Inside BruCrew Life

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Cinnamon Caramel Cookies

By - 97 Comments

These hidden candy center in these Cinnamon Caramel Cookies will make everyone smile when they find it. Fill your cookie jar with a batch today!

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Cinnamon Caramel Cookies - easy soft cinnamon cookies with a surprise caramel center that everyone will love. Great cookie recipe!

So, surprises…do you like them, or could you do without them?

I have to say I’m not a big fan of surprises.  I like to know what’s going to happen and when it’s going to happen.  Of course, with teenage boys that isn’t always an option I get.  They like to jump out at us from random corners.

My hubby spilled a cup of coffee all over himself one night when our oldest son popped out from behind the laundry room door.  Now that was funny stuff. Well, until I am the next surprise victim.  

Cinnamon Caramel Cookies - easy cake mix cookies stuffed with a caramel candy bar. Great cookie recipe to fill your jar with!

Want to know what totally surprised me the other day? I was doing a little grocery shopping before picking up the kids from school.  Who am I kidding? I was getting cookies, eggs, candy, and a few cake mixes.  You know, just a normal shopping trip for me.

Anyway, I walked down the cookie aisle to grab a package of peanut butter cream cookies (stay tuned for a recipe using those or make a batch of these Peanut Butter Nutter Butter Brownie Bars if you cannot wait) when a much older gentleman started a conversation with me about the few items in my cart versus the many in his cart.

Now this was NOT your normal conversation.  You know the feeling when someone starts flirting with you, right?  This was totally the vibe I got! I answered him politely and then got out of that aisle quickly. Of course, I passed him again in the store, and he gave me this big smile.  I smiled back but thought, “Yup, definitely time to get out of the store!”

Cinnamon Caramel Cookies - these soft puffy cookies have a caramel candy bar inside and cinnamon sugar outside. Easy recipe to fill your cookie jar with!

To top it all off…he had gray hair!  GRAY HAIR!!!  Surprised was definitely how I felt at this new development.  Seriously I can’t be that old that older gentlemen are flirting with me.  My hubby just laughed his head off when I was telling him about it!  I’m glad he found it super amusing!

Now one surprise I DO like over and over is candy hidden inside cookies!  I mean look at these triple chocolate cookies! Who can resist that? Surprise candy inside cookies = good!  Surprise flirt attack from an older man = not good!!!

These puffy cinnamon cookies look all innocent, right?  That is until you bite into the cookie and find a soft caramel center!

Cinnamon Caramel Cookies - thick puffy cookies filled with a caramel candy bar. Great recipe to make for your cookie jar!

Last week I asked for some cookie inspiration from my Facebook fans.  I wanted to know what your favorite kinds of cookies were.  Overwhelming the answer was Snickerdoodle.  There were a few mentions for caramel, chocolate, chip, honey, peanut butter. I can’t wait to try a few of your ideas.  I appreciate the inspiration!!!

One reader mentioned these Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles from Maria, and that flavor combo just wouldn’t leave me alone until I made something similar. You know by now that I am in love with cake mix cookies!  They are one of my favorite “box item turned homemade with flair” things to make.

The cream cheese added to the dough of these cinnamon caramel cookies makes them so soft and puffy!

The dough needs a little bit of refrigeration time to firm back up before you scoop out the balls.  Then flatten each ball and hide a mini caramel candy bar inside each one before rolling them in cinnamon sugar.

Then sit back and watch for that surprised reaction that will come when someone bites into the soft caramel center.  It’s priceless!

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Yield: 24 cookies

Cinnamon Caramel Cookies

Cinnamon Caramel Cookies

These hidden candy center in these Cinnamon Caramel Cookies will make everyone smile when they find it. Fill your cookie jar with a batch today!

Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 white cake mix
  • 1 egg
  • 8 Tablespoons butter, softened
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 24 Rolo candies, wrappers removed
  • 3-4 Tablespoons cinnamon sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Set out a cookie sheet.
  2. Beat together the cake mix, egg, butter, and cream cheese until a soft dough forms. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  3. Scoop out and roll the dough into 24 even dough balls. Press each ball flat and place a Rolo in the center.
  4. Form the cookie dough around the candy bar and roll into a ball again. Roll the cookie dough ball in the cinnamon sugar and place on a baking sheet.
  5. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before moving to a piece of parchment paper.
  6. Use the back of a flat spatula to gently tap the cookie tops, if desired. Let cool completely. Store in a sealed container on the counter.

Notes

If you cannot find the cinnamon sugar or do not want to buy another product, you can also use 3 Tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 100 Total Fat: 7g Saturated Fat: 4g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 2g Cholesterol: 23mg Sodium: 70mg Carbohydrates: 8g Fiber: 0g Sugar: 7g Protein: 1g
© Jocelyn @ Inside BruCrew Life
Cuisine: American / Category: Cookies & Whoopie Pies

More cookies I can’t wait to make and enjoy:

Cinnamon Caramel Cookies - these soft puffy cookies have a caramel candy bar center and cinnamon sugar coating. Great recipe to fill your cookie jar with!

