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How cute are these salted caramel snickerdoodles? Seriously, they’re almost too adorable to eat—almost! Each soft, cinnamon-kissed cookie is filled with a heart-shaped pool of rich, brown butter caramel that melts in your mouth. Whether you’re baking for a special occasion or just treating yourself, these little bites of heaven are always a hit. They’ve got just the right balance of sweet, salty, and spiced flavors to keep you coming back for more. One taste, and they’re sure to become a family favorite!
These salted caramel snickerdoodles are soft, cinnamon-kissed, and filled with rich brown butter caramel. A sweet and salty treat perfect for any occasion!
Looking for more sweet treat ideas? This key lime pie is always popular, and these stuffed cookies and brownie sundae waffle bowls are also irresistible.
Why You’ll Love It
So cute: The heart-shaped caramel filling makes these cookies extra-special. They’re just adorable.
Easy to prepare: There’s nothing difficult about making these cookies, even if you aren’t a seasoned home baker!
Delicious flavors: The sticky salted caramel is so delicious and contrasts nicely with the vanilla flavored cookies, and the crunchy cinnamon pumpkin spice sugar coating is the icing on the cake! These cookies are really delicious.
Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
All-purpose flour: The main ingredient in the cookie dough.
Unsalted butter: Used in the cookie dough and also in the caramel mixture.
Cream of tartar: Cream of tartar is a by-product of winemaking. This multipurpose ingredient helps baked goods to rise, acts as a stabilizer in beaten egg whites and stops sugar crystallizing. It’s acidic, unlike baking soda which is alkaline. This recipe includes both. The cream of tartar gives snickerdoodles their unique tangy taste which makes them taste different to plain sugar cookies.
Cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice: These add warm, earthy flavors.
Sweetened condensed milk: For the caramel filling.
Corn syrup: To sweeten the caramel and thin it.
Dark brown sugar: Sweetens the caramel and gives it a rich flavor.
Vanilla extract: Flavors both the cookies and the caramel topping.
How to Make Heart-Shaped Snickerdoodles
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Start the cookie dough: The first thing to do when making salted caramel heart center snickerdoodles is to beat the butter and sugar.
Add more ingredients: Next you can add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Mix in the flour and you should achieve a workable dough.
Make the sugar coating: Next up in this Valentine’s Day or Thanksgiving cookie recipe, you can make the sugar coating. All you have to do for that is combine the listed ingredients.
Shape the cookies: Shape the dough into balls then roll them in the sugar coating. Arrange them on parchment paper-lined baking trays. Press them down and add some more of the sugar mixture on top.
Bake them: Now you can bake them. When they’re done, use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut the middle out of each one.
Make the caramel: Bring the brown sugar, butter, sweetened condensed milk, and corn syrup to a boil and then stir in the vanilla. Pour the brown butter caramel into the heart shaped cut-outs. Be quick else it might set before you’re finished!
Add salt: Sprinkle over a little salt and your salted caramel heart center snickerdoodles are done.
Substitutions and Variations
Gluten-free version: Substitute gluten-free flour for the wheat flour.
Different spices: Although cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice are delicious in this recipe, you could also consider nutmeg, allspice, cloves, or ginger.
Vanilla extract: Try another flavor extract in your cookies.
Serving Suggestions
With a drink: Enjoy these caramel snickerdoodles with anything from an iced gingerbread latte to a homemade pineapple peach smoothie.
On a cookie platter: Present a trio of cookies, perhaps also whipping up a batch of black and white cookies and some cheesecake cookies. I also love these Texas sheet cake cookies.
How to Store Caramel Snickerdoodles
Store: These salted brown butter salted caramel snickerdoodle cookies should be fine for up to 5 days in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. Keep them at room temperature.
Freeze: You can also freeze them for up to 3 months if you’re making a batch ahead for Valentine’s Day or Thanksgiving!
Thaw: Either thaw them on the countertop or enjoy them straight from the freezer.
Top Tips
Work fast: Pour the brown butter caramel into the heart shaped cut-outs quickly, otherwise it might set before you’re finished!
Use a tall pot: I recommend using a high-sided pot when making the caramel, so the mixture doesn’t bubble over.
Give some as gifts: If you want to give some of these as gifts, put them in cellophane bags tied with a ribbon for a pretty presentation.
Leftover heart cutouts: With the leftover heart middles and leftover caramel, you can make cute mini cookies, by using the same heart cookie cutter to cut heart shapes out of the caramel (be sure to grease your cookie cutter and wait until the caramel has cooled completely!) then add the caramel hearts on top of the snickerdoodle hearts, sprinkling them with flake salt too.
Low and slow caramel-making: If you go above 245 degrees F your caramel will start to get a bit harder to chew, and if you go below 242 degrees F the caramel might be too soft.
