Caramel cookies are the best no chill no spread cookie recipe around. Golden brown, crispy edges, soft, chewy center, bursting with loads of buttery sugar flavor.
This is my favorite cookie of all time.
Drum roll please. . . Day 12 of the 12 Days of Cookies: Caramel Cookies.
If you missed days 1-10 see below
- Day 1: Easy chocolate chip cookies
- Day 2: Soft oatmeal cookies
- Day 3: Macadamia nut snowball cookies
- Day 4: Lilikoi butter thumbprint cookies
- Day 5: Brownie mix cookies
- Day 6: Cheesecake Stuffed Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Day 7: Ube Crinkle Cookies
- Day 8: White chocolate macadamia nut cookies
- Day 9: Red velvet cookies
- Day 10: Easy shortbread cookies
- Day 11: Chocolate sugar cookies
If nostalgia had any meaning to me, this cookie would be it. As a child my mother and I would bake what felt like hundreds of these cookies to give to family and friends over the holidays. Rolling out the dough and using festive shaped cookie cutters.
I remember the smell cookies perfuming the house as I would sit in front of the oven and patiently (or so I thought) wait for those yummy cookies to come out of the oven. I couldn’t wait to sneak in a cookie or two before we bagged them up and gave them away.
Warm cookies straight out of the oven with a cold glass of milk on chilly winter days, well as chilly as Hawai’i gets in the winter, is the best. Which mind you high 50s/low 60s are pretty dang cold for us here.
What are caramel cookies?
Caramel cookies, as the name may imply, does not actually contain any caramel and to be quite honest I’m not exactly sure how it got its name. This recipe was passed down to me by my mother. She learned how to make these cookies from her babysitter as a kid.
What do I need to make this caramel cookie recipe?
- Unsalted butter. Using unsalted butter allows you to better control the amount of salt in the recipe.
- Crisco
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar: you could opt to use dark brown sugar here. This will give a richer molasses flavor.
- Eggs: best added at room temperature to allow for better incorporation.
- Vanilla extract: try my homemade vanilla extract recipe
- All purpose flour
- Salt
- Baking powder
These cookies are the best because…
- No chill time required. The amount of flour to butter/Crisco ratio creates stable dough.
- No spread dough.
- Perfect for rolling and cutting out shaped cookies.
- Perfect for decorating.
- And of course because they are absolutely delicious!!
What kind of decorations can I use?
Food coloring, royal icing, sprinkles, melted chocolate. The options are endless.
How to store caramel cookies?
These cookies are best stored in an airtight container at room temperature and will last about a week.
Can I freeze this caramel cookie dough recipe?
You sure can. It is best to wrap the dough in plastic wrap, or your plastic free wrap of choice, and place in a zip top bag. It will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months. When you are ready to use the dough allow to defrost to room temperature prior to baking.
How to make this caramel cookie recipe?
Preheat oven to 375F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment add butter, Crisco, and sugars. Beat until light and fluffy. Then add eggs and vanilla. Beat until well incorporated.
Add flour, salt, and baking soda in increments. Mix until just incorporated.
On a lightly floured surface or on a piece of wax paper roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Using the cookie cutter of your choice cut cookies. Place on a baking sheet about 1-2 inches apart.
Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.
Transfer to a cooling rack to cool. ENJOY!
Caramel Cookie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup Crisco
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- flour for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment add butter, Crisco, and sugars. Beat until light and fluffy. Then add eggs and vanilla. Beat until well incorporated.
- Add flour, salt, and baking soda in increments. Mix until just incorporated.
- On a lightly floured surface or on a piece of wax paper roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Using the cookie cutter of your choice cut cookies. Place on a baking sheet about 1-2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.
- Transfer to a cooling rack to cool. ENJOY!
Notes
Nutrition
© Relle Lum for Keeping It Relle. Please do not copy and paste or screenshot recipes online or on social media. I’d love it if you share a link with a photo instead. Mahalo!
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Hi! So the recipe says 1/2 Crisco. Is that 1/2 cup?
Whoops. Sorry about the typo. It has been fixed. You are correct 1/2 cup Crisco. Mahalo!
For some reason my was so dry like 4 cups of flour was too much I had to throw all away. Was the correct measurements?
Aloha Christina. I’m sorry that happened. This is a family recipe we make all the time. The measurements are correct. Did you add all the wet ingredient amounts correctly?