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This recipe takes snickerdoodles to the next level! Made with brown butter and a salted caramel core, each bite is a sweet and nutty dream!
When it comes to dessert, you can never go wrong with a batch of homemade cookies! If you love snickerdoodles as much as I do, you’ll have to try these cream cheese snickerdoodles or snickerdoodle bars next!
Brown Butter Snickerdoodles With Salted Caramel Filling
These cookies are seriously amazing. Snickerdoodles have always been one of my favorite cookies, it brings back so many memories when I was little helping my mom make them in the kitchen for a Sunday treat. My favorite part was rolling the cookie balls in the cinnamon sugar. I really didn’t think it could get any better than traditional snickerdoodles, but I’m pretty sure this recipe for brown butter salted caramel snickerdoodles has changed my mind.
I mean, you really can’t go wrong with brown butter. And to make these snickerdoodles even better, they have a salted caramel core! The ooey-gooey center and nutty flavor from the brown butter makes these cookies some of the best that I’ve ever tried. I know that you guys will love these just as much as I do! Also, I will not be held responsible for any brown butter addictions that may develop. (But you should definitely try these brown butter blondies or zucchini bars with brown butter frosting next.)
Cookie Ingredients
These delectable cookies are a perfect combination of rich flavors and textures. The brown butter and salted caramel add a delightful twist to the classic snickerdoodle recipe. You’ll love them! Here is everything you’ll need to whip up a batch. (Measurements can be found below in the recipe card.)
- All-Purpose Flour: The base of the brown butter snickerdoodle cookie dough.
- Baking Soda: This helps the cookies rise and become nice and fluffy.
- Cream of Tartar: Gives the cookies a tangy kick and that chewy texture!
- Ground Cinnamon: The warm spice that adds flavor to the dough and the cinnamon-sugar coating.
- Sea Salt: Balances the sweetness and enhances the overall taste. Look for the chunky kind for some extra texture.
- Unsalted Butter: We’re gonna brown this bad boy to give the cookies a nutty, caramelized flavor. If you only have salted butter, just use less additional salt.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Adds sweetness and a rich caramel undertone to the dough. Light brown sugar also works, but it will change the flavor of the snickerdoodles slightly.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens things up and contributes to the texture. It’s also used for the cinnamon sugar mixture that the dough is rolled in!
- Large Egg: Keeps things together and adds moisture.
- Egg Yolk: Makes the cookies extra rich and tender.
- Vanilla Extract: I recommend using pure vanilla extract or making your own blend of vanilla extract so your cookies have the best flavor.
- Plain Greek Yogurt: Keeps the cookies moist and tender. If you don’t have Greek yogurt, sour cream works too.
- Caramel Squares: These little nuggets of gooey goodness melt into pockets of pure caramel bliss.
- Coarse Sea Salt: Sprinkle this on top of the finished brown butter salted caramel snickerdoodles!
How to Make Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles
Fire up the oven, because it’s time to make the best brown butter snickerdoodles of your life! These brown butter salted caramel snickerdoodles are so easy to make, and even easier to devour. Be sure to grab a few for yourself, because if your family is anything like mine, these cookies will be snatched up in seconds!
Preparing the Cookie Dough
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, cinnamon, and set aside.
- Brown the Butter: To brown the butter, heat a medium saucepan to medium high heat. Add the sliced butter, whisking frequently. You will notice the butter starting to become frothy on the top and brown specks will start to form along the bottom. You have to watch it closely because the turn happens quickly and you don’t want it to burn. You will start to smell a nutty aroma and once it turns to a brown color, remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature.
- Caramel Pieces: While the butter is cooling, cut the caramel squares into quarters.
- Sugar Mixture: In a stand mixer, combine the brown butter and brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. (The 1/4 cup sugar will be used for rolling in the cookies). Mix until blended and smooth.
- Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients: Beat in egg, yolk, vanilla and yogurt and mix until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients until combined.
