So, I had heard of this years ago but never tried it until last weekend. I didn't have enough mixed nuts for some caramel nutty bars, so I used broken pretzel sticks for about 1/3 of the nuts called for in the recipe.
The above are bar cookies: a shortbread cookie base topped with mixed nuts and pretzel halves in a caramel sauce. I baked them the day before Father's Day and covered with plastic wrap overnight. The next afternoon, the pretzels were still crunchy, despite the fact that I live in a somewhat humid climate. I don't know if they'd keep their crunch for an extended period (week or more), or if pretzels would stay crunchy in a drop cookie dough or other dough where they'd be surrounded by a wetter mixture while baking. But they worked great in this application. The cookies were delicious. Everyone thought that the addition of pretzels was actually a bonus and not second choice.
Have you ever tried substitution broken pretzels for nuts in cookies or other baked goods? What was your opinion?
