Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles are made with brown butter and have a caramel surprise in the center. If you like classic snickerdoodle cookies, you will LOVE this snickerdoodle recipe. They are amazing!
Favorite Snickerdoodle Cookies
I LOVE snickerdoodle cookies, they are one of my all-time favorite cookies. I have always loved them, especially during the holiday season. I love the classic snickerdoodles but you need to meet my ALL-TIME favorite snickerdoodle cookie. These Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles are the most amazing snickerdoodles EVER! Everyone that tries them falls in love after one bite. They are in my top 10 favorite cookies and that is saying a lot because I have made and ate a lot of cookies in my lifetime. These are FOR SURE a favorite!
Brown Butter Snickerdoodles
The brown butter takes a good snickerdoodle cookie to a GREAT snickerdoodle cookie, especially when you add caramel and sea salt to the mix. These cookies are life changing! The classic snickerdoodle gets transformed into a cookie that is off the charts in deliciousness. Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles are irresistible.
And don’t be afraid of browning butter, it is super simple! To brown the butter, heat a thick-bottomed skillet on medium heat. Add the sliced butter, whisking frequently. Continue to cook until the butter is melted. The butter will start to foam and browned specks will begin to form at the bottom of the pan. The butter should have a nutty aroma. Watch the butter carefully because it can go from brown to burnt quickly. Remove butter from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
That is it! And that simple step will change your life for the better. I promise, browned butter is the BEST and makes the most amazing snickerdoodles!
Caramel Surprise
The brown butter snickerdoodle cookies are soft with a nutty brown butter flavor. When you bite into a cookie you will be pleasantly surprised by the sweet gooey caramel. I love salted caramel so I increased the salt in the recipe and added a sprinkle of sea salt to the tops of every cookie. Salted caramel, meet brown butter snickerdoodle, definitely love at first sight!
To stuff the snickerdoodles with caramel, cut the caramel candies in half and wrap the cookie dough around the caramel so it is completely covered. Make sure no caramel is peeking out. You don’t want it melting out of the cookie or you will have a sticky mess.
You can use regular Kraft caramels or Trader Joe’s fleur de sel caramels. They are my personal favorite, but I have made them with both caramels and both work well.
Roll the cookies in cinnamon and sugar and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. The caramel will melt and soften inside the cookie. DO NOT OVER BAKE these cookies. You want them to be slightly set around the edges and still soft in the center when you take them out of the oven. They will finish baking on the baking sheet as they cool.
Perfect Christmas Cookie
I make these snickerdoodles every Christmas time for parties, cookie exchanges, and gifts and they are always the favorite cookie! My friends and family beg for these cookies every single year! You should make a batch for your friends and family…or several batches because they never last long. They are TOO good:)
I am seriously craving a Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snickerdoodle right now. I better get baking!
If you like this snickerdoodle cookie recipe, check out:
- Chocolate Snickerdoodles
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Mexican Wedding Cookies
- Chocolate Kiss Cookies
Brown Butter Salted Caramel Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter cut into tablespoon pieces
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt
- 18 caramels cut in half
- Flaked sea salt for sprinkling on top of cookies
For the Cinnamon Sugar:
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- To brown the butter, heat a thick-bottomed skillet on medium heat. Add the sliced butter, whisking frequently. Continue to cook the butter until melted. The butter will start to foam and browned specks will begin to form at the bottom of the pan. The butter should have a nutty aroma. Watch the butter carefully because it can go from brown to burnt quickly. Remove butter from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the brown butter and sugars. Mix until blended. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and Greek yogurt and mix until combined. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Form the dough in a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. You can chill the dough overnight or for up to 2 days.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Measure about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. Flatten the ball slightly with the palm of your hand and place a caramel piece in the center of the dough. Wrap the cookie dough around the caramel, making sure the caramel is completely covered with dough.
- In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar. Roll the balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place dough balls on a large baking sheet that has been lined with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper. Make sure the cookies are about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle the cookie tops with sea salt.
- Bake the cookies 8-10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. The centers will still be soft. Don’t over bake. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, or until set. Transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
Leave a comment below and share a photo on Instagram. Tag @twopeasandpod and hashtag it with #twopeasandtheirpod
These are THE BEST SNICKERDOODLE COOKIE I’ve ever had! My kids went crazy for these! The only disappointing thing about making them was I didn’t have enough cookie butter to make another batch. Ha! Thanks for sharing such a yummy recipe!
Oops! I meant to comment on the recipe for the browned butter Biscoff Snickerdoodle cookies! I haven’t made these, but I’m sure they are delicious, too!
Maria,
Could you use your salted caramel sauce in these rather than a cut-up caramel?
I think it would be too runny and ooze out everywhere.
If you like sweet things, these are for you! Turned out delicious! Had to sub the yogurt for sour cream because that’s what I had, but I dont think it made a bit of difference! I will definitely make these again!
Yay! My favorite!
Super yummy!
Can you use regular yogurt instead of Greek? Also, I can only find 2% Greek. Would that be ok?
Yes, either should be fine.
I know you said the dough can be made ahead of time, but can these be rolled into balls ahead of time, then baked off (or even frozen in balls)?
Yes!
WOW – these are incredible! My cookies didn’t look as lovely as yours, but we’re they ever delicious!!! Mine baked for 8 minutes exactly.
I love these cookies and have made them several times! One of my favorites! Thank you! I’m worried how this dough hold up if frozen. Have you ever frozen the dough before? I need to make the dough and then store it for a few days and I’m not sure if I should freeze it or fridge it for what would be 3 days. Thank you!
These were tasty! Except I used Kraft square caramels and those were too hard. What caramels did you use?
