Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies - delicious cookie recipe (2024)

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These Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies bring together some of my favorite flavors and make the perfect sweet treat for fall.

Well, dear friends, it’s a special day here on Inspired by Charm! We are kicking off another Fall Cookie Week with these Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies!

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If you’re new around these parts, Fall Cookie Week (FCW) started back in 2012 when I baked a selection of cookies for a Fall Open House that I was hosting at the Gift Shop in my Bed and Breakfast. Although I chose to close the B&B in 2013, the FCW tradition is still going strong on IBC.

Several years ago, I asked Julie Blanner, who is a fellow blogger and one of my close friends, to join in on the FCW fun. Julie is such a powerhouse of talent, and I couldn’t be more excited to again share this wonderful week of cookie baking with her. You can find her blog here. I will also be linking up her cookie-of-the-day at the end of each of my posts, so you won’t miss a thing. Over the course of the week, we will be posting a total of 10 fabulously fall and decadently delicious cookie recipes. *loosens belt buckle*

If Fall Cookie Week is new to you, you can catch up below. I’ve linked every year’s FCW recipes, beginning with 2012. (Please forgive the quality of the 2012 recipes and photos. I was just a beginning blogger back then. I hope to get those posts updated in the future!)

Fall Cookie Week Recipes:

  • 2012
  • 2013
  • 2014
  • 2015
  • 2016
  • 2017

You can also click here if you want to see all the FCW cookie recipes at once.

Okay, now that the FCW introductions and history have been taken care of, are you ready to talk about these Salted Carmel Shortbread Cookies?

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When I’m planning a Fall Cookie Week, I think about the big fall flavors I love – pumpkin, apple, cinnamon, salted caramel, and so on. Although I can’t hit every one of the flavors in just five recipes, I decided that salted caramel was a must and that these shortbread cookies would be the ideal lead-off for this year’s FCW.

How to Make Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies:

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These cookies are simple to make. They start with a basic shortbread cookie recipe.

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Once the cookies are baked, they are topped with melted caramel. This can get a bit sticky, so it’s important to move quickly with this part of the recipe. A small ice cream scoop worked best for me.

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Once the caramel is on, sprinkle it with flake sea salt. My recommendation: Maldon Flake Sea Salt. It’s THE BEST. (Don’t even think about using table salt or kosher salt.)

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The final step is to drizzle the cookies with melted semi-sweet chocolate.

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When the chocolate is set, your cookies are complete and ready for a taste test. (If you’re like me, you won’t be able to wait that long to try one.)

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The crisp shortbread, gooey caramel, drizzle of chocolate, and sprinkle of flake sea salt make this cookie a winner!

Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies:

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If you like this caramel recipe, you’ll love these:

  • Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Spread
  • Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies
  • Caramel Apple Butter Snickerdoodles
  • Salted Caramel Cheesecake Dip
  • Caramel Apple Martini

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Now that I’ve primed your palate, be sure to head on over to Julie Blanner’s blog and check out her first cookie of FCW 2018. Today she’s whipped up Cinnamon Sugar Cookies, and boy do they look delish!

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Happy Fall Baking! And Happy Fall Cookie Week!

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Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies

These Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies bring together some of my favorite flavors and make the perfect sweet treat for fall.

4.70 from 13 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cookie, fall baking, fall cookie, salted caramel, shortbread

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 14 minutes minutes

Total Time: 29 minutes minutes

Servings: 36

Calories: 238kcal

Ingredients

Topping:

  • 2 bags (13 oz each) caramels unwrapped
  • 4 tablespoons milk
  • 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 3 teaspoons flake sea salt

Instructions

  • Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F.

  • In a large bowl with your electric mixer on high, beat the butter until creamy. Then beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer to low and beat in the flour until just incorporated.

  • Divide the dough into two parts. Place one half of the dough between two sheets of wax paper and roll it until it’s 1/4-inch thick. Then use a 2 1/2-inch-diameter round cookie cutter to cut the dough. Place the cut-outs on an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat this process with the remaining half of the dough. (You can reform excess dough, roll it out, and cut it again until all the dough is used.)

  • Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes or until set and just barely starting to brown. Transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

  • While the cookies cool: In a microwave safe bowl, melt the unwrapped caramels and milk on high for 2-3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until the caramels are melted and the mixture is smooth.

  • Add1-2 teaspoons of the caramel mixture to each cookie. Then sprinkle the cookies with flake sea salt.

  • Finally, in another microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate and butter on high for 1-2 minutes until it is smooth. Stir every 30 seconds. Drizzle the melted chocolate mixture over the cookies. Let the cookies cool until the chocolate sets.

  • Store the cookies in an airtight container.

