Caramel Apple Butter Snickerdoodles
This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure PolicyWell, friends, the dramatic conclusion of another Fall Cookie Week is upon us. Even though it’s sad to see FCW end, I hope you’re excited to have 12 new and delicious fall cookie recipes to tempt your taste buds and share with friends. Today, to wrap things up, I’m showing you how to make these Caramel Apple Butter Snickerdoodles.
Let’s talk about these snickerdoodles.
I wanted to make a seasonal snickerdoodle recipe. It was a toss up between one with pumpkin or one with apple butter. Considering that I’d already selected a couple cookie recipes with pumpkin, I figured I’d take the apple butter route.
At first, I was going to make them pretty basic, but was inspired to sneak a soft caramel inside.
If you’ve never eaten cookies with a caramel baked inside, you are missing out. They are truly exceptional. I like to pop them in the microwave for about 10 seconds to remelt the caramel and warm up the cookie. It’s just enough to make them seem like they’re fresh out of the oven.
Of course, you can eat the cookies at room temperature. After being baked, the caramels already seem pretty soft. (BTW, I prefer the Lancaster Soft Caramels. They’re the perfect size and some of the softest caramels around.)
You may be wondering how to get the caramel into the dough. Don’t worry, it’s simple. Portion out your dough and then flatten it into a disk. Place the caramel in the center of the disk and wrap the dough around it. Then roll the dough into a ball, and the caramel will be secure.
For the most part, with this particular recipe, the caramels stay within the dough. This makes biting into one of these seemingly basic cookies kind of a sweet surprise for anyone who doesn’t know what’s inside.
Delicious and fun. Who wouldn’t love that?
While these Apple Butter Snickerdoodles are delicious on their own, that gooey caramel center really does take them over the top.
What do you think? Happy Fall Baking!
Caramel Apple Butter Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup apple butter
- 36 soft caramels unwrapped
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cream of tartar, apple pie spice, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, using a stand or electric mixer, cream the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla followed by the apple butter. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients until incorporated.
- Chill the dough for about 2 hours in the refrigerator or 30-45 minutes in the freezer.
- Once the dough is chilled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon.
- Using a 5 cm cookie scoop, portion out the dough. Flatten each scoop of dough into a disk. Place a soft caramel in the middle and then wrap with dough. Roll into a ball and toss it in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until completely coated. Transfer the dough balls to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Allow the cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Pack and store in an airtight container.
good cookies, my dough was kinda sticky – it must not have chilled enough . great flavor though
Hi, there! Wondering if you can freeze these … I like to do so with my cookies (I make a LOT in advance of the holiday), but am worried about how that will affect the caramel. Grateful for any feedback.
Hey Michael,
I was so excited about the cookies. Every year I look for a new cookie to add to my arsenal (most of mine are family recipes and nothing ever compares). So I just got done with these. The flavor is AMAZING but most of mine the caramel either ran out onto the pan or was open at the bottom so when I tried to get them off of the parchment, my spatula had hot caramel on it. Was is the secret to getting the caramel to stay inside? Here are my thoughts:
1) How many cookies does the recipe make? Perhaps mine were too small.
2) Instead of being a roundish cookie, mine became flatter – perhaps I didnt chill the dough enough? I put in the freezer for 1/2 hour. I almost felt like it needed to go in the fridge after you put the caramel inside as it had been handled awhile and became warm.
3) Perhaps I used the incorrect type of caramel? I wanted to find something local or fresh but ran out of time so I ended up getting chewy Werthers.
Help! Great Flavor! I would love to try these again if you have an idea of what I could do better next time or what the secret is.
Patty – Oh no! I’m so sorry you had trouble with the caramel. I used the soft caramels from Lancaster brand. I really like them. Plus, they are smaller than most caramels. And yes, 1/2 hour chill probably wasn’t enough. That’s usually was causes cookies like this to be flat.
If you do decide to make them again, just pop one into the oven as a test first, then proceed with the rest. This way you can see if the dough is cool enough and/or if you have enough dough coverage.
Hope that helps!
Michael
these cookies looked so yummy , so I made them, soooo very disappointed , they were awful. had to throw them out .
Hmmm, thanks for letting me know. These are actually one of my favorite. I’m wondering what could have happened. Did you just not like the flavor? Did they not bake up nicely? Just curious. Thanks for the feedback.
xo Michael
Wow These look Yummy. Had to come & get this recipe! Thanks & Happy Autumn!
I’m so glad its fall for recipes like this. Yum!
Wow! Theses look so yummy! Can not wait to try them ASAP!
They look delicious Michael. Congratulations on your fantastic article in Cottages and Bungalows! I was thumbing through the magazine in the supermarket and recognized your great style!???
Cute and delicious! I’m not sure yet, but it looks as if you saved the best for last. I have so appreciated all the yummy recipes from you and Julie Blanner.
Oh Michael, this has fall written all over it! I can taste them now!