Pumpkin pie spice: The pumpkin pie spice in the sugar coating is totally optional but I just love the extra little kick it gives to the sweetness of the cookie.
Snickerdoodle Cookie FAQs
Are you curious about how these salted caramel and cinnamon cookies got their name? Well, it’s believed the name might have come from ‘Schneckennudel’ which means ‘snail noodle’ in German. This German yeast dough roll is more like a cinnamon bun though, so ‘snickerdoodle’ is likely just a nonsense, fun word! And by the way, these treats have been around since the 1800s.
The brown butter caramel is one of the best parts of these salted caramel snickerdoodles. Although caramel isn’t hard to make, it’s important to get the temperature right when making it. Don’t let the heat go over 245 degrees F else it will get tough. Also bring it to a minimum of 242 degrees F to ensure it will be firm enough to set. You will need a good candy thermometer to ensure your temperatures are correct.
Don’t waste them. You can make mini cookies with these cutouts, either to serve as they are or to top with caramel. These mini heart cookies are nice for decorating an ice cream sundae or you could give them as gifts.
Salted Caramel Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe
Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
- Pot High-Sided
- Heart Cookie Cutter Small
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Cup unsalted butter
- 1 Cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Sugar Coating:
- 1/4 Cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 Teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
For the Caramel:
- 1 Cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 Cup butter, unsalted
- 7 Ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 4 Ounces corn syrup
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- salt , flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 2 cookie trays by lining them with parchment paper.
Make the Cookie Dough:
- In the bowl of a mixer, add the butter and sugar. Using the paddle attachment blend together until combined, then while the mixer is still running add in one egg at a time.
- Add the vanilla, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar, mix well.
- Mix in the flour, and mix until everything is combined and a dough has formed.
- In a small bowl mix together the ingredients for the sugar coating.
Shape the Cookies:
- Scoop a large scoop of dough into the palm of your hand. Roll the dough to create a ball that is roughly 2 inches in size.
- Roll the ball of dough into the sugar coating then place onto the prepared cookie tray.
- Continue this process until all of the dough has been used. Place no more than 4 to 6 cookies on each tray, keeping plenty of space between each cookie.
- Gently press each ball down with flat fingers so they are about ½ the height as they were. Sprinkle a little extra of the sugarcoating onto the flattened cookies.
Bake the Cookies:
- Bake in a preheated oven for approximately 15 minutes. If you're baking 2 trays and the same time, be sure to rotate the trays halfway through.
- Once the cookies have finished baking, remove from the oven. While the cookies are still warm, but not too hot to burn you, use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut the center of the cookies out.
- Let the cookies cool completely.
- When the cookies have cooled, place all of the cookies close together on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper. Have a second empty cookie tray lined with parchment paper set aside as well.
Make the Caramel:
- Put all of the caramel ingredients, except for the vanilla, into a medium sized pot (you want enough space in the pot for the caramel to bubble up comfortably)
- Heat the caramel over medium low heat, stirring frequently. Staying on medium low heat bring the caramel to a boil, once boiling only stir occasionally. Once the caramel has reached 242 degrees F, it remove from heat and immediately stir in the vanilla.
- Working quickly, but carefully, fill each heart space with the caramel. If you have left over caramel, pour onto the second cookie tray that you lined with parchment paper.
- Let the caramel in the cookies cool for a few minutes then sprinkle the tops with flake salt.
- Let the cookies cool completely before serving.
Notes
Use a tall pot: I recommend using a high-sided pot when making the caramel, so the mixture doesn’t bubble over.
Give some as gifts: If you want to give some of these as gifts, put them in cellophane bags tied with a ribbon for a pretty presentation.
Leftover heart cutouts: With the leftover heart middles and leftover caramel, you can make cute mini cookies, by using the same heart cookie cutter to cut heart shapes out of the caramel (be sure to grease your cookie cutter and wait until the caramel has cooled completely!) then add the caramel hearts on top of the snickerdoodle hearts, sprinkling them with flake salt too.
Low and slow caramel-making: If you go above 245 degrees F your caramel will start to get a bit harder to chew, and if you go below 242 degrees F the caramel might be too soft.
Pumpkin pie spice: The pumpkin pie spice in the sugar coating is totally optional but I just love the extra little kick it gives to the sweetness of the cookie.
Nutrition
You will love these salted caramel heart center snickerdoodles. They’re great for Valentine’s Day or Thanksgiving. This caramel snickerdoodle recipe is easy to make and the finished cookies are just so cute!
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
Sweet, salty, and oh-so-cute! The caramel heart inside? Incredible!
The salted caramel was the best. I am excited to bake this again!
Super-duper-cute!!! Everyone enjoyed these
so cute with the heart center. i have not seen ones like this before.