These Salted Caramel Pinwheel Cookies are as pretty as they are delicious! They’re buttery cookies rolled with rich caramel and topped with flaked sea salt.
I am all about these little beauties! I mean hello, gorgeous swirls of caramel!
We all know that a Holiday Cookie platter needs a few stunners. This year, I have the Salted Caramel Pinwheel cookie that will surely do the trick. ANNND it’s not only a looker…it’s EASY. I am ALL ABOUT a cookie that looks like it’s complicated but is really DL simple.
This is the 3rd cookie in my 12 Days of Christmas Cookie series, and it’s been delicious so far! I recap all the cookies at the bottom of the post, so stay til the end!
One thing that I like most about this cookie is that you can make the dough a day or two ahead and slice and bake them when you’re ready! Sometimes big baking days can get a little hectic, so having a few doughs that are already made and ready to go in the oven make the situation a lot easier.
The dough on these is quick…plus is has cream cheese in it, so the texture is soft, and rich! Don’t worry if you’re not a cream cheese fan, though, you can’t taste it at all. The caramel is simple as well, it’s thick so it doesn’t squeeze out, but bakes up soft.
After you’ve rolled up the dough, let it chill. Like I said you can do this a day or two in advance! Then you slice them when you’re ready to bake.
I like to sprinkle flaked sea salt on top of the cookies. It makes them a little extra pretty, in my opinion. You could easily sprinkle the salt on top of the caramel layer too!
Enjoy!
Under the recipe is a recap of our 12 Days of Christmas Cookies so far!
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- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Salted Caramel Pinwheel Cookies are as pretty as they are delicious! They’re buttery cookies rolled with rich caramel and topped with flaked sea salt.
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
Filling
- 30 soft caramels, unwrapped
- 6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
flaked sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar for 2 minutes on medium speed, until light and fluffy.
- Add in the yolk, vanilla, and salt and mix for an additional minute, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Turn the mixer to low speed and add in the flour, mixing until just combined. Cover the dough and chill for at least 2 hours.
- When the dough is chilled, melt the caramels on low heat in a medium saucepan, stirring frequently. Once melted, immediately add in the cream cheese and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it into 2 equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll both the doughs into a rectangular shape, 1/4- inch in thickness.
- Spread the caramel mixture evenly on top of both doughs, leaving 1/2- inch at the edges.
- Staring at the long side of the dough, roll it tightly, but be careful not to squeeze the caramel out.
- Wrap each dough log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an additional 4 hours, or overnight.
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap, and cut the dough into round slices, about 1/3- inch thick. Place on the baking sheet 1- inch apart and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle with sea salt.
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Store airtight for up to 7 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 367
- Sugar: 37.9 g
- Sodium: 247.1 mg
- Fat: 15.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 54.1 g
- Protein: 4.6 g
- Cholesterol: 43.1 mg
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Day 2: Double Chocolate Mocha Cookies
I made this recipe for my cookie boxes this year and it was fantastic – thank you! Just wondering…what would you think about using this same recipe, but instead of pinwheels making dough balls stuffed with the caramel/cream cheese mixture? Based on your experience with this dough, do you think that would work?
Would it work if I slice the chilled and unbaked dough and then freeze the slices? I like to give frozen cookie dough as holiday gifts but wasn’t sure if it would work with the caramel in this recipe?
Yes! It would absolutely work!