Nutrition

Calories: 238kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 249mg | Potassium: 88mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 260IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker

Fall Cookie Week 2018:

  • Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookiesyou’re here
  • Peanut Butter Brownie Pillow Cookies
  • Maple Glazed Cinnamon Chip Bars
  • Squirrel and Acorn Gingerbread Cookies
  • Pumpkin Spice Latte Cookies
  • Pumpkin Spice Cream Horns

Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies - delicious cookie recipe (14)

Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies - delicious cookie recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making good shortbread cookies? ›

Tips To Make the Best Shortbread Cookies
  1. Choose High Quality Butter. No matter what brand of butter you buy, if it's real butter, you can rest assured that it's the best. ...
  2. Keep Ingredients Simple. ...
  3. Add Flavor. ...
  4. Don't Overwork. ...
  5. Shape Dough. ...
  6. Chill Before Baking. ...
  7. Bake Until Golden. ...
  8. Add Finishing Touches.

Is salted or unsalted butter better for shortbread cookies? ›

If you don't have salted butter, unsalted butter will also work, simply add about ¼ teaspoon of salt to the cookie dough. The reason the salt is needed is because salt brings out the flavor in the cookies, without it, your cookies will taste bland.

Should shortbread cookies be soft or hard? ›

Shortbread should always have a tender, melting texture, but be slightly crisp when you bite into it. It should not generally be damp or wet underneath. A classic shortbread recipe will also only have flour, butter and sugar as the ingredients (in a 3:2:1 ratio) and not egg, which could lead to excess moisture.

Why do shortbread cookies taste so good? ›

According to Food Crumbles, this ratio is what makes shortbread so irresistible as the sugar contributes to the cookies' sweetness and crispness, meanwhile higher amounts of butter add flavor and consistency, while flour binds these two malleable ingredients together.

What are common mistakes when making shortbread? ›

The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour. The less you work the dough, the more crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth your shortbread cookies will be.

What not to do when making shortbread? ›

The key with shortbread is not to overhandle it. Make the dough exactly as instructed, but don't mess around making shapes or over rolling the dough - you will end up with delicious but tough biscuits. Stretching and pulling the dough activates the gluten in the flour, making chewy cookies and not crisp ones.

Should shortbread dough be chilled before baking? ›

Step 3: The Secret to the Absolute Best Shortbread

After shaping the cookies, don't rush to the oven! Instead, chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so (overnight is OK, too). A short stay in the fridge will firm up the cookies and solidify the butter. This will help keep them from spreading too much.

Why do you put shortbread in the fridge before baking? ›

Why do you put shortbread cut-out cookies in the fridge before baking? This is to resolidify the butter. The butter is at room temperature when making the dough resulting in a soft dough. If baked straight away, the butter would melt away immediately when hitting the hot oven and the shortbread would spread.

Should butter be cold for shortbread? ›

Should butter be cold or room temperature for making shortbread? Always start with cold butter straight from the refrigerator. This will keep the dough from warming up, making it greasy and difficult to roll out.

What's the difference between Irish shortbread and Scottish shortbread? ›

Irish Shortbread Is Distinct From Scottish Shortbread

Irish shortbread not only sometimes changes up the butter-to-sugar ratio (possibly going with 2/3 a cup of sugar to 1 cup of butter), but also adds cornstarch in place of some of the flour present in the traditional recipe.

What is the difference between Scottish shortbread and regular shortbread? ›

Traditional Scottish shortbread is a simple recipe made with sugar, butter, flour, and salt. Other shortbread styles will include leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda, which makes them crisp instead of crumbly like traditional Scottish shortbread.

What happens if you put too much butter in shortbread? ›

Here's why: Greasy mess: Extra butter means more fat, making the dough greasy and difficult to handle. Spreading like crazy: Cookies lose their shape, spreading thin and flat instead of staying nice and round. Uneven baking: The excess fat can burn easily on the edges while leaving the center undercooked.

Why poke holes in shortbread? ›

The word "bread" comes from "biscuit bread" which was made from leftover bread dough that was sweetened and dried out in the oven to make biscuits. Why do you poke holes in shortbread? The holes allow the moisture to escape during baking and more even heat distribution. This helps dry out and crisp up the cookies.

Are Lorna Doone cookies shortbread? ›

Lorna Doone is a brand of golden, square-shaped shortbread cookie produced by Nabisco and owned by Mondelez International. Introduced in March 1912, it was possibly named after the main character in R. D. Blackmore's 1869 novel, Lorna Doone, but no record exists as to the exact motivation behind the name.

Why are shortbread cookies so expensive? ›

As shortbread was made with butter, sugar and flour, it would be both expensive and difficult to get hold of the ingredients, and so became synonymous with wealth, luxury and celebrations.

What happens if you add too much butter to shortbread cookies? ›

Too much butter — which binds everything together — and you end up with a cookie spread entirely too thin. The proteins in the butter combined with the sugar kick start the Maillard reaction, so an overabundance can also make the cookie too brown.

Why did my shortbread cookies come out hard? ›

These proportions make shortbread a lot more dense compared to cookies, which means you could easily end up with shortbread that's hard and crunchy rather than buttery and crumbly. Per Cooktop Cove, this can occur when the dough has either been overworked or not chilled for long enough.

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