- Chill the Dough: Form the dough into a ball and cover with plastic. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Baking
- Preheat Oven, Prepare Cookies: Once you are ready to bake preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Measure about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the ball and place 1-2 caramel squares inside, wrap the cookie dough over the caramel and roll back into a ball. Make sure it is completely covered so that the caramel won’t stick to the pan.
- Roll in Cinnamon Sugar: Mix 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and roll each cookie in the mixture. Place cookies on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet 2 inches apart. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt. (I used course sea salt)
- Bake: Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges turn lightly brown. The centers will be soft. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, then transfer your brown butter snickerdoodles to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Tips for Making the Best Brown Butter Snickerdoodles
Check out these simple tips to make your brown butter salted caramel snickerdoodles taste even better. I’ve also included some fun variations for you to try!
- Get Your Butter Nice and Toasty: Take your time when browning the butter, letting it turn a beautiful golden color and giving off a nutty smell. This gives your cookies an incredible caramelized flavor. Just watch out so you don’t accidentally burn the butter – that’s a flavor we want to avoid!
- Don’t Overbake: I like to pull my cookies out of the oven while the centers are still a little soft. The cookies will continue to cook on the pan for a minute or two, and then you’ll end up with the perfect texture.
- Mix Up the Caramel: Don’t feel restricted to plain caramel squares. Go wild and try different caramel fillings! Homemade caramel sauce, butterscotch chips, or even flavored caramel candies like salted caramel or espresso caramel. Just make sure to chop them up into small bits so they melt evenly.
- Extra Mix-Ins: If you want a little extra oomph, throw in some mix-ins like chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, or almonds) or chocolate chips. These will give your brown butter snickerdoodles a satisfying crunch or bursts of melty goodness.
If You Have Leftovers:
Keep your brown butter salted caramel snickerdoodles in an airtight container at room temperature. They will stay good for about a week! For that just out of the oven effect, pop them in the microwave until warmed through before you enjoy them again.
More Brown Butter Dessert Recipes
If you’re a lover of brown butter like me, then these are a few recipes you need to try out! The brown butter adds an extra rich and nutty element to each dish, making them absolutely delicious.
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Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose Gold Medal flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 cup caramel squares cut into 1/4’s
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Coarse Sea salt for sprinkling on completed cookies
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, cinnamon, and set aside.
- To brown the butter, heat a medium saucepan to medium high heat. Add the sliced butter, whisking frequently. You will notice the butter starting to become frothy on the top and brown specks will start to form along the bottom. You have to watch it closely because the turn happens quickly and you don’t want it to burn. You will start to smell a nutty aroma and once it turns to a brown color, remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature.
- While the butter is cooling, cut the caramel squares into 1/4's.
- In a stand mixer, combine the brown butter and brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. (The 1/4 cup sugar will be used for rolling in the cookies). Mix until blended and smooth.
- Beat in egg, yolk, vanilla and yogurt and mix until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients until combined.
- Form the dough into a ball and cover with plastic. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
- Once you are ready to bake preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Measure about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the ball and place 1-2 caramel squares inside, wrap the cookie dough over the caramel and roll back into a ball. Make sure it is completely covered so that the caramel won’t stick to the pan.
- Mix 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and roll each cookie in the mixture. Place on a cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt. (I used course sea salt)
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges turn lightly brown. The centers will be soft. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, and transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do I add the first salt to the flour?
Yes you do. Then you just sprinkle the tops with coarse sea salt! 🙂
Do I use the 1/2 tsp salt in the flour? Someone else asked and there was no answer.
Yes. You add it to the flour and then just sprinkle the finished cookies with coarse sea salt.
How well do they freeze? I would like to have them for Christmas but would also like to make them ahead of time.
I haven’t tried freezing them so I am not sure. I am not sure how the caramel would freeze???
You could make the dough a head of time and refrigerate it. I would not freeze the cookies already made because the caramel would change consistency and they wouldnt be near as good! If you had to freeze them already made I would bake them for a few minutes at 350 till heated through!
Can you omit the yogurt?
For those of you who made the recipe and it turned out well, what brand of caramels did you use?
