Name: Easy Caramel Cookies - Printable Recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: 20
Cuisine: English
Ingredients: Saucepan; Large Baking Tray; Silicone Mat OR Baking Paper; Electric Stand Mixer *; Cling Film OR Plastic Bag; Rolling Pin; Wire Rack; 100g (3.5 oz) Milk Chocolate; 200g (1 Cup) Light Brown Muscovado Sugar; 150g (2/3 Cup) Unsalted Butter, Room Temp; 1/2 tsp Salt; 200g (1 + 1/2 Cups) Plain Flour; 1 tsp Baking Powder; 1 tsp Vanilla Extract; 100g (1/3 + 1/8 Cup) Caster Sugar; 3 tbsp Water

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(This post has been updated from the original February 2014 version to provide a better experience for you)

LOVE caramel? Tired of the fake flavoured stuff? This easy recipe uses real caramel pieces to make the most beautiful homemade caramel cookies! The deep caramel flavour and crunchy texture is out of this world! Keep reading to learn how easy it is to make them…

These incredibly moreish caramel shard cookies showcase a fantastic way to include caramel in cookies! Rather than it just being caramel flavoured, or drizzling caramel over the top – these beauties use real, homemade caramel, that’s been smashed into pieces! And the result is absolutely MAGICAL!

Not a confident baker? Check out baking for beginners! It’ll improve your knowledge, boost your confidence PLUS you can get my Top 5 Baking Tips to Guarantee Baking Success!

Can you put caramel in cookies?

Absolutely! Cookies with caramel inside are divine! Whether that’s soft caramel (like in millionaire brownie bars), caramel chocolate chips, or crushed hard caramel like in this caramel cookie recipe.

What are caramel cookies?

Caramel cookies can be lots of different things. But in this case, caramel brittle is smashed and added to cookie dough. Then baked and drizzled in melted chocolate, to form moreish chocolate caramel cookies! Of course the melted chocolate is optional, but it does add to the flavour and makes them look pretty.

How to make caramel cookies

To make these chocolate and caramel cookies you first make caramel in a pan and let it cool, before crushing it into pieces. Then you make a brown sugar cookie dough, and add in the caramel shards. Shape and bake them as you would any other cookie, then drizzle in melted chocolate if you wish.

Close up of a caramel cookie drizzled with chocolate

Can you freeze caramel cookies?

I wouldn’t personally freeze baked caramel cookies, but you could freeze the unbaked dough balls. Just make sure you wrap them well and use them within 3 months so they don’t get freezer burn.

If you want to bake them straight from the freezer, just add 2-3 minutes onto the cooking time. But keep a close eye on them, just in case.

Ingredients and substitutions

Confused about what ingredients to buy? Not sure about a substitution? Here’s everything you need to know…

Sugar – I always use caster sugar when baking, as it’s finer crystals dissolve easily. Don’t substitute for granulated sugar if you can help it, as those crystals are much larger. And you may over mix the dough trying to get it to dissolve.
Water – No need for anything fancy here! Tap water is absolutely fine.
Brown Sugar – I use light brown muscovado sugar here, as it has a more caramel flavour than regular light brown sugar. Although that would work ok if that’s all you have.
Butter – Unsalted butter is my go to in baking, as it gives me full control of the salt content. If you use salted butter instead, you may prefer to leave out the additional salt.
Salt – As I said previously, I like to pair salt with unsalted butter as it gives me full control. If you want to make salted caramel cookies, you can simply add more salt to taste.
Flour – Use plain (all purpose) flour here. Don’t substitute for self raising or strong bread flour, as this will alter the final texture of your cookies.
Baking Powder – Don’t switch this out for bicarbonate of soda as they react differently in baking. It needs to be baking powder.
Vanilla – As always, I’m passionate about using good quality vanilla, as you can REALLY taste the difference! Supermarket versions are genuinely a waste of money. Try using Little Pod or Nielsen Massey.

A caramel cookie and glass of milk on a kitchen cloth

Recipe tips and troubleshooting

Here are tips you’ll find helpful when making these caramel cookies.

