Salted Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Snickerdoodles

We’re throwing it back to 2016(!) when I first shared these incredible salted caramel stuffed chocolate snickerdoodles.

It may seem wild to throw all of these flavors at you, but I think you’ll find that the caramel, cinnamon, and chocolate paired together make one of the best holiday cookies you will ever eat. Ever, ever, ever.

I remember first coming up with this recipe almost a decade ago when I wanted to come up with a flavor that would truly knock it out of the park at all of your cookie exchanges. Let’s just say, these cookies will do just that.

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Ingredients in these chocolate snickerdoodles

Chocolate dough is rolled in a cinnamon sugar coating and wrapped around a giant square caramel. They’re then baked and topped with flakes of sea salt for a sweet and salty combo like you’ve never had before. Here’s what you’ll need to make them:

• Flour: we’re using regular all purpose flour for the perfect cookie texture.
• Cocoa powder: get that wonderful, deep chocolate flavor from high-quality cocoa powder.
• Cream of tartar: an essential for that true snickerdoodle flavor — read more about cream of tartar below!
• Baking staples: you’ll also need ground cinnamon, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt.
• Butter: butter adds the perfect amount of moisture. Salted or unsalted butter will both work.
• Sugar: we’re using both light brown sugar and granulated sugar for sweetness.
• Eggs: you’ll need 1 egg and 1 egg yolk.
• Soft caramels: we’re adding a chewy soft caramel right into the center of each cookie! Do not use hard caramel candies as they will not soften.
• For rolling: before baking, remember to roll your cookies in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar for that snickerdoodle look.

The classic snickerdoodle key: cream of tartar

You might be unfamiliar with cream of tartar, but it’s truly essential in every snickerdoodle cookie recipe, including these chocolate snickerdoodles! It gives the cookies an amazing, soft texture because it prevents the sugar from crystallizing, and it reacts with the baking soda to make them puffy and delicious.

Cream of tartar also has a very slight acidic flavor that pairs with the sugar, which you’ll find in traditional snickerdoodles.

Can I make them gluten-free?

I have not tested these chocolate snickerdoodle cookies with a different flour, but if you’d like to experiment, feel free to try using a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour, and let me know how it goes in the comments. You can also check out all of my gluten-free cookie recipes here!

Can I skip the caramel?

Sure! You can simply roll the dough and bake the dough balls without adding the caramels.

Alternatively, try adding a Rolo to each dough ball for more chocolate-caramel flavor!

How to make caramel-stuffed chocolate snickerdoodles

Adding a soft caramel to each cookie may seem tricky, so I’m here to show you an easy, step-by-step guide for doing so! The trick to rolling the dough is right in these photos.

Step 1: once you’ve made your dough, use a cookie scoop to grab about 2 tablespoons of it, flatten it, and place a caramel in the middle.

Step two: carefully roll the dough around the caramel until it’s in a ball. Make sure none of the caramel is showing.

Step 3: once you have your chocolate snickerdoodle cookie dough ball, roll it in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Yes yes yesssssss, who else is ready to bake up a little cookie heaven? This is what Santa really wants for Christmas. (And all of your loved ones, too.)

I’m going to be making these for Christmas this year, and I’m sure they’ll be gone in a matter of minutes…Pull them apart or bite into a melt-in-your-mouth cookie with a chewy middle and perfectly crisp edges.

Our favorite cookie-baking tools

• Whisk
• Stand mixer or hand mixer
• Bowls
• Cookie dough scoop
• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper

Get all of my kitchen essentials here!

Storing tips

Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temp for up to 5 days. Perfect for sharing over the holidays!

I’ve heard from readers that freezing these cookies could solidify the caramel too much and make it hard to chew, so freeze at your own risk!

More cookie recipes you’ll love

• Vanilla Brown Sugar Oatmeal Latte Cookies with Espresso Icing
• Death by Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
• Peanut Butter Cup S’mores Chocolate Cookies
• Incredible Gingerbread Oatmeal Cream Pies
• The Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies You’ll Ever Eat

Get all of my cookie recipes here!

If you make these epic chocolate snickerdoodles, let me know by leaving a comment below or tagging #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram!

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Salted Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Snickerdoodles

4.74 from 15 votes

byby :Monique Volz of AmbitiousKitchen.com

Leave A Review Print Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

ServesServes 22 cookies

Incredible chocolate snickerdoodles that are crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle, stuffed with caramel, and topped with a sprinkle of sea salt to make one of the best cookies you'll ever eat. These delicious chocolate snickerdoodles are perfect for the holidays and any time you want a sweet treat!

Ingredients

• 2 ⅓ cups (280g) all purpose flour
• ½ cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder (choose a high-quality)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup (226g) salted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup (213g) packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 20 soft caramels, unwrapped (I use Werther's soft caramels and rolled them into balls)
• For rolling the cookies:
• ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Instructions

• Whisk the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
• Mix the wet ingredients: In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. 
• Add in vanilla, egg and egg yolk; beat again until well combined smooth and creamy; about 30 seconds longer. 
• Mix the dough and chill: Add in dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined and the dough forms. Cover and transfer the bowl the fridge and refrigerate the dough for 1 to 2 hours.
• Once ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a shallow bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
• Stuff the dough balls: Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a cookie scoop to grab about 2 tablespoons of dough, then flatten and put a caramel in the middle of the dough; roll dough around the caramel into a ball (make sure none of the caramel is showing). 
• Roll dough in cinnamon-sugar: Roll dough balls into the cinnamon sugar mixture and place on cookie sheet, leaving at least 2 inches apart from one another. Do not flatten the dough. 
• Bake: Bake for 9-11 minutes or until edges begins to crackle just a tiny bit. Remove and allow cookies to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
• If you'd like, sprinkle flaked sea salt and each cookie. Enjoy! Makes 18-22 cookies depending on the size of the cookies.

Recipe Notes

Please note that your caramels MUST be soft! If they are 'hard' they will reharden after you bake them and the cookies have cooled. You can use Werther's soft caramels and roll them into a ball, or just use Rolo's!

See the full post for tips, tricks, and a visual of rolling the dough balls!

Recipe by: Monique Volz | Photography by: Sarah Fennel

This post was originally published on December 9th, 2016, and republished on December 1st, 2025.