In the cookbook, she mentions using Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel caramels. They are delicious!! If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s in your area you can order them on Amazon. 🙂
What is the reasoning for the Greek yogurt? Can you remove that or will it change the cookie significantly?
It keeps them moist, you can use sour cream instead of Greek yogurt.
When they cool the caramel is stiff in the middle. Am I cooking too long or is there a specific caramel I should use?
I like Trader Joe’s sea salt caramels, they are softer. Werther’s also makes a softer caramel.
A friend brought these to a retreat and they are to die for!!! Can’t wait to bake them myself they were awesome. Where do you find flaked sea salt????
I am glad you liked the cookies. Here is the salt I use: https://rstyle.me/+KGK_nMrAVnTwsTAD8VxFOw
I’ve made these and given them as gifts. They’re so surprisingly delectable they actually make people’s eyes pop wide open. ☺️
Made these tonight! Absolutely delicious! 9 minutes was perfect. I love every recipe of yours I’ve made!
Everyone is raving over these cookies. I never made a snickerdoodle, but I would never try another recipe. They are time consuming to make. But they are worth the effort. I will be making another batch before Christmas.
At .36 in your video, you seem to be scooping some very soft dough. Doesn’t refrigerating the dough harden the butter (making scooping a lot more difficult)?
These are my favorite but mine never ever turn out flat like the photos. They’re always more puffy. Any idea why?
These are my favorite cookies I’ve ever had!! So so good and easy to make!
Light or dark brown sugar? I know either could work but I would like them taller/fluffier and less spread out
Either will work and shouldn’t change how tall they are. Dark has a deeper molasses flavor.
Can you use sour cream instead of the yogurt?
yes!
Omygoodnessgracious!!! These are thee best cookies I’ have EVER eaten! And I’ve eaten a lot of cookies in my decades of living I’ve given them as gifts and the recipients beg for the recipe! If you ever have just one cookie in your life let it be these!
These are the very best:)
Delicious! Tried this recipe to see if the cookies would turn out, and now I will be making these for an upcoming Christmas party!! They are that good!!! BTW, I used Werther’s Soft Caramels and sour cream (in place of the yogurt).
So glad you loved the cookies. The Werther’s caramels are great!
Hi! I adore these cookies! Have you ever froze the dough balls and baked them later? I’m wondering how the caramel does after being in the freezer. Thanks!
Maria answers this question, above. That’s exactly what I do – that way, I can just pop the balls in the oven whenever I want a fresh cookie. I bake the frozen cookie balls 2 minutes more than normal.
I made these and they turned out even better than I imagined. Delicious with a crispy edge and chewy center. I will definitely be making these again.
The BEST!
One of our favorites at the Holidays!
Been making these for a few years now and it’s everyone’s favorite cookie! My husband isn’t a huge cookie person and he eats at least a dozen himself they’re do good! Amazing cookies!!
So good!! The recipie was easy to follow! I always fail at home made cookie dough but this one was great! The cookies were moist! All over, great recipe!
The very best!
I keep having this problem with cookies- despite following the directions step by step. My cookies come out wide, flat and melted looking. And almost the texture of candy when biting into it. I follow the recipe exactly! Any suggestions what I may be doing wrong? I also hand mix, not sure if that makes a difference.
Is your butter too warm? Not enough flour?
I love the browned butter flavor of these cookies. They are delicious! I used Werther’s Original chewy caramels cut in half. Worked great!
Those caramels are so good! Glad you love the cookies!
To avoid potentially hard caramels inside, I melted them down and drizzled the top of the cookies when they came out of the oven. This worked out really well and gave the salt something to stick to! Really tasty!! I had to bake mine longer- 15 minutes.. but I don’t think my oven is quite right! Nice recipe, thanks!
This was my first time making snickerdoodle. I think I messed something up they look really greasy and flat and very smashed together… I used a 2 tablespoon scoop but I think that may have been too big. I have used all the same ingredients listed with proper measurements. Maybe I over mixed? Any tips would be helpful for snickerdoodle cookies! They definitely smell amazing and I bet they will taste amazing once they cool completely!
Did you chill the dough? Enough flour? Try adding 1/4 cup of flour, that should help.
Made these for a cookie exchange and they have become one of my favorites…they are addicting! I only used a bit over 1 Tablespoon per cookie and it didn’t quite make 36 cookies. I can’t imagine how huge they would be if I had used 2 T dough as directed and you’d probably only get a couple dozen.
They are the best!
I loved this recipe so much! I even used it as a base for chocolate chip cookies. Amazing! Thank you!
So glad you love the recipe!
Re: Brown ButterSalted Caramel Cookie receipe
Can you put Carmel chips instead of Carmel candy & do I use the whole pkg. ?
Sure, they will be different in flavor and texture. I would start with 1 cup and see if you want to add more. It’s really up to your taste.
Can you freeze the dough? I’m trying to prep all my cookie dough for my treat boxes ahead of time.
Thanks!
Yes!
I was at Trader Joes today and they told me they discontinued their Fleur de Sea Caramels. I found another caramel locally made that is delicious, hope it turns out OK!
SO sad!! Werther’s soft caramels work well!
Same here, I asked at TJ and they told me the same discontinued 🙁 I ended up using Lula’s caramels. A bit pricey, but will look for the Werther’s next time
I am so sad about TJ’s caramels. Werther’s work well too!
Hi Maria,
I would like to make a small batch of this recipe. Would it be okay to just cut the recipe in half? Or are you able to provide one?
Also, Werthers Soft Caramels works well with this recipe!
Sure, you can half the recipe!