1cup(255g)creamy peanut butter (I use Skippy or Jiffy)
1cup(212g)granulated sugar
1cup(212g)packed light or dark brown sugar
1teaspoonbaking powder
1teaspoonbaking soda
¾teaspoonsalt
2large eggs
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
2 ½cups(355g)all-purpose flour
1cup(170g)chocolate chips (I use semisweet)
1cup(170g)peanut butter chips
1cup(198g)caramel balls (see note) or chopped soft caramels
1cup(198g)M&Ms (regular, caramel, etc)
1cup(120g)chopped, toasted pecans
2cupscoarsely chopped pretzels
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, mix together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well-combined and super creamy, 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well, 1-2 minutes.
Add the flour and mix briefly until the flour is partly combined. Add the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, caramel, M&Ms, and pecans. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula (or mix very slowly with the electric mixer) until evenly combined.
Scoop out several tablespoons of cookie dough (I use a #40 cookie scoop) and roll into balls. They won't be perfectly round as all those add-ins will create some bumps. Don't stress. Press the top of each cookie ball into the chopped pretzels (and then lightly press the pretzels into the cookie dough to stick) and place the cookie dough balls several inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 9-11 minutes. These cookies stay fairly puffy (thanks to all the add-ins); for slightly flatter cookies, press them lightly into more of a disc-shape before baking or bake at 325 degrees F. If, for some reason, your cookies are flattening too much, try increasing the baking temperature to 375 degrees F.
Notes
Caramel: the caramel balls I'm talking about in this recipe are the unwrapped soft caramel bits about the size of large chocolate chips sold by Kraft (usually in the baking aisle). When I haven't been able to find those, I unwrap soft caramels (either Kraft or Trader Joe's) and cut into pieces with a bench knife. It's a labor of love, but so worth it for these cookies!