These pretzel shortbread cookies are (almost) too good to share

Everyone at the farmers’ market was talking about the pretzel shortbread cookies from Lost Bread Co. So I joined the snaking line to see what the fuss was about.

They didn’t look like much, just a stack of coppery rectangles wrapped in cellophane. But almost everyone ahead of me ordered them, and I nervously watched the pile get smaller the closer I got.

I snagged one of the last bags, then ripped it open to try a bite.

At first, the pretzel side came through. The shortbread was hard, crunchy and studded with chunks of white salt. The sweetness hit as the crumbs dissolved on my tongue, turning buttery, supple and a little nutty. It was a cookie that leaned into the savoury side, salty and sweet and impossible to stop eating. I don’t know how many there were in that little bag when I opened it, but there was only one left when I got home. Then I ate that one, too.

I immediately knew that the only way I could go on with my life was to get my hands on the recipe. Alex Bois, a founder of Lost Bread, was happy to oblige. The shortbread, he said, were created as a way to use up the bakery’s leftover pretzels. But with the recipe came a warning: It called for dipping the cookies in lye, which is what gives them their characteristic pretzel-brown gloss. Make sure to wear gloves and eye protection, he said, as lye can burn.

As much as I craved more shortbread, the lye part was off-putting, to say the least.

The internet suggested substituting a baking soda solution, which worked well, lending a slight, pleasing bitterness, if not the shininess. For another batch, I tried brushing the shortbread with egg white. This gave the gloss, without the bitter complexity. The egg white is easier and the baking soda slightly more flavourful, so I offer both options here.

And I’ll also offer a tip. The pretzel crumbs make the dough stiff and floury. Keep mixing and kneading, and don’t be afraid to squeeze it into submission. This dough can take it without becoming tough. Really, the only tough thing here will be saving some shortbread to share.