Kraft caramels are awesome. 🙂
I made these and they turned out great! Thank you for the easy-to-understand and through directions. This is a KEEPER from Keeperstown.
My family offered me $10 million to NOT take these to the library bake sale tomorrow. ^__^ While I know they don’t have that much money, it does make me wonder … can I build a new library on these cookies? I’m thinking the answer is YES. ♥
I come from a large family & as a kid we each had our own favorite cookie, snickerdoodles were always mine. I have a new favorite, I already loved salted caramel (hot cocoa) & browned butter (over spaghetti with mazithra cheese)… The only thing I had a problem with was getting the sea salt to stay on the cookies when I sprinkled it on, it just rolled right off. On the second pan I made I waited till they were baked & sprinkled it on while still hot, most of it still didn’t stick, so when I did the third I put some sea salt on a plate & dipped the cookies into the sea salt & pushed down slightly – 3rd time was the charm.
It doesn’t say what temp to bake them, but I am guessing the standard 350. I will definitely try these as one of my Christmas cookies.
Never mind, I found it in the recipe…duh…
Just made these tonight and they’re AMAZING! My husband has dubbed them “Carmadoodles”. I subbed light brown sugar and added in 1 tsp of molasses and used dulce de leche squares and it was just phenomenal!!!!
I just made these amazing cookies for a family get together. They are one of my all time favorite cookies! AMAZING!!! Especially when they are warm!!! My kids helped me make them and had so much fun putting the caramel inside the dough and covering them with cinnamon and sugar.
I highly recommend them!!! Totally addictive!!
Quick question — in the ingredient list you have 1/2 tsp sea salt and then you have coarse sea salt. Trying to figure out where the 1/2 tsp comes in?
I found the answer when I read through the threads — it’s left out (at least when I printed it) that the 1/2 tsp of salt needs to go in the flour mixture.
These are AMAZING! I doubled the recipe and have gotten almost 6 dozen out of it. My husband is about to eat himself sick on these I think! Hopefully there are enough left to take tomorrow! lol
Darnit! I wish I could edit! lol
I made one change — I used the little kraft caramel pieces that they sell with the chocolate chips instead of cutting up the squares. Made it go a little quicker and they aren’t sticky when they are cut. They melt really nicely into the cookies — I used anywhere from 3-6 per cookie (was seeing how they came out) — settled on 4-5 as plenty of caramel!
1/2 tsp gets mixed into the flour
So do we add an egg and then add another egg yok. I am confused.
I am ready to make these wonderful looking cookies! …have all my supplies ready, but am a bit confused about the baking time. Do I bake them 8-10 minutes….then check for the edges to be brown….then bake an additional 2-3 minutes. I have never seen baking instructions like this before???? Please Help……my family is waiting anxiously for these to get make.
Sorry that was supposed to say “cool”. Thanks for noticing I have fixed it! 🙂
I made these tonight and they were fantastic. But, besides the typo, you forgot to list 1/2 tsp of salt should be mixed into the flour. It’s listed in the main ingredients, but not in the directions. I’m assuming the butter was I salted. You listed the salt for sprinkling at the bottom of the recipe. As I said, they were great, but I did add the add the salt to the main ingredients. Sorry if I’m wrong.
I’m glad you mentioned, it, because I noticed that too. Since there was no clarification, I will also add the 1/2 tsp of sea salt to main ingredients in addition to sprinkling on top.
Thank you for bringing that up! I tend to be a bit of a literal Letty, And way more of a recipe-follower than a “cook”. So I was a bit troubled when I didn’t see the ½ teaspoon sea salt in the directions. What to do?! Adding it to the dry ingredients at the beginning made sense, but it was nice to see someone clarify. 🙂
These are so yummy, I just made them last night! For some reason, the caramels did get pretty hard after being baked and cooled, kinda weird. But they are still delicious! I’ll definitely be making these again but I might omit the caramels because the combination of brown sugar and browned butter gives a caramel-y flavour to the cookies anyway. I loved the sea salt on top!