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Caramel Stuffed Snickerdoodle Cookies take the classic sugary, cinnamony cookie to a whole other level. They are super soft with an ooey, gooey caramel surprise in the middle.
This post has been updated from 2014.
My dad’s favorite cookies of all time were Snickerdoodles. I have memories of my mom making them for him often. Soft and chewy on the inside and just slightly crisp on the outside, with that delicious cinnamon sugar crust. Heavenly!
Try not to lick the screen. Although you’re probably wishing it was scratch and sniff right about now because these cookies smell seriously amazing.
If you have made Snickerdoodles before, you know the routine. Mix the dough, roll into a ball and then in cinnamon sugar. There’s just one additional step and that’s to add the caramel. It’s kind of the best step of all.
Just make sure you wrap that dough all the way around the caramel and you’ll be golden. Or rather, you’re cookies will be. They spread out nicely and may have a nice little dip in the middle where you can see the melted caramel. Oh yeah.
Now let’s chat about the caramel for a minute. If your stores are like mine, there are basically two different caramel candies to choose from. I have used both and I prefer the Werther’s brand caramels (aff) for these cookies. They are the longer, skinnier ones. They just seem to be softer and as such provide a smoother caramel center. The others tend to harden a little. Speaking of which, pretty please don’t put these cookies in the fridge. The caramel will harden in the middle and you just might break a tooth biting into them. K not really. But maybe.
I suggest you run over to the grocery store and grab what you need for these Caramel Stuffed Snickerdoodle Cookies ASAP. You can thank me later.
Caramel Stuffed Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter 1 stick, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 18 caramels unwrapped
For Rolling:
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large bowl cream together the butter and 1 cup of sugar. Add egg and vanilla and beat until blended.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Add to the wet ingredients and mix well until a nice dough forms.
- Mix ¼ cup sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon together in a shallow dish (like a pie plate) and set aside.
- Divide dough and roll into balls about 2 tablespoons in size. (Using a cookie scoop is very helpful for this). Flatten each ball of dough with the palm of your hand and place a caramel in the center. Wrap the dough completely around the caramel and roll into a ball again. Roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cook completely.
- Store in a tightly sealed container for up to one week. Do not refrigerate as it will harden the caramel.
Notes
Nutrition
Here is another Snickerdoodle recipe you might like:
For more delicious cookie recipes, try these:
I made these yesterday,,, came out good,, wondering though,,, how do you keep them round,, some of mine turned out oblong,
If the caramels are an oblong shape, they could shape the cookies. You could try squishing the caramels so they are ore of a square.
could I use canned caramel instead of caramel candies?
No, they need to be solid for stuffing.
I made both types ,one recipe with worth era carmels and one recipe with extra hard cooked ” dulce de leche ” made by boiling sweetened condensed milk 3 hrs..They were both delicious.The carmels were less messy to make but the dulce de leche were softer to bite into,there were no leftover cookies..Awesome recipe !
I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for high-altitude versions. My caramel did not remain gooey in the center once baked. Maybe I just needed more cookie dough.
Definitely worth playing around with this recipe to achieve the gooey center. Thank you for sharing this recipe. It’s divine!
Hi Amie, Sometimes the type of caramel used can make a difference. I have liked to use Werther’s caramels for the best results in the past, but it’s possible that they have changed their recipe. Try the Kraft caramels!
Ther is an error in your recipe. You say to use 2 tablespoons of dough and it should be 2 teaspoons. Other than that very good.
Thanks for your feedback. 2 teaspoons wouldn’t be enough to wrap around the caramel. It’s not an error. I used 2 tablespoons, which is why I listed 2 tablespoons in the recipe. A medium cookie scoop is 1.5 tablespoons and I used a little more than that.
me and my daughter made these and fell in love! Thanks for the recipe! So good! My daughter doesn’t like cinnamon but loved these.
How many cookies does this recipe make? Thanks
Snickerdoodles are usually made with cream of tartar. Is there a reason your recipe does not include it??
I don’t know where it went wrong I am guessing the dry part. I mix the dry part in the wet ingredient and it was crumbely. Research on why it was crumble and it was because of too much flour. So I mix in liquid(milk) and it became to sticky. In the end my cookies didn’t turn out good.
Mine was the same o added extra butter
oh these look sooo good! We have chocolate covered caramels here which I’m going to try stuffing them with! Chocolately caramel stuffed goodness!
These cookies look extremely delicious
My mouth is watering…..
just saw these on Pinterest .. these are amazing!!! Can’t wait to try these caramel stuffed snickerdoodle cookies. . YUM!!
How many cookies does this recipe make?
Well it says to use 18 caramels….so about 18…
ummm these sound divine… you had me at caramel! 🙂
No worries, I used Windex on my computer screen after I licked it! HAHAHA
I love snickerdoodles! I am going to try them with a gluten-free flour. These look delicious. Thanks for the recipe.