These extra decadent chocolate salted caramel sandwich cookies are a bit over the top in all the best ways. Rich chocolate and dreamy salted caramel is a match made in cookie heaven!
This post is sponsored by TheFeedFeed and If You Care. As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help to make Browned Butter Blondie possible.
My love of chocolate is only matched by my obvious obsession with salted caramel anything. Give me a dessert with the two together and I’m head over heals in love. Make it a sandwich cookie and I call that the definition of the perfect dessert. Who can say no to two chocolatey, chewy, sugar cookies married together with a generous swirl of fluffy, salted caramel buttercream? If these cookies don’t make your sweet tooth swoon, I don’t know what will.
I’m always looking for new reasons to add salted caramel to baked goods and these chocolate sandwich cookies did not let me down. I insist you move these jumbo filled cookies to the top of your baking list. I for one will be whipping up a batch of these chocolate and salted caramel sandwich cookies for Valentine’s Day for my favorite little taste testers because nothing {and I mean nothing} says love like chocolate and caramel.
As a baker I make a LOT of cookies for a living and the only thing I love more than cookies is knowing that I’m serving up treats made with the very best, high quality ingredients. I use organic butter and flour, all natural vanilla, and pasture raised eggs in the bulk of my recipes because it’s better for my family. And it’s better for our planet too. Little changes can make a big impact over time which is why I don’t just stop at using more environmentally friendly ingredients. Using glass storage containers, reusable beverage bottles, and sustainable parchment paper are just a few of the changes I’ve made in our kitchen in an effort to reduce waste.
On any given day I can bake up to five or six recipes for the blog and I use parchment paper to line the bottom of the pan every time I bake a loaf of bread, a batch of cookies, or a pan of brownies. I use it to line my pizza stone and to cover the cookie sheet when I bake french fries. Basically, I use parchment paper ALL. THE. TIME.
If You Care’s Compostable Parchment Paper is the only brand that checks all the boxes when it comes to sustainability. It’s unbleached, 100% chlorine free, and not only recyclable, but certified compostable. Now that’s a brand that I can feel good about. Plus If You Care products are made with non-toxic materials that are great for baking and oven safe up to 425 degrees.
Their parchment baking paper, pre-cut sheets and baking cups make baking a breeze. I just line my pans with If You Care parchment and peel it away after baking for easy peasy clean up. I reuse the parchment sheets a number of times and then add them to the compost bin in the garden to help eliminate waste.
There’s so much to love about each and every one of us taking small steps to make a big difference in our environment which is why I’m honored to partner with The FeedFeed and If You Care to spread awareness about the products we can all use to reduce waste. I’m so excited to share this recipe for my new favorite sandwich cookies using If You Care parchment paper. These thin but chewy and soft cookies are made with a simple chocolate sugar cookie dough that incorporates two surprise ingredients….whipping cream and hot cocoa mix. These cookies require zero chill time which means you can be devouring one of these super stuffed cookies in no time.
While the cookies cool, whip together the buttercream which gets all of it’s flavor from a healthy dollop of salted caramel. Fresh is best, but feel free to use your favorite store bought caramel for when you simply cannot be bothered. Either way, these sandwich cookies are some kind of wonderful and I can’t stress enough how much you’re going to love this cookie.
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST CHOCOLATE SANDWICH COOKIES
Use good chocolate. These cookies are the bomb so don’t skimp on the good stuff. Now is the time to break out the high quality cocoa powder. You’ll be glad you did.
Use room temperature dairy ingredients. I’m starting to think I might sound like a broken record but this point cannot be stressed enough. For the very best results, be sure your butter, eggs, and heavy whipping cream are all at room temperature before making your cookie dough.
Bake the cookies immediately. While this cookie dough does not require any chilling, you’ll want to scoop and bake the cookies right away once the dough is made. As the dough sits out it can warm up a bit and you may find that the last few batches of cookies spread more in the oven. If this happens, place the bowl of dough in the fridge for just 5-7 minutes before scooping the next batch. These chocolate cookies are fairly large and they do spread a bit in the oven so be sure to leave 2-3 inches between cookies on your baking sheets. Always line the baking sheets with If You Care parchment paper for easy removal and no fuss clean up.
Cool the cookies on the baking sheets. These cookies are on the large side and they are quite thin. Allow the cookies to cool for 6-8 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. This will help prevent the cookies from breaking or crumbling.
