Salted Caramel Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

Hello hello everyone!

So I've never written a blog before but I keep getting told that my recipes need to go somewhere (besides Facebook that is). I'm sure that there will be plenty of typos in my posts, possibly even some vulgar or profane language, and maybe even a few posts that are profound ;). Sorry in advance. I'm not the classiest lady.

My first recipe will be one of my new favorites that combines two of my all-time favorites...Salted Caramel and Cookies!

I introduce Salted Caramel Brown Butter Snickerdoodles! Wife made, husband approved :)

This photo shows all the ingredients needed for the entire recipe. I love the overhead shots. Makes it easy to see and know exactly what you need. Sometimes I show the ingredient in the amount needed (such as the 1 1/2 cup of brown sugar) and sometimes I don't (i.e., the bottle of cinnamon).

*Please note that the measuring cup in the top right corner holds the already browned-butter. I did this while my husband cooked breakfast so it had plenty of time to cool back to room temperature. All I had to do was whip it before mixing with other ingredients.

*Bottom picture shows the dough, cut caramels, and cinnamon sugar mixture. Left middle is the cookies before heading into the oven. Notice just a sprinkle of sea salt on top. Top left is just out of the oven. The right side shows the center after cooling for 5 minutes.

 ~ Cookie Dough Ingredients ~
2½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp ground cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice)
½ tsp sea salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1¼ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup caramels cut (try to get the ones that are wrapped in wax paper. They seem to be the best)

~ Ingredients...for after the cookies are made ~
¼ c sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Sea salt

~ Baking Instructions ~

1. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, tarter, cinnamon and then set aside.

2. When you are ready to brown the butter, heat a medium saucepan to medium-high heat. Add butter and continue to whisk frequently. Once it boils, the butter will start looking a bit frothy. You have to keep an eye on it for when it starts to turn brown. It's kind of hard to see through the froth but that's why you keep whisking :). The butter will start to smell a bit nutty (this is when the magic happens) and once it turns to a brown color, remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. I usually stick it in a glass measuring cup and put it in the fridge. It will harden up but you can use a fork to break it up when you eventually need it. Whip it thoroughly so that it mixes well with the sugar. Don’t worry about the brown flecks on the bottom, whip those in too.

3. When the butter is cooling, cut the caramel squares into ¼’s. I also put these in the fridge.

4. With a wooden spoon or a mixer, combine the brown butter and brown sugar, and ½ cup sugar. (The ¼ cup sugar will be used for rolling the cookies in). Mix until smooth.

5. Beat in egg, yolk, and vanilla and mix until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients until combined.

6. Create a nice dough ball and cover with plastic. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight. I’ve chilled the dough for about an hour usually. They turn out fine.

7. Once you are ready to bake preheat the oven to 350 degrees (175 C). Measure about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Press down on the ball and place 2-3 caramel squares inside, wrap the cookie dough over the caramel and roll back into a ball. Make sure no caramel is poking through or you’ll have a mess when it’s melted.

8. Mix ¼ cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and roll each cookie in the mixture. Place on a cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with sea salt (I used course sea salt). I like to press the cookies down slightly as well.

9. Bake for 9 minutes, or until the edges turn golden brown. The centers will be soft so you should allow them to cool for about 5 minutes before eating.

10. Transfer to a cooling rack or parchment on the countertop to cool completely.

Hope you enjoy my first blog post! These cookies are amazing and I can't wait to try a few other variations that I've got in mind. Happy baking!