Caramel snickerdoodles are a delicious fall twist on an old classic recipe. Soft cookie with soft caramel on the inside.
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Caramel snickerdoodles are the perfect cookie for Fall. Of course, you really don’t need a season or reason to enjoy these caramel stuffed snickerdoodle cookies, because let’s face it- they’re too good to wait for.
You’re going to love how simple and easy this recipe is to make. Upgrading a traditional snickerdoodle cookie recipe and turning it into a stuffed cookie one is not only a unique twist but also an unexpected one.
Once these snickerdoodle cookies bake down into flat discs on a plate, they don’t look all that different from a regular snickerdoodle. The real surprise is when you bite inside to reveal a soft, melty, and gooey caramel filling that is oh so good!
For an even bigger surprise add a little pinch of coarse sea salt over the caramel in the cookie and then enjoy a salted caramel snickerdoodle!
When you think of all of the ways to upgrade a snickerdoodle recipe, you can only wonder why you hadn’t tried any sooner.
While there's nothing wrong with snickerdoodle cookies as-is and the are pretty perfect on their own, you can’t deny adding caramel into the batch really helps to make a wonderful surprise that complements the flavors well.
Caramel Snickerdoodle Ingredients
- Flour: We need all-purpose flour to create the cookie dough base.
- Salt: Just a little bit of salt will help to enhance the other flavors in this dish. Like a wingman, salt works to make the other flavors look good.
- Baking soda: This is the leavening agent that will make the cookies puff up a little as they bake, giving us a great texture.
- Cream of Tartar: This is what makes a snickerdoodle a snickerdoodle. Cream of tartar is the acid needed to make the slightly tangy taste we expect in every bite.
- Butter: We need butter to help add a rich flavor and a cookie that tastes like it’s going to melt in our mouths.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar will help to make this cookie dough recipe nice and sweet while adding a little caramelization and crunch once baked.
- Eggs: We need eggs to help bind the cookie dough together. Eggs are what keep the baked cookies from falling apart in your hands.
- Milk: This will help to thin down the batter a bit and adds a little fat and flavor so the cookies are moist.
- Vanilla: Using vanilla extract we can create a base of flavors and enhance the flavors in this recipe.
- Caramels: You can use caramel bits from the baking section or pre-wrapped caramels, but use the notes on the recipe card to help guide you to the proper use so your cookies turn out perfectly!
- Cinnamon sugar coating: Snickerdoodles are known for the dusting of cinnamon sugar on the outside so we can’t forget to make a simple mix of cinnamon and sugar for these cookies!
How to make Caramel Snickerdoodles
- In a shallow dish combine the sugar and cinnamon needed for the cookie coating and set it aside until needed.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and prepare your baking sheet. Set it aside.
- In a bowl, combine your flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar until mixed.
- In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy (this should take about 2 minutes).
- Add the eggs to the butter mixture, one at a time. Beat well after each addition.
- Add in the milk and the vanilla, and beat again until combined.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients.
- Mix everything together just until the dough comes together. You may need to add in a few more tablespoons of flour if the dough is too wet or sticky. You should be able to touch it without it sticking too much to your fingers.
- Form the dough into 1 inch sized balls.
- Flatten your caramels until it’s roughly the same size as a quarter.
- Place the caramel into the center of one ball of dough and place another one inch ball of dough over the top. Roll the dough and move it around so that the caramel is completely covered. It should be slightly flattened like a disc.
- Roll the dough ball into the prepared cinnamon sugar mixture and then place them on the baking sheet.
- Place 12 discs of dough per baking sheet. Bake on the middle rack in the oven, one sheet at a time.
- Bake for 8-12 minutes or until the edges are set and the very middle of the cookie looks underbaked. Let cool and then enjoy.
If you try out these caramel snickerdoodles, let me know in the comments below!
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Caramel Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
For the Snickerdoodles
- 3 ¾ cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 cup butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 36 caramels (pre-wrapped, soft, see note)
For the Cinnamon & Sugar Mixture
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
For the Cinnamon and Sugar Mixture
- Whisk sugar and cinnamon together in a pie plate or shallow dish.
For the Snickerdoodles
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F).
- Whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
- Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.
- Add milk and vanilla extract, beat until combined.
- Slowly add dry ingredients into the creamed mixture.
- Mix until everything just comes together, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Check the consistency of the dough, you may have to add few tablespoons more flour. You should be able to touch it without it sticking too much to your fingers.
- Form dough into 1-inch balls
- Flatten the caramel until it is the size of a quarter, cut in half if necessary (see note).
- Place the caramel into the center of one ball and then place another ball on top of the caramel so it's completely covered. It should be slightly flat and disc shaped.
- Roll the dough in cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Place 12 discs of dough on each cookie sheet, baking on the middle rack of the oven, one at a time.
- Bake for 8-12 minutes until the edges are set and the very middle still looks slightly under baked.
Alli
Love the gooey caramel center!