TIPS FOR ASSEMBLING THE PRETTIEST SANDWICH COOKIES
Get the buttercream consistency just right. For the prettiest swirls that hold their shape when sandwiched between two cookies, mix the buttercream ingredients until light and fluffy but firm enough that the buttercream holds it’s shape when piped. If the frosting is too thin, add more confectioner’s sugar. Too thick, add more milk a tablespoon at a time.
Pair cookies of equal sizes. For perfect cookies that are all equal in size, I like to weigh my cookie scoops before baking. The cookies in this recipe are each 1.2 ounces. Once the cookies bake, they should all be identical in size. Once the cookies come out of the oven, use the back of a spatula if needed to nudge the edges in towards the center of the cookie and make a more uniform shape. Once the cookies have cooled completely, pair cookies up that are of equal size before adding the swirl of buttercream.
Pipe the buttercream onto the cookies. You can absolutely use a knife or spoon to smear the buttercream onto one cookie before topping with a second cookie. But for the prettiest sandwich cookies, I scoop the buttercream into a reusable piping bag and use a large star tip to swirl the buttercream onto the cookies. It makes for one impressive cookie sandwich that really should be elevated to full dessert status.
I hope you’ll pick up a package of If You Care’s parchment paper and make a batch of these super decadent chocolate salted caramel sandwich cookies. They are easy to make, over the top delicious, and they add the perfect bit of fancy that every Valentine’s Day deserves.
Happy baking and happy Valentine’s Day cookie lovers!
Print
Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with Salted Caramel Buttercream
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Cook Time: 12 mins
- Total Time: 57 mins
- Yield: 20 1x
- Category: Cookies
Description
These extra decadent chocolate salted caramel sandwich cookies are a bit over the top in all the best ways. Rich chocolate and dreamy salted caramel is a match made in cookie heaven!
Ingredients
For Cookies
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup bread flour
- ½ cup Dutch process unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup hot cocoa mix
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream (liquid)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 TBSP hot freshly brewed espresso
For Salted Caramel Buttercream Filling
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
- ¼ cup salted caramel (homemade or store bought)
- 4 TBSP whole milk
- pinch of salt
Instructions
For Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flours, cocoa powder, hot cocoa mix, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars at medium high speed until light and fluffy. The mixture will be pale in color.
- Add the egg, vanilla, and heavy whipping cream. Mix on low speed until fully combined.
- Add the hot espresso and mix until incorporated.
- Add the flour mixture in two batches, scraping down the sides of bowl as needed.
- Do not over mix.
- Scoop balls of dough using a large cookie scoop and place them 3 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. To ensure all cookies are of equal size, weigh the dough balls first.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until cookies are flat and firm on the edges. They may look slightly puffy in the center but will flatten and cracks will form as they cool.
- Let cookies cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheets before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- While cookies cool, make the buttercream.
For Salted Caramel Buttercream Filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter on high speed for 1 minute.
- Reduce the speed to low and add the confectioner’s sugar one cup at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition.
- Once sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to high and mix for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Stop the mixer and add the salted caramel and a pinch of salt.
- Mix on low until combined and then increase the speed to medium high and whip for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy, stopping to add a tablespoon or two of whole milk if buttercream is too thick.
- Scoop buttercream into a reusable piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe swirls of buttercream onto the bottom side of one cookie. Then top with another cookie. Repeat until all cookies are paired together.
Notes
Store cookies in a cool dry place for up to 3 days. May be refrigerated. Cookies may be frozen before adding buttercream filling.
If you like these Chocolate Salted Caramel Sandwich Cookies you may also like:
Mexican Hot Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
Chocolate Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies
Chocolate Mocha Linzer Cookies with Dulce de Leche
The Best Valentine's Day Desserts
4 Comments
Salsabeel
February 28, 2020 at 5:47 pmHi! I love your recipes. Will be trying these soon, please let me know what can be used instead of the paddle attachment? I have either a whisk or a dough hook. Thank you in advance.
Heather Mubarak
March 7, 2020 at 5:32 pmI’m so happy to hear that! Your mixer should come with a paddle attachment or you may be able to order just that piece online. The dough hook is for bread making but the whisk attachment will do in a pinch. You can also use a handheld mixer or just a wooden spoon and skip the mixer all together. Hope that helps!
Cheryl
February 16, 2020 at 1:27 pmWhat can be used in place of expresso coffee
Heather Mubarak
February 16, 2020 at 8:08 pmHi Cheryl,
You could use espresso powder if you prefer. Dissolve a teaspoon or two of the powder in 2 tablespoons of hot water before adding to the batter. You can also omit it altogether if you don’t have espresso of any kind on hand. It serves to enhance the flavor of the chocolate, but it’s optional.