Warning!!! These caramel cookies are highly addictive! One bite will have you hooked! The melt-in-your-mouth caramel frosting made with sweetened condensed milk tops a caramel butter cookie! They're the perfect combination!
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Why choose this recipe...
- Soft, melt-in-your-mouth caramel cookies plus frosting.
- The caramel frosting is made with sweetened condensed milk.
- Makes plenty to share with friends and family.
Ingredient Notes
- Butter - can be either salted or unsalted.
- Flour - all-purpose, not self-rising.
Step by Step Instructions
- Prepare the frosting so it will be warm to frost the cookies but not so hot it runs off.
- First, sift the powdered sugar well and set it aside. It's super important to sift the powdered sugar well so it blends and melts properly in the frosting.
- In a small non-stick pot, melt the butter.
- Whisk in the brown sugar and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes.
- Carefully whisk in the vanilla and sweetened condensed milk. Your mixture will hiss and spit a little at first.
- In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and the sugars. Mix in the egg yolks, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the flour, mixing well.
- Whisk in the sifted powdered sugar a ¼ cup at a time. It is important that the powdered sugar be sifted to avoid lumps.
- Remove from the hotter heat, but keep the frosting warm by either putting it in a non-stick pot on the stovetop over very low heat in between frosting batches or putting it in a chocolate melting pot set on low.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray or line them with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and the sugars.
- Add the egg yolks and the vanilla. Mix well.
- Add the salt and the flour. Mix well.
- Scoop out the dough by ½ tablespoonfuls and roll into balls. Each ball should be the size of a gumball.
- Place on prepared baking sheets. I was able to cook 20 cookies per pan.
- Flatten each cookie with a fork in a crisscross pattern.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. These cookies won't brown until they are overdone, so don't wait for them to brown, or they will be crispy.
- Cool the cookies on a cooling rack.
- While the cookies are still a little warm but not hot, frost them with the warm caramel frosting.
- Allow the frosting to cool and set.
- Store in an airtight container with wax paper separating the layers of cookies.
Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips
Either keep it in a non-stick pot on the stovetop over very low heat in between frosting batches or put it in a chocolate melting pot set on low.
First, the good news is that the grainy pieces of sugar will still soften as the cookies sit, so don't panic. Two things can cause the caramel frosting to be lumpy or grainy. One, you have to sift the powdered sugar as you add it so that it properly melts into the caramel. Two, you need to add the powdered sugar right after adding the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla while it is still hot. If the caramel is not hot enough, then the powdered sugar doesn't melt as added.
After the frosting has set, layer these cookies in between sheets of wax paper and store them in an airtight container.
Yes, but the frosting may thaw out sticky instead of set.
Sugar cookies are sweeter than butter cookies, and the texture is more soft and less chewy. Shortbread cookies have a higher butter-to-flour ratio and are tender, crumbly cookie-like Pecan Sandies. Butter cookies have more flour in them, so they can be shaped, rolled, or cut out, and they hold their shape when baked.
Related Recipes
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Caramel Frosted Butter Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ Cup Caramel Frosting Butter
- 1 ½ Cups Brown Sugar
- ¾ Cup Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 ¼ Cups Powdered Sugar sifted
- 1 ½ Cup Caramel Butter Cookie Dough room temperature
- 1 Cup Brown Sugar
- ½ Cup White Sugar
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 3 Cup Flour
Instructions
- Prepare the frosting so it will be warm to frost the cookies but not so hot it runs off.
- First, sift the powdered sugar well and set it aside.
- In a small non-stick pot, melt the butter.
- Whisk in the brown sugar and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes.
- Carefully whisk in the vanilla and sweetened condensed milk.
- In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and the sugars. Mix in the egg yolks, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the flour, mixing well.
- Whisk in the sifted powdered sugar a ¼ cup at a time. It is important that the powdered sugar be sifted to avoid lumps.
- Remove from the hotter heat, but keep the frosting warm by either putting it in a non-stick pot on the stovetop over very low heat in between frosting batches or putting it in a chocolate melting pot set on low.
- Make the cookies.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray or line them with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and the sugars.
- Add the egg yolks and the vanilla. Mix well.
- Add the salt and the flour. Mix well.
- Scoop out the dough by ½ tablespoonfuls and roll into balls. Each ball should be the size of a gumball.
- Place on prepared baking sheets. I was able to cook 20 cookies per pan.
- Flatten each cookie with a fork in a crisscross pattern.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. These cookies won't brown until they are overdone, so don't wait for them to brown, or they will be crispy.
- Cool the cookies on a cooling rack.
- While the cookies are still a little warm but not hot, frost them with the warm caramel frosting.
- Allow the frosting to cool and set.
- Store in an airtight container with wax paper separating the layers of cookies.
Notes
- Just in case you find that your frosting is a little grainy or lumpy...First, the good news is that the grainy pieces of sugar will still soften as the cookies sit, so don't panic. Two things can cause the caramel frosting to be lumpy or grainy. One, you have to sift the powdered sugar as you add it so that it properly melts into the caramel. Two, you need to add the powdered sugar right after adding the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla while it is still hot. If the caramel is not hot enough, then the powdered sugar doesn't melt as added.
G. T.
One of the best cookies ever!!!