Caramel Stuffed Snickerdoodles
Snickerdoodles are ranked among the well known classic and nostalgic cookies, such as chocolate chip, oatmeal, peanut butter and sugar cookies. They have a soft chewy texture (imparted by the addition of cream of tartar) and a warm, comforting, cinnamon flavor. For me, I would say that snickerdoodles are about middling on the classics list. While I would choose them over a standard sugar cookie or oatmeal cookie, I’d be quick to choose a peanut butter cookie or a chocolate chip cookie over a snickerdoodle. That is until I discovered the idea of stuffing creamy, chewy, buttery caramel into the center of my snickerdoodles.
I’ve actually been making variations of caramel stuffed snickerdoodles for quite a long time now, well over a decade if my memory serves. But I don’t think I have ever shared any version of the recipe on any iteration of my website before now. I’m very sorry for the oversight!
The first time I ever made a caramel stuffed snickerdoodle recipe was when my sister came to visit. This was before she got married and when my oldest child was just a toddler. I always like to have something sweet in the house, but when I have guests I like to make things that are just that little bit extra special.
These cookies definitely fit the bill, the addition of a melty, gooey caramel center puts them right over the top into indulgence territory. I knew that my sister enjoyed them while she was visiting, but I didn’t really know exactly how much she enjoyed them until she asked me if I could make them as part of the favors for her wedding. How could I refuse? She’s my baby sister and I love making people happy with good food and sweet treats, so, of course, I could not.
As I said, that was many years ago, and the version I’m sharing today isn’t exactly the same as the version I shared with my sister and her wedding guests, but I hope you’ll all forgive my neglect in failing to share that original recipe and enjoy this new (and, in my opinion, improved) version.
Caramel Stuffed Snickerdoodles
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- mixing bowls (small, medium and large)
- baking sheets
- As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.cookie scoop (#40)
Ingredients
Cookies
- 226 g unsalted butter
- 16 g dry milk powder
- 345 g all-purpose flour
- 8 g cream of tartar
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 6 g salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 165 g light brown sugar
- 100 g sugar
- 2 eggs large
- 5 ml vanilla extract
- 30
soft caramel candies (make sure these are a soft, creamy caramel, you should be able to squish them between your fingers)
Topping
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 12 g ground cinnamon
Instructions
Brown the butter:
- Place the butter and dry milk powder in a medium saucepan on the stovetop over medium/low heat. Cook, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pan until the sizzling slows and you notice lots of brown specks forming and an intense nutty aroma.226 g unsalted butter, 16 g dry milk powder
- Remove from heat and pour into a large heatproof mixing bowl. Allow to cool completely before proceeding with the remaining steps.
For the cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.345 g all-purpose flour, 8 g cream of tartar, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 6 g salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- In the large mixing bowl, add the sugars to the now cooled browned butter and mix until well combined.100 g sugar, 165 g light brown sugar
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract and stir until the mixture appears homogenous.2 eggs, 5 ml vanilla extract
- Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and stir just until combined and no dry streaks of flour remain.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon for rolling.100 g granulated sugar, 12 g ground cinnamon
- Using a #40 cookie scoop, scoop the dough into 30 equal sized portions.
- Working with one portion of dough at a time, flatten the dough in your hand and wrap it around one of the caramel candies. Roll it into a smooth ball that completely covers the caramel and has no cracks in the surface.30 soft caramel candies
- Once all of the portions of dough have been stuffed with the caramel candies, roll each ball in the cinnamon/sugar mixture, coating it evenly. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spacing at least 2 inches apart. (I recommend chilling the prepared cookie dough on the baking sheets for 30-60 minutes before baking – this helps control the melting/spread of the caramel centers, as well as the cookie dough itself, providing a more consistent end result)
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes (8-10 minutes if the dough is not chilled). The centers of the cookies may appear slightly under-done when removing from oven, this is fine, allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet so the caramel can set up again before removing and storing in an air tight container (it is normal for some of the caramel to break through the bottoms or tops of the cookies, so I recommend layering the cookies between sheets of wax paper or parchment to prevent the cookies from sticking to each other).
Nutrition
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