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Simple Vanilla Caramel Cookies are easy to make, and filled with aromatic vanilla and sweet caramel, this recipe makes a wonderful tasting treat.
Step by step photos and instructions below!
Baking at home brings back so many memories for me. The smell of cookies, the racks of baked goods on the table, and sharing with friends/family/neighbors.
In New Zealand (where I’m from in case you didn’t know), these are known as “Hokey Pokey Biscuits”. Hokey Pokey is a New Zealand term for honeycomb toffee. It generally refers to an amazing ice-cream flavor (vanilla with toffee bits), but is also a treat on its own.
The smell alone makes small boys lose their minds, making them unable to resist grabbing a couple of cookies before their poor mother has had a chance to photograph them they are cooled!
These cookies don’t require a stand mixer or fancy gadgets, which, obviously is awesome.- we make the toffee/caramel, then mix flour and baking soda into it, scoop, flatten with a fork and bake.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Super easy. No need to cream butter and sugar. Check out the important notes below for good results!
- Delicious. All the flavors of vanilla and caramel with no effort and using easy to find ingredients!
I have included step by step photos and instructions, as well as tips and tricks in the post. If you’d rather skip all that, scoot right on down to the recipe card located at the bottom of the post.
Ingredients
The full list of ingredients and quantities is found in the printable recipe card below.
- Flour. All purpose flour, nothing fancy
- Cream. Whole milk can also be used in a pinch
- Butter. We use 9 tablespoons here. Which is 1 stick plus 1 tablespoon. Or 4.5oz. This recipe was originally in New Zealand measurements, so that’s why!
- Sugar. Plain white sugar
- Brown sugar. I use the dark brown sugar here.
- Vanilla Extract, Baking Soda.
How to make this recipe
Scroll for Recipe
The full list of ingredients, quantities and instructions can be found in the printable recipe card below.
Get prepped
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and prepare baking sheets with parchment paper.
Make the cookie dough
In a saucepan, combine the butter, cream, white and brown sugars, and vanilla. Stir together over a medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly until it begins to bubble.
Allow to cook only about 30 seconds more, then remove from heat and allow to cool to a warm temp.
Sift the flour and baking soda together.
Add to the cooled caramel mixture and stir well.
Scoop and bake
Scoop mixture into balls, place on a lined baking sheet, and press down with a floured glass, or a fork (or your thumb!).
Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes until easily removed.
Cool and Devour
Kylee’s Notes
There’s a tricky part, only in that you can’t let the mixed dough cool too much, or it becomes crumbly and un-scoopable. You need to work fast so that it’s still pliable, and able to be scooped onto cookie sheets.
If the entire recipe doesn’t fit on on cookie sheet for you, I recommend grabbing another one and scooping and flattening right away, and baking together. If you only have one rack in your oven – don’t worry, just switch the sheets out one after the other. The point is – scoop and flatten the entire bowl! I forgot about that… and baked one sheet, leaving some dough left in my mixer.
When the first sheet was done, I tried to then work with my remaining dough. No go!! It had basically set, and was useless (except, I just used it as a crumbly topping for some baked apples – so, happy accident, but still less cookies).
How to store
Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
- Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies. Perfect chocolate chip cookies are the go-to, bees-knees, classic kind of cookie. Crispy, with a little chew, bursting with chocolate chips. Heaven.
- Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies. Just FOUR ingredients in these yummy Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies (aka Cheater Cookies), you’ll be the hero when you pull these out of the oven in less than 30 minutes!
- Crispy Chewy Oatmeal Cookies. These crispy chewy oatmeal cookies are my absolute ideal cookie. Crisp, with a slight chew, lots of vanilla, and butter and EASY to make!
- German Chocolate Cookies. German Chocolate Cake in cookie form! Soft, chewy chocolate cookies topped with a creamy, caramel/coconut/pecan frosting and drizzled with melted chocolate.
- Earl Grey Tea Cookies. Crispy and delicately flavored with a fragrant tea, and a hint of orange zest, these Earl Grey Tea Cookies are unique and amazing!
- Mocha Crinkle Cookies (from A Grande Life)
- ALL COOKIE RECIPES
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Simple Caramel Cookies
Suggested Equipment
Ingredients
- 9 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon cream or whole milk
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Combine the butter, cream, white and brown sugars, and vanilla in a saucepan and stir over a medium heat.
- Cook, stirring constantly until it begins to bubble.
- Allow to cook only about 30 seconds more, then remove from heat and allow to cool to a warm temp.
- Sift the flour and baking soda together, add to the cooled caramel mixture and stir well.
- Scoop mixture into balls, place on a line baking sheet, and press down with a floured glass, or a fork (or your thumb!).
- Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes until easily removed.
- Cool on a wire rack.
- Devour.
Tips & Notes:
nutrition facts
Nutritional Disclaimer
Recipes written and produced on Kylee Cooks are for informational purposes only. Kylee is not a certified nutritionist. Nutritional data provided on Kylee Cooks has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration.
Update: This recipe was originally published in April of 2017. It was republished with updated photos in August of 2021.
Mary says
Turned out nicely. Will sample tonight for dessert.
Do these cookies freeze well?
Lenny (in MD we put Old Bay on everything!) says
Great cookie by itself but try adding some Old Bay …
Mar Toscano-Solomon says
Great recipe”
Kristin says
Delicious dough! My daughter requested a salted caramel ice cream cake, but I struggled with what to use for the cake base. Then saw your recipe and thought caramel cookie dough. I skipped the baking soda and added a quarter teaspoon of Maldon’s sea salt, to get a salted caramel dough. Cookie dough is becoming my new favorite ice cream cake base!
Anthony C. Thornton says
This is an easy recipe and they turned out great except I added a little to much flour, so mine turn out to be a hard.
Abby A Carr says
I would like to actually rate these a solid 5. And since I actually made them, I feel like I should add validation to your awesome recipe. The only thing I did different was add a Hershey’s Caramel Pretzel Kiss in the middle.
Karly says
These. Look. Perfect. Love everything caramel, and these just look so simply delicious. Gotta try them soon!
Claire says
I must try to make it, caramel is one of my favourite flavours 😡
Giselle Rochford says
Oh yum! I’m usually an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie or double chocolate cookie kinda gal but these look too good not to try ?
Emilie says
My mom is a caramel fanatic…I can’t wait to make these for her!
Kelly @ Trial and Eater says
My favorite cookie is classic chocolate chip but these caramel cookies! Omg they might change my mind. <3
soniya Saluja says
Those look heavenly! I’ll have to make them since they seem super easy and don’t require any out of the ordinary ingredients! Thanks for sharing!
Amy says
I thought these were peanut butter cookies at first but I love the sound of vanilla and caramel cookies! I don’t think I’ve ever had anything like that and they sound delicious!
Molly Kumar says
Oh these looks so delicious and the combination of Vanilla + Caramel sounds perfect. There’s nothing like freshly baked homecooked cookies 🙂