Chocolate-Strawberry Pretzel Cookies

Name: Chocolate-Strawberry Pretzel Cookies
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: about 1 dozen.
Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter, softened; 1/2 cup sugar; 2 large eggs; 1-1/2 cups finely ground pretzels (about 6 ounces); 1 cup all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted; 1/3 cup seedless strawberry jam; Confectioners' sugar

Every year I come up with a new recipe, and this is one that's been requested over and over. Who would ever guess how good pretzels are in cookies? —Isabel Minunni, Poughkeepsie, New York

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/2 cups finely ground pretzels (about 6 ounces)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1/3 cup seedless strawberry jam
Confectioners' sugar

Directions

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, mix ground pretzels, flour and baking powder; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-1/2-in. tree-shaped cookie cutter. Using a floured 1-3/4-in. tree-shaped cookie cutter, cut out the centers of half of the cookies. Place solid and window cookies 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are light brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
Spread melted chocolate onto bottoms of solid cookies; let stand until firm. Spread jam over cooled chocolate; top with window cookies. Dust lightly with confectioners' sugar. Freeze option: Freeze undecorated cookies in freezer containers. To use, thaw in covered containers and decorate as directed.