Caramel Snickerdoodle Cookies

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Coming in hot this week with these new caramel snickerdoodle cookies and friends, ohemgee, they are quite literally the best cookie I’ve ever eaten. You’re going to love how easy these stuffed cookies are to make and yet, they look so fancy.

A pile of cookies with a cup of caramel candies in the center.

Caramel, the Forgotten Fall Flavor

When we talk about fall baking, it seems like everyone gravitates towards pumpkin and pumpkin spice, and trust me, I’m a fan, but what about the other seasonal flavors like apple and caramel?

It’s time we bring them back, don’t you think? I’ll get us started with these caramel stuffed snickerdoodle cookies that are de-lic-ious!

The ingredients needed to make caramel snickerdoodle cookies.
Two tacos sitting on a white plate with chopped avocado and cilantro on top.

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    The Ingredients You’ll Need to Make These Caramel Snickerdoodle Cookies

    • Butter
    • Sugar
    • Brown sugar
    • Egg
    • Vanilla extract
    • Flour
    • Cinnamon
    • Baking soda
    • Cream of tartar
    • Sea salt
    • 8 soft caramels
    Cookies on a baking sheet, one cut in half showing caramel inside.

    The Step-by-step Instructions

    1. Start by creaming the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
    2. Next, beat in the egg and vanilla extract for another minute or so.
    3. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and sea salt together until evenly combined.
    4. Then, add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing with a rubber spatula until just combined.
    5. Here’s where it gets fun! Using a 1 TBS cookie scoop, scoop dough into your hand, gently press a half of a caramel into the dough, scoop another ball, and press it on top of the caramel. Gently roll all of that into a ball, making sure the caramel is completely enclosed inside the cookie dough, and then generously roll the ball in cinnamon and sugar.
    6. Bake the cookies for 9-ish minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
    7. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

    Tip

    If you really want to take your stuffed cookies to the next level, try making your own caramels with this caramel recipe. They’re the perfect soft texture to melt inside the cookie.

    Cookies laying on a baking sheet with caramel candies sprinkled in between.

    The Fine Details

    These cookies seem like any ordinary snickerdoodle at first glance, but then you take a bite, and SURPRISE! There’s soft caramel goodness on the inside.

    The cookies themselves have a great texture; they’re soft, light, and chewy, and the tops and edges have a little crunch from the cinnamon and sugar coating. And you know I love those perfectly cracked tops. 😍

    Caramel lovers, you’ve got to try these Snickers Cookies too!

    A cookie broken in half laying on a baking sheet with caramel seeping out.

    Tips for Successful Cookie Baking

    • When making the cookie dough balls, I like to scoop the first half right into my palm, then I press the caramel into it and plop another scoop right on top of that. It almost makes the ball for you; then a few quick rolls between your hands to round it out and it’s into the cinnamon sugar they go. The dough is kind of soft, so the less you can handle it, the better.
    • Keep an eye on these cookies towards the end of baking. Depending on your oven temperature, they may start to brown. They are best when they are just done, or even slightly underdone, so if they’re browning, your oven is either too hot or it’s time to take them out.
    • Fair warning here, the bottoms of these cookies are pretty delicate. Be uber careful when you’re sliding the spatula underneath them to move them off the cookie sheet. If the bottom breaks open, the caramel will leak out and that would be very sad. If you have a really thin plastic or metal spatula, that’ll work the best for cookies in general, but especially for these stuffed cookies.
    • When it comes to eating these cookies, they are best when warmed a little. If you can’t manage to eat them all right out of the oven (haha), about 10 seconds in the microwave will reheat them just enough.
    Cookies laying on a baking sheet with a small bowl of unwrapped caramels.

    Questions About This Recipe

    Yes! Just use a bigger cookie scoop. If you want to add more caramel to bigger cookies, use two halves on the inside instead of one. I still cut them in half so they melt; I’ve found that sometimes the whole caramel doesn’t melt down enough inside the cookie. So, be mindful of how big your caramel pieces are.

    These cookies do best in an airtight container and they should be eaten within the first few days. If you have a lot left over, make sure to freeze them, so they stay fresh.

    If that’s all you have, it will work, but I’d omit the salt from the recipe in that case.

    Unsalted butter is always best when baking because it lets the baker control the amount of salt in the recipe. With salted butter, you don’t really know how much you’re getting.

    Actually, either one is fine. If you freeze the dough, do so before adding the caramels. This recipe isn’t great for freezing pre-scooped dough balls because the caramels take too long to thaw out.

    Freeze the dough as you would with any regular cookie dough. You’ll want to let the dough thaw in your refrigerator the night before and then come up to room temperature before scooping and baking the cookies.

    Freeze the baked and cooled cookies in an airtight container. They’ll thaw on the counter in 20-30 minutes.

    And now for that recipe. It’s a good one, I can’t wait to hear what you think about these cookies. #theforgottenfallflavor

    Cookies piled up on a cookie sheet with a small bowl of caramels.

    Caramel Stuffed Snickerdoodle Cookies

    By: Kristine Underwood
    A simple recipe for snickerdoodle cookies stuffed with caramel. They're soft, chewy, and rich with caramel. A fun twist for fall.
    5 from 5 votes
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 9 minutes
    Total Time 19 minutes
    Course Sweets & Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 16 cookies
    Calories 137 kcal

    Ingredients

    • 1/2 cup butter, unsalted (room temperature)
    • 1/2 cup sugar
    • 1/4 cup brown sugar
    • 1 egg
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • cup flour
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • 1/2 tsp baking soda
    • 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • Extra cinnamon and sugar for rolling (1/4 cup sugar + 1/2 tsp cinnamon)
    • 8 soft caramels, cut in half

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
    • In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes).
      1/2 cup butter, unsalted, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar
    • Beat in egg and vanilla extract for about 1 minute.
      1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • In a separate bowl, gently whisk the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and sea salt together.
      1½ cup flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp cream of tartar, 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients, half at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula until just combined.
    • Using a 1 TBS cookie scoop, scoop dough into your hand, press a half of a caramel into the dough, scoop another ball and press on top of the caramel. Gently roll into a ball, making sure the caramel is completely enclosed inside the cookie dough, and generously roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.
    • Place coated cookies on a lined baking sheet 2 inches apart.
    • Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. The cookies will puff up and spread out little bit.
    • Let cookies cool on the baking sheet until they are sturdy enough to transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Be careful not to break open the bottom with the spatula when moving the cookies, the caramel may seep out.
    • Store cookies in an airtight container for 3-5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

    Notes

    Make sure to read the cookie baking tips to get answers to common questions about baking cookies.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1 cookieCalories: 137kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 2gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 158mgPotassium: 39mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 193IUVitamin C: 0.01mgCalcium: 10mgIron: 1mg

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    Recipe Rating




    10 Comments

    1. Just when I thought snickerdoodles couldn’t get any better. These are so good!5 stars

    2. These cookies are so friggin addicting. Love this recipe. Made it for the bake sale5 stars

      1. Oh my gosh are they! Thank you, Nancy. I’m so glad someone else shares my problem. I’m pretty sure I ate most of them singlehandedly.

    3. These are so delicious! My family devoured them!5 stars

    4. I’ve never had a stuffed cookie before – I am sold! These were so good, I can’t wait to make them again during the holidays.5 stars

      1. So glad you loved them! They are so easy, but seem so fancy – perfect for the holidays (or any day, haha).

    5. Snickerdoodle cookies are an absolute classic! Adding in soft caramels is a genius move – really elevated these delicious, warm cookies to the next level!5 stars