These quick and easy Salted Caramel Cookies are flavor perfection! Giant, bakery style, sweet sugar cookies are filled with chewy salted caramel and topped with sparkly flaky sea salt. These cookies are great for a Christmas cookie exchange or make a great impression as a homemade gift.
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A Delicious Twist on the Classic Christmas Sugar Cookie Recipe
Yes, these Salted Caramel Cookies are as absolutely epic as they look!
A gorgeously thick, soft sugar cookie made with two big scoops of cookie dough is baked until *just* done. Then we fill each cookie with a few big spoonfuls of salted caramel and sprinkle some flaked sea salt right on top.
Each bite is a mixture of sweet, tender, vanilla sugar cookie with a big hit of sweet, chewy caramel and a salty finishing touch. They are incredibly delicious and store well to gift to friends/neighbors for holidays — perfect for cookie exchanges!
If you love these Salted Caramel Cookies, I think you will also love these cookies: Salted Caramel Crunch Cookies, Soft Maple Sugar Cookies, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookies.
Salted Caramel Cookie Ingredients
These sugar cookies are a little unusual because they use both vegetable oil and butter in the cookie dough. The combination makes an excellent soft, tender cookie. These cookies also hold their shape well enough to be filled with the salted caramel.
We use a mixture of light brown sugar and powdered sugar in this cookie recipe. Brown sugar gives the salted caramel cookie base a great flavor, while the powdered sugar helps with the overall texture.
Salted Caramel filling with Flaked Sea Salt
Our filling for these cookies is very simple and made using store bought caramels, milk/cream and salt. I have tried many different kinds of caramels over the years, and I personally prefer Werther’s Chewy Caramels over any other common store brands.
We melt them in a bowl with whole milk (you can also use heavy cream or half and half) and stir until smooth. Then we add a healthy pinch of salt and quickly pour the salted caramel into each cookie.
Lastly, before the caramel starts to firm again, we sprinkle the tops with big flaked sea salt.
How to Shape Salted Caramel Cookies
To create the shape for the pools in the center of the cookies, I like to use the bottom of a small measuring cup.
We roll the Salted Caramel Cookie dough into a large ball, using two heaping tablespoons of dough. Then set them on your prepared baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Grease the bottom of your small measuring cup, I use a 1/8th dry measuring cup, and press it into the center of the cookie dough as seen above in the photos.
Can I make Salted Caramel Cookies ahead?
Yes! These Salted Caramel Cookies are an excellent make ahead cookie recipe that do not need to be refrigerated.
Once they are cooled, you can store them in an airtight container, on the counter, for up to a week.
They are best in the first few days, but stay delicious if you use the old school bread trick to keep baked goods fresh.
To keep these Salted Caramel Cookies moist, add a slice of bread to the airtight container. Replace the slice of bread every couple of days, as needed. The cookies will use the moisture from the bread and the bread will become very stale, but the cookies will stay moist.
I just know you are going to love these epic Salted Caramel Cookies and I am excited for you to try them.
They are delicious any day, but they are great for a holiday cookie exchange or make an impression as a homemade gift.
Salted Caramel Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Salted Caramel Filling
- 2 (10.5 oz) bags Werther's Chewy Caramels, unwrapped
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons salt
- Flaky sea salt, for garnish
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar, set aside.
- In a larger bowl, beat butter, oil, brown sugar, and powdered sugar until smooth. Add egg, milk and vanilla, beating until well combined.
- Gradually add dry ingredients into wet ingredients, beating until just combined.
- Using your hands, roll two heaping tablespoons of dough to create large golf ball side dough ball.
- Place on prepared cookie sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. Using a small buttered measuring cup (I use a 1/8 cup measuring cup), gently press in the center of the cookie to create an indent in the center.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. The cookies will not look cooked all the way, they will stay very light in color, but they are done.
- Remove from oven and let cookies rest on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Caramel Filling: In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave caramels and milk for 30 seconds and stir. Continue microwaving in 15-second intervals until completely melted. Add in salt, stir well.
- Pour or drizzle the caramel into the indents in the cooled cookies. Sprinkle the tops with flaky sea salt before caramel begins to harden.
- Allow caramel to re-harden before moving cookies. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
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These look marvelous! I want to make some for a family dinner, however I cannot find flaky sea salt near me and I do not have time to wait for an order. Would it be best to use coarse sea salt or an adjustable sea salt grinder with fine, medium and course settings? Not sure what the best substitute for “flaky” sea salt is when used for finishing.
Hi Pixy, coarse would be the next best option. The flaky sea salt really is the best because it is in such large/wide and thin flakes, it hits the tongue perfectly to distribute the salty flavor without being overwhelming. I am able to buy flaky sea salt at my regular Publix and Walmart, so definitely make sure to look around at your local store!
Have you ever made these into a cookie cup using the mini muffin tin?
Hi Mary, no I have not. Since they are so filled with so many add-ins, I do not believe they would bake very evenly to form a cookie cup.
This are delightful but 2 tsp of salt in the caramel is way too much. I’m a person who loves salt but it was way too salty for me. If I ever do them again I would only use 1 tsp of salt
These salted caramel cookies look absolutely scrumptious! Jessica, I wonder why you call yourself The Novice Chef. You’re no novice!
Thanks Jack!
Is the measurement of 10.5 oz for the caramel for one bag (as in it would be 21oz altogether) or for two bags combined?
These look amazing and I can’t wait to make them!
Yes, I used 2 bags for a total of 21 oz worth of caramel!
I made these and they were delicious. My only problem was that I couldn’t stack them, they stuck to everything! Any tips on how store them in multiple layers or keep them from sticking to the gift boxes?
Maybe use parchment paper that you spray with Pam . Just a thought
I used wax paper in between mine, it does still sadly stick, but it’s easier to remove the wax paper.
Can you freeze the cookies, once baked, and add the caramel once thawed?
Yes! You can also freeze the cookie dough!
Can you make these cookies smaller, one scoop of dough? Does the caramel really take 2 bags at 10.5oz each? Thank you. I’m looking forward to making them for Christmas.
You can make them smaller if you choose! They will need less cooking time. And yes, they do take that much caramel if you fill them completely!
hi can i use kraft caramels instead of werther’s chewy caramels
Yes you can! They are just a little harder than the chewy caramels.
Made these today with my kids, came out delicious!
Superb. Love the salted caramel in the center!
Loved these Salted Caramel Cookies, delicious and fun to make with the kids.
These are delicious! Loved this recipe. Very easy too.
This is the best cookie I have ever had! A hit with the whole family!!
Outstanding! You don’t have ave today to be a master baker and these are excellent! I made them for a cookie exchange. Admittedly, I did not use the caramel in this recipe, but rather used a six minute microwave recipe.
Made a double batch and gave them away at work for gifts. Everyone raved about them!
I tried these last night and really enjoyed them. I had a different type of caramel and I am going to make them with the recommended type this weekend. Thanks for great recipe.
These are DELICIOUS! Thank you!
I can’t talk right now. Too busy eating cookies. 🙂 Great recipe.
Thanks for sharing this recipe.