Apple Cider Caramel Stuffed Snickerdoodles

Total Time1 30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cookies

Servings: 24 cookies

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Apple cider caramels

1 cup apple cider (250 ml)
½ cup heavy cream (125 ml)
½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
¼ cup light corn syrup (62 ml)
2 tablespoons butter (28 grams)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
⅛ teaspoon ground ginger

Snickerdoodles

¾ cup butter, softened at room temperature (170 grams)
1 ½ cups granulated sugar (300 grams)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (344 grams)
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt

Cinnamon sugar

3 tablespoons granulated sugar (38 grams)
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions

Bring apple cider to a boil in a medium sauce pot over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to medium and continue to cook the apple cider until it has reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 15 minutes.
Line an 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
Combine the reduced apple cider with heavy cream, sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a medium saucepot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium and cook until a candy thermometer registers 248 degrees F. Remove from heat and stir in cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ground ginger.
Carefully pour the caramel into the prepared baking pan and let cool completely. Once cooled, cut the caramel into ¾-inch squares.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Prepare the snickerdoodles. Cream together softened butter with sugar in a large mixing bowl until fluffy and pale in color, about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs and beat until combined.
Combine the dry ingredients including flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir until well-combined. Portion the dough into 24 balls. Make an indentation in the center and insert a caramel. Cover the caramel and shape cookie dough into a ball. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Make cinnamon sugar. Combine sugar with cinnamon in a medium bowl. Coat the cookie dough in the sugar cinnamon mixture and lay on a lined baking sheet. Chill the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes or in ther fridgerator for 30 minutes.
Arrange the cookies to fit about 6 on a baking sheet, leaving plenty of space in between the cookies. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Let cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack and let cool completely.

Notes

You can make the caramels up to 5 days in advance.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Make caramels

These apple cider caramel stuffed snickerdoodles are a little trickier to prepare because of the caramel; however, if you have a candy thermometer, you can't go wrong. I cannot stress the importance of having a thermometer when preparing this caramel, since it will be difficult to tell at which stage the caramel is.

Before we make the caramel, we have to first reduce the apple cider. By reducing the apple cider, we are concentrating the flavors, making them as pronounced as possible. Keep an eye on the cider because it can easily burn once it starts to get thick.

Once the cider is ready, combine it with the other ingredients, including heavy cream, sugar, corn syrup, and butter. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and continue to simmer the caramel until it reaches 248 degrees F.

You want it to be at the right temperature since this will determine how soft or hard the candy will be. Here are the stages of candy development to give you a better idea:

Softball stage (235 degrees F): the syrup can easily be formed into a ball when in cold water, but flattens once removed
Firm ball stage (245-250 degrees F): the syrup is formed into a stable ball but can easily be manipulated into different shapes
Hard ball (250-266 degrees F): the syrup firmly holds its shape but is still sticky

You want to cook caramel candies until they reach between 245-250 degrees F, when they can be shaped but are still pliable.

Let the caramel cool completely before cutting it into shapes.

This one slab does make quite a bit of caramel candies, which means extra to snack on!

Step 2: Prepare cookie dough

Now it's time to prepare the cookie dough. The steps are similar to how you prepare most cookies. Cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs, then the dry ingredients.

Mix all of the ingredients just until combined. The dough will look crumbly, but it'll still be easy to form into balls.

If you don't have a stand mixer, you can use a hand mixer instead.

Form the dough into 24 dough portions and stuff each with a piece of apple cider caramel. You'll need about ½ teaspoon of caramel per cookie.

The caramel will be softer than store-bought soft caramels and will continue to soften the more you handle it. Don't worry, as long as you're able to keep it concealed in the dough, that's all that matters.

Roll them into a ball and coat the outside with cinnamon and sugar. We're going to take an extra step and chill the dough to prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven.

Step 3: Bake

Spread the cookies out on a baking sheet, placing only 6 on each sheet. They will spread quite a bit, so you want to give them plenty of space.

Bake the cookies at 375 degrees F for about 8-10 minutes. Your oven temperature may differ from mine, but I found that 8 minutes was the perfect amount of time.

If you have to bake the cookies in batches, keep the remaining chilled in the refridgerator until ready.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least one minute, then completely on a wire rack.

Boy oh boy, these apple cider caramel stuffed snickerdoodles are something else. The apple cider caramel alone is phenomenal, but stuffed inside a snickerdoodle? Words cannot express my happiness.

The apple cider caramel tastes exactly like apple pie filling and even smells like the pie. The snickerdoodles are incredibly soft and not too sweet, making them just the right amount of sweetness with the caramel. Absolutely delicious!

Make-ahead and storage

Make-ahead: The apple cider caramels can be made up to 5 days in advance. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature with parchment paper between layers to prevent sticking.
Store: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Frequently asked questions

What if I don't have a candy thermometer?

You can test the caramel by dropping a small amount into cold water-it should form a firm ball that holds its shape but is still pliable. This is the "firm ball stage" at 248°F.

Can I use salted butter?

Yes, but reduce the added salt in the cookie dough to just a pinch. The recipe will still work fine with salted butter.

Can I freeze the dough?

Absolutely! Freeze the stuffed, shaped cookie dough balls (before coating in cinnamon sugar) for up to 3 months. Roll in cinnamon sugar and bake straight from frozen, adding 1-2 extra minutes to the baking time.