Salted Caramel Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies

salted caramel brown butter snickerdoodles on a platter

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!

Prep Time20

Cook Time12

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: brown butter, caramel, chocolate caramel cookies, cookies, salted caramel, salted caramel brown butter snickerdoodle cookies, snickerdoodle

Servings: 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