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Salted Caramel Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies

Drop those store-bought cookies and make these INSANELY GOOD Salted Caramel Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies! I tell ya, I’ve yet to taste a tastier cookie. With nut caramel-y nuttiness of brown butter, plenty of cinnamon, and creamy caramels, these are so crazy good, that you’ll never want any other cookies again!

salted caramel brown butter snickerdoodle cookies in a tin

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These Salted Caramel Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies are knock your socks off kind of good! From the warm cinnamon to salty tang of the flake salt and creamy caramel-y goodness in the cookie, everything just works in these cookies.

Why have a traditional snickerdoodle cookie when you can have a Salted Caramel Brown Butter Snickerdoodle? I know, I know…these are a wee bit more work than a regular cookie, but I promise you, they’re so worth the effort!

There’s an extra step in this recipe, to make the brown butter, and then sure, you have to pop the caramel into the cookie before baking, but it’s not that much extra work and when you taste one of these divine cookies, you’ll be convinced there are none better!

What you’ll love about Salted Caramel Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies


  • They’re crazy good!
  • They’re caramel-y and buttery but not too sweet!
  • Easy to make and they bake up in no time!

Ingredients

  • Butter – Salted butter, cut into chunks.
  • All-purpose flour
  • Cream of tartar – The secret ingredient in snickerdoodle cookies.
  • Baking soda
  • Cinnamon – Ground cinnamon.
  • Salt – Regular cooking salt.
  • Dark brown sugar – There’s extra molasses in dark brown sugar which gives these cookies a lovely flavor.
  • Granulated sugar
  • Eggs
  • Vanilla extract – Imitation is fine.
  • Caramels – I used Werther’s Originals, cut in half. See my notes below.
  • Cinnamon sugar – Made with 1/4 cup white sugar and 3 teaspoons cinnamon.
  • Flake salt – Like Maldon Sea Salt Flakes

What Kind Of Caramels Make The Best Caramel Snickerdoodles?

I used Werther’s Originals Caramels. They are soft and melt easily, but be sure to cut each caramel in half. They come prewrapped but resist the temptation to unwrap them too soon because if you do, and you put all the unwrapped cut caramels into a bowl, they’ll ooze into one giant lump of caramel. Ask me how I know this!

salted caramel brown butter snickerdoodle cookies on black plates

How To Make Salted Caramel Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies

For a full list of ingredients and instructions, please scroll to the recipe at the bottom of this page.

I tell you, these are the BEST snickerdoodles out there! They’re easy to make, but give yourself a bit of time for the dough to firm up in the fridge before rolling the cookies.

  1. Make the brown butter by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir the butter until it foams up, then take it off the heat and continue whisking until the foam subsides. You should see that the butter solids have turned golden brown, if not return the pan to the heat and stir until the butter has brown flecks in it and has a nutty aroma. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
  2. Combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.
  3. Mix the brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until well combined and smooth.
  4. Add the egg and egg yolk, and vanilla and mix until just combined.
  5. Add the dry ingredients in 2 batches, mixing well in between.
  6. Turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and wrap it tightly. Refrigerate the dough for about an hour.
  7. Scoop the dough into 2 tablespoon balls (a cookie scoop works fabulously for this).
  8. Press your thumb into each dough ball to create a depression, then add a caramel to the hole. Work the cookie dough over the caramel, sealing the caramel inside the middle of the cookie ball.
  9. Roll each dough ball in the cinnamon sugar then bake them 8 at a time on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet for about 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are cracked on top.
  10. Sprinkle the cookies with the flake salt as soon as they come out of the oven. Let them cool on the baking sheet before removing them. Enjoy!

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Chef Jenn’s Tips

  • Chilling the dough cuts down on how far the cookies will spread, and makes rolling them much easier. If your dough is too cold to scoop and roll, let it warm up on the counter for 15 minutes before working with it.
  • These cookies do spread when baking, so don’t overload the baking sheet.
  • Cover the caramel with cookie dough on all sides, and make sure there are no cracks in the dough balls or the caramel will ooze out.
  • These cookies are MOLTEN hot when just out of the oven. That caramel can cause serious burns if you don’t let the cookies cool to room temperature before eating them.

Storage

Keep the cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days, or freeze them. I vacuum seal cookies to keep them fresh longer, but you can just pop them into a freezer-safe plastic bag or container and thaw them as you need them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you make snickerdoodle cookies without cream of tartar?

Sure, you can, but then they won’t be snickerdoodles and they won’t have that bit of tanginess that you feel on the tip of your tongue when you eat them. Cream of tartar is what makes a snickerdoodle cookie a snickerdoodle.

What is cream of tartar?

Also known as potassium bitartrate, cream of tartar is in fact a powder, and an acidic one at that. It gives the cookies their signature tangy flavor, and it helps stop the sugars in the cookies from crystalizing so they stay nice and soft.

What is brown butter?

Brown butter is the name given to butter that’s had the milk solids cooked. When you cook the milk solids in the hot fat, they turn nutty and golden brown and have an outstanding caramel flavor that pairs perfectly with snickerdoodles.

Step By Step Process

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salted caramel brown butter snickerdoodles on a platter
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4.75 from 12 votes

Salted Caramel Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies

Salted caramel and brown butter make these snickerdoodles some of the best on the planet! They're cinnamon-y, chewy, and the caramel in them is so gosh darn good!
Course Desserts
Cuisine American
Keyword brown butter, caramel, chocolate caramel cookies, cookies, salted caramel, salted caramel brown butter snickerdoodle cookies, snickerdoodle
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Servings 36 cookes
Calories 143kcal
Author Chef Jenn

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter 2 sticks, cut into chunks
  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar packed
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 18 caramels cut in half

For the topping

  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons Maldon flake salt

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 350-F degrees.
  • Make the brown butter by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir the butter until it foams up, then take it off the heat and continue whisking until the foam subsides. You should see that the butter solids have turned golden brown, if not return the pan to the heat and stir until the butter has brown flecks in it and has a nutty aroma. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
  • Combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.
  • Mix the brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until well combined and smooth.
  • Add the egg and egg yolk, and vanilla and mix until just combined.
  • Add the dry ingredients in 2 batches, mixing well in between.
  • Turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and wrap it tightly. Refrigerate the dough for about an hour.
  • Scoop the dough into 2 tablespoon balls (a cookie scoop works fabulously for this).
  • Press your thumb into each dough ball to create a depression, then add a caramel to the hole. Work the cookie dough over the caramel, sealing the caramel inside the middle of the cookie ball.
  • Roll each dough ball in the cinnamon sugar then bake them 8 at a time on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet for about 10-12 minutes in a preheated 350-F oven or until the cookies are cracked on top.
  • Sprinkle the cookies with the flake salt as soon as they come out of the oven. Let them cool on the baking sheet before removing them. Enjoy!

Notes

Chef Jenn’s Tips

  • Chilling the dough cuts down on how far the cookies will spread, and makes rolling them much easier. If your dough is too cold to scoop and roll, let it warm up on the counter for 15 minutes before working with it.
  • These cookies do spread when baking, so don’t overload the baking sheet.
  • Cover the caramel with cookie dough on all sides, and make sure there are no cracks in the dough balls or the caramel will ooze out.
  • These cookies are MOLTEN hot when just out of the oven. That caramel can cause serious burns if you don’t let the cookies cool to room temperature before eating them.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 143kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 249mg | Potassium: 63mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 174IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg

A Note on Nutritional Information

Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is calculated based on available online ingredient information. It is only an approximate value. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed.

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