

Salted Caramel Butterscotch White Chocolate Chip Pretezel Cookies

Ingredients:
1 Box Anything Flavor Cake Mix (I used Duncan Hines Caramel Cake Mix)
1 Package (3.4 ounce) Jell-O Pudding Powder (I used butterscotch)
2 Large Eggs
3 1/2 TBSP Water
1 Stick Butter (Softened)
1  Cup Crushed Pretzels
1/2 Cup White Chocolate Chips
A pinch or two of sea salt

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.) Empty the cake mix contents into a large bowl.
3.) Add the pudding powder into the bowl.
4.) Add the two eggs into the same bowl.
5.) In a microwave, soften the stick of butter. Then, add the butter to the bowl.
6.) Add in the 3 1/2 TBSP water to the bowl.
7.) Mix the contents of the bowl until they are thoroughly incorporated.
8.) Now you can add any extra mix-ins. Be creative! I measured my mix-ins mostly by eye, but I wouldn't do more than 1 1/2 cups of anything.
9.) Line a cookie sheet with foil. (I always spray the foil with baking spray too.)
10.) Using a spoon, scoop the batter and make small balls. About an inch in diameter.
11.) Place the balls onto the sheet. Make sure there is enough space between all of the cookies. They will spread a little during baking.
12.) Bake for about 12-15 minutes. My oven seems to take a little longer than most. Just keep an eye on them. It is normal for them to be a little bit soft. This is okay! They will continue to bake a bit after being taken out of the oven.
13.) Let them sit for about five minutes and then move them to a rack.
14.) Eat and Enjoy!!!

I personally loved the cookies and so did my mom! They were the perfect combination of salty and sweet with a crisp, yet chewy texture. How could these cookies be disliked?

Let me know what you think about the cookie combo. What would you do to make a new variation to the Cake Mix Pudding Cookies?

˜ Victoria ˜