Don’t be tempted to stir when you’re making the caramel. If you do, that’s when sugar crystals form, and the whole thing siezes up.
Be careful handling freshly made caramel, as it’s incredibly hot. It will burn if it touches your skin.
Make sure you bring the butter to room temperature before using it, or you will have difficulty creaming it with the sugar.
Forget to take your butter out the fridge and it’s really hard? Here’s how to soften butter quickly.
Don’t skip the dough chilling stage! Otherwise your cookies will spread a lot more during baking.
Don’t be tempted to flatten the dough balls, as they will spread a fair amount during baking anyway.

Time management

Have limited time? Struggle with recipe timings? Or juggling around other things? Here’s some time managing info to make your life easier.

The caramel will take around 10 minutes to make, and 10 minutes to cool.
It should take you around 10-15 minutes to make the cookie dough.
Allow a minimum of 30 minutes dough chilling time. But if you have longer, they will be even better and spread less.
Shaping the cookies will take about 5-10 minutes.
Baking the cookies will take between 14-18 minutes. You many need to cook in batches though, so bear this in mind.
Cooling shouldn’t take too long, but it will vary depending on how warm your kitchen is.

Chocolate caramel cookies on baking paper

If you like this recipe…

…you might also like:

Easy Caramel Cookies – Step by Step Picture Recipe

(For a printer friendly version, see the recipe card at the end of this post)

Ingredients

Here is what you will need to make 20.

For the caramel

100g (1/3 + 1/8 Cup) Caster Sugar
3 tbsp Water

For the cookie dough

200g (1 Cup) Light Brown Muscovado Sugar
150g (2/3 Cup) Unsalted Butter, Room Temp
1/2 tsp Salt
200g (1 + 1/2 Cups) Plain Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

To decorate (Optional)

100g (3.5 oz) Milk Chocolate

Essential equipment

Saucepan
Large Baking Tray
Silicone Mat OR Baking Paper
Electric Stand Mixer *
Cling Film OR Plastic Bag
Rolling Pin
Wire Cooling Rack

*Or a large Bowl with Electric Hand Whisk.

Caramel instructions

To make the caramel, put the sugar (100g | 1/3 + 1/8 Cup) and water (3 tbsp) into a saucepan and stir together. Then place the pan over a high heat, and allow to boil for about 5-6 minutes without stirring. (If you stir, sugar crystals will form and it won’t work.)

When it’s ready, the bubbles will be much smaller than at the start, and the caramel will be a nice golden colour.

Pour the caramel onto a baking tray lined with baking paper or a silicone mat, and allow to cool/set for at least 10 minutes.

Cookie instructions

In a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment (or in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand whisk) cream together the sugar (200g | 1 Cup), butter (150g | 2/3 Cup) and salt (1/2 tsp) until light and smooth.

Next add in the flour (200g | 1 + 1/2 Cups), baking powder (1 tsp) and vanilla (1 tsp) and mix until a crumbly dough is formed.

When the caramel has completely cooled, wrap it in cling film (or place in a plastic bag) and bash with a rolling pin to make small shards.

Tip the caramel pieces into the dough, and mix until everything is nicely incorporated. Now wrap the dough in cling film or foil, and pop it into the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Caramel cookie dough wrapped in clingfilm

Baking instructions

Preheat your oven to 170°C/Fan 160°C/338°F.

Divide the dough into 20 pieces, and roll into balls. Then space them apart on a lined baking tray and bake for approximately 16 minutes, until golden on the edges. You may need to bake them in batches.

Caramel cookie dough balls on a baking tray

Allow the caramel cookies to sit on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. When cool, you can eat them as they are or decorate with chocolate.

To decorate (optional)

Place the cooled caramel cookies onto a cooling rack or on a sheet of baking paper.

Melt the milk chocolate (100g | 3.5 oz) either in a small bowl in 10 second intervals in the microwave, or in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water.

Then pour into a piping bag, snip the end, and drizzle over the cookies. Allow to set before transferring to a container for storage.

Lots of caramel cookies drizzled with melted milk chocolate

How to store caramel cookies

Store your caramel cookies in a metal tin at room temperature, and consume within 3-4 days (if they even last that long!!).

Don’t use a plastic tub if you can help it. Sugar sweats in plastic, and it can quickly ruin all your hard work!

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A chocolate drizzled caramel cookie with a glass of milk. A text overlay says 'caramel cookies'