Caramel-Stuffed Snickerdoodles

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
• •Two rimmed baking sheets
• •Parchment paper
• •Wire cooling rack
• •2-tablespoon cookie scoop (optional but helpful)

Instructions

1. 1

   Combine dry ingredients

   Whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set this aside. The cream of tartar will look like fine white powder, almost like cornstarch. Smell it. That subtle tartness is what separates a true snickerdoodle from an ordinary sugar cookie.

2. 2

   Cream butter and sugar

   In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. The mixture should pale in color and increase in volume. Scrape down the sides of the bowl at least once. This aeration is what gives your cookies their tender crumb.

   Properly softened butter should give slightly when pressed but hold its shape. If it's too soft, your cookies will spread too thin to contain the caramel.
3. 3

   Add eggs and vanilla

   Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix until combined. The mixture may look slightly curdled after the eggs go in. This is normal. It will smooth out when the flour joins.

4. 4

   Build the dough

   Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in two additions, mixing on low speed just until combined after each. Stop the mixer the moment the flour disappears. Overworked dough produces tough cookies. The dough should be soft but not sticky, pulling cleanly away from the bowl.

5. 5

   Chill the dough

   Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 24 hours. Cold dough is essential for this recipe. It firms up the butter so you can wrap it around the caramels without the dough sticking to your hands or tearing. Warm dough cannot contain a secret.

   If you're in a rush, spread the dough on a sheet pan and freeze for 20 minutes. Check that it's firm enough to handle before proceeding.
6. 6

   Prepare for assembly

   When ready to bake, position racks in the upper and lower thirds of your oven and heat to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine the sugar and cinnamon for coating in a shallow bowl, mixing well with your fingers until no cinnamon streaks remain. Unwrap all 24 caramels now. You'll want them ready.

7. 7

   Wrap the caramels

   Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie. Flatten the dough into a disc in your palm. Place one caramel in the center. Bring the edges of the dough up and around the caramel, pinching firmly to seal. Roll between your palms to form a smooth ball. The caramel should be completely encased with no thin spots. Any gaps will leak during baking.

   Work quickly. Your hands warm the dough. If it becomes sticky, refrigerate the remaining dough for 10 minutes before continuing.
8. 8

   Coat in cinnamon sugar

   Roll each dough ball generously in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, coating all sides. Place on prepared baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart. These cookies spread. Overcrowding leads to merged cookies and uneven baking. Eight cookies per standard sheet is plenty.

9. 9

   Bake to perfection

   Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans front to back and switching racks halfway through. The cookies are done when the edges are set and beginning to turn golden but the centers still look slightly underdone and puffed. They will crack across the top in that classic snickerdoodle pattern. Remove from oven when the cracks appear.

   Underbaking is your friend here. The cookies firm as they cool, and the caramel stays soft and gooey. Overbaked cookies have hard, chewy caramel that sticks to your teeth.
10. 10

    Cool and serve

    Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. This rest period allows the caramel to settle from molten lava to stretchy, gooey gold. Transfer to a wire rack to cool further if you can resist them. Serve warm for maximum drama. Break one open at the table and watch the caramel stretch. This is the moment you've been working toward.

Chef Tips

• •Kraft caramels or similar soft, individually wrapped squares work perfectly. Avoid hard caramels or caramel bits, which won't melt into that gooey center. The caramel should be soft enough to dent with your fingernail.
• •For even softer caramel centers, microwave each unwrapped candy for 3 seconds before wrapping. This helps them melt more thoroughly during the short bake time.
• •The cinnamon-sugar coating can be made more complex. Add a pinch of cardamom or a scrape of fresh nutmeg for a spiced variation that nods to the cookie's European ancestry.
• •Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. To revive the gooey centers, microwave individual cookies for 8 to 10 seconds before serving.
• •These freeze beautifully. Freeze baked and cooled cookies in a single layer, then transfer to freezer bags. Thaw at room temperature and warm briefly in a 300°F oven for 3 minutes to restore the caramel's stretch.

Advance Preparation

• •Dough can be made and refrigerated up to 3 days ahead. Let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before scooping if very firm.
• •Assembled unbaked cookie balls can be frozen on a sheet pan, then transferred to freezer bags for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen, adding 2 minutes to the bake time.
• •The cinnamon-sugar coating can be mixed weeks in advance and stored in an airtight jar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 cookie (about 45g)