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These Salted Caramel Sugar Cookies are a thick, soft, chewy sugar cookie, topped with a beautiful pool of salted caramel icing! You can easily make a batch in just 20 minutes and they are perfect for cookie exchanges!
When I think fall, salted caramel immediately comes to mind. Maybe it’s the candy apples my mom always gave us for a special treat as we approached the season or that my salt craving goes up as the temperature goes down, but I can’t get enough of it.
You are going to love this thick, soft, chewy sugar cookie, topped with a beautiful pool of salted caramel icing. They’re one of my favorite fall cookie recipes!
But for now, let’s talk about these Salted Caramel Sugar Cookies.
Salted Caramel Sugar Cookie Ingredients
- Butter – Salted, softened for a smooth texture.
- Vegetable Oil – Two forms of oil in this recipe give them a melt in your mouth texture.
- Brown Sugar – This ingredient gives them the caramel flavor and makes them stand out among traditional sugar cookies. Learn about the Best Brown Sugar Substitutes here.
- Powdered Sugar – Also known as confectioner’s sugar, it’s fine texture is synonymous with sugar cookies.
- Vanilla – Homemade Vanilla or store bought, a hint adds rich flavor.
- Eggs – Large eggs, organic when possible.
- Flour – All purpose, no need to sift.
- Salt – Brings out all the other flavors in baking.
- Baking Soda – The leavening agent in these cookies that make them rise to perfection.
- Cream of Tartar – This ingredient increases the volume while keeping them light and bright.
Icing Ingredients
A blend of ingredients makes a smooth, delicious pool that floods these cookies with flavor.
- Butter
- Milk
- Brown Sugar
- Powdered Sugar
- Salt
- Vanilla
How to Make Salted Caramel Sugar Cookies
These cookies are so much easier than you’d anticipate. No fussy details, just a simple thumbprint sugar cookie topped icing!
- Combine Wet Ingredients – Combine butter, oil, sugars, water and vanilla until smooth. Add in eggs and mix until just combined.
- Combine Dry Ingredients – In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar.
- Mix and Chill Dough – Gradually blend dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Refrigerate dough 30 minutes and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Make Thumbprint Cookies – On a lined cookie sheet, drop large (golf ball size) dough balls and press with a small greased glass, followed by a spoon to make a pool for the icing. Bake 8 minutes.
- Make Icing – Cream butter, milk, sugars, vanilla and salt.
- Fill – Using a teaspoon, fill the baked sugar cookies.
How Do You Know When The Cookies Are Done?
The most important thing to remember when baking sugar cookies is to not over bake, so watch them carefully as each oven can vary slightly and you’ll be rewarded with crave-able cookies. When ready, the cookies will be set and no longer appear soft, you can test them by gently touching them with a spatula to see if they are firm.
Salted Caramel Sugar Cookies Are Always Popular!
Why do I call them salted caramel sugar cookies? Because that’s how our friends and family {my market research team} described them when they took a bite.
The slightly salty brown sugar icing is the perfect compliment. So go ahead, try them for yourself and let me know what you think!
Sugar cookies are pretty near perfect by themselves, but topped with a salted caramel icing and I’m in heaven! I’m an avid fan of sweet and salty treats, like my Fleur De Sel Caramel Sauce, and I love how this icing pairs so well with a basic sugar cookie.
Tips
- Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes before forming the cookies.
- Bake the cookies in a pre-heated oven for the best results.
- Let the cookies cool before icing them.
If you try this salted caramel sugar cookie recipe, please come back to share using my 5 star rating in the comments below! Not only do I appreciate it, but I know readers do, too! For more easy recipes and simple living ideas, subscribe to my newsletter!
More Fall Cookie Recipes
- Caramel Cheesecake Cookies
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Carmelita Cookies
- Toffee Cookies
- Glazed Apple Pie Spice Cookies
Salted Caramel Sugar Cookies
Amazing salted caramel sugar cookie recipe – a soft sugar cookie base with a brown sugar caramel icing that will be the hit of your next cookie exchange!
Yield
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter softened
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1¼ cups brown sugar packed
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
Icing
- 2 tablespoons butter softened
- 3 tablespoons milk
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, combine butter, oil, sugars, water and vanilla until smooth.
- Add eggs and mix until just combined.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar.
- Gradually blend dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
- Refrigerate dough 30 minutes and preheat oven to 350°F.
- On a parchment lined cookie sheet, drop large (golf ball size) dough balls and press with a small greased glass to flatten and use the back of a spoon to make a pool for the icing.
- Bake 8 minutes.
Icing
- Cream butter, milk, sugars, vanilla and salt until creamy.
- Using a teaspoon, fill the baked sugar cookies.
Tips
- Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes before forming the cookies.
- When mixing the wet and dry ingredients, blend them gradually.
- Bake the cookies in a pre-heated oven for the best results.
- Let the cookies cool completely before icing them.
Video
Nutrition Information
Calories: 238kcal (12%), Carbohydrates: 33g (11%), Protein: 3g (6%), Fat: 11g (17%), Saturated Fat: 7g (35%), Cholesterol: 24mg (8%), Sodium: 157mg (7%), Potassium: 50mg (1%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 17g (19%), Vitamin A: 193IU (4%), Calcium: 16mg (2%), Iron: 1mg (6%)
Estimated nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed.
N says
How many dozen does this batch make?
Julie says
3 dozen’ish depending on the size dough balls you make. Enjoy!
Anonymous says
I got 83 cookies
Penie says
How much salt is in the icing? 1/4 what? I can’t wait to try these out for my work cookie exchange!
Julie says
My apologies – an optional teaspoon of salt.
Donna Scheer says
What size balls ? oneTablespoon?
Julie says
Large golf ball size. Enjoy!
LINDSEY SLOUGH says
Hi Julie,
We made your cookies this weekend and couldn’t create the icing as yours appeared. We followed the steps however they were very gritty even after blending for an extended period of time. We ended up cooking on the stove and drizzling over top and it worked really well and still very tasty.
Any ideas what we could be doing wrong?
Julie says
Did you try this tip included in my post? “Finally, I melt the icing in a measuring cup so that it can easily pour into the cookie pool and harden just perfect”
Melissa says
These look beautiful, and I bet they taste great. I want to try them with chai spices, too, as I think that would be a nice variation. I think we just found our Christmas cookie!!! Thanks so much for posting : )
Julie says
Thanks, Melissa, that sounds like a fun twist. Happy Holidays!