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Comments

  1. Mir says

    Why do much older men (I’m talking 20-plus year age gap) think it’s totally okay to flirt with women who are clearly not in their demographic? I guess I’d like to have that kind of confidence, but nah. It’s a little creepy.
    These cookies rock! They’re so soft and thick and I love the filling.

    Reply

      • Jean says

        Did u consider he might just want to have a friendly conversation? I think a bit of kindness on was in order . I was going to sign up until I read that post…are older people welcome on this blog?

        Reply

        • Jocelyn says

          I’m sorry my funny little incident made you feel unwelcome. Any one of any age is definitely welcome here for the stories and the recipes. I’m sure the older gentleman was just being friendly, but like I said in the post, you can usually tell the difference between friendly and flirty. Don’t get me wrong, I smiled and was friendly back to him. I would never intentionally be rude to anyone.

          Reply

          • Susan says

            I thought this was a cooking/baking blog????????????
            Cookies are AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!
            Let’s leave it at that.

          • Jocelyn says

            This is a cooking and baking blog with a side of stories from our life. Feel free to scroll past what I write to get to the recipe. And yes, cookies are awesome!

  6. [email protected] says

    I don’t really like surprises either – I love knowing exactly whats going on so I can plan for it since I’m such a big planner! I love the surprises in the middle of these cookies though. And the thickness of these cookies is awesome!! Pinned 🙂

    Reply

  9. Julie @ This Gal Cooks says

    I’m the same way about surprises and not knowing what is going to happen, to the point that I will go look up what happens in a TV show because I cannot stand the anxious feeling that I get from wondering what is going to happen!

    These cookies are perfect, Jocelyn! LOVE the cinnamon sugar topping.

    Reply

  11. marcie says

    Such funny stories, especially the one where the older gentleman was flirting with you…the nerve! haha These cookies are gorgeously thick and that caramel oozing out is almost too much…almost!

    Reply

  17. Beth @ bethcakes says

    These cookies sound awesome! Sorry about your weird grocery story experience, haha. When it comes to cookies like this, I really do love surprises! These look like the perfect cookie texture. 🙂

    Reply

  30. Chels+R. says

    I love surprises and these are the best kind. And I love the story about the old man! LOL-was he good-looking like George Clooney? He totally pulls of the gray hair.

    Reply

  32. Claudia C says

    This website is so cool. I’m going to make the Cinnamon Caramel cookies this week. Did u like the cookies?Do u have any tips?
    Thanks. 😉

    Reply

  36. Dana says

    these look scrumptious! I love snickerdoodle-type cookies and anything cinammon. And caramel is just the icing on the cake, er I mean cookie 🙂
    I’m new to your blog, love your pics and your story-telling. I’m very much enjoying it so far and now I’ve got a list of a few of your goodies I’d like to make. I have to eat GF so will try this with my GF vanilla cake recipe, will let you know how it goes in case any of your other readers bake sans gluten!
    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  38. Stina says

    Just made these for mail-away-cookie-boxes, and I am very, very sad that there is only one ‘spare’ that I can eat for myself. Holy amazeballs, these are awesome.

    Reply

  40. Terri Taylor says

    love your recipes. just yesterday i made the banana split fluff salad. for a bbq at work. big hit. thanks again.

    Reply

  42. Muriel J Moore says

    I loved your story about the “older gentleman” with “GRAY” hair…I had to laugh. I’ve had “graying” hair since I was 16 (It’s a thing with Scots we tend to grow gray early) I am now 72 with white-ish hair that my daughter, a former hair dresser actually believes I am using hair colour to acheive it. I grow my hair out for 3-5 years before cutting it for “Locks of Love”. I am lucky that my hair is thick and tends to be silky and hard to style because I will not use heat on the ends and risk the company having to take that off the length I send. I admit it, I am kind of an idiot about my hair, but then, I don’t think of it as mine…I’m just a surrogate for someone who has lost her hair to chemotherapy. I am loving your recipes…and your blog.

    Reply

  43. Mindie says

    These look amazing!!
    Any tips on how to keep dough from sticking to your hands??
    I refrigerated the dough for about 2 hours. When I tried to roll up dough with candy in center it all stuck to my hands?

    Reply

    • Jocelyn says

      Cake mix cookies generally don’t stick as much after refrigerating the dough. Two ideas for you though…spray your hands with nonstick baking spray. It works wonders! And second idea is to use a cookie scoop. For this one, I think a 2 Tbsp. scoop would work. I hope that helps.

      Reply

  44. Susie says

    Hmmm…looking for cookie ideas & ran onto your blog, this recipe and your story about the older gentleman.
    Re: the comment made by Jean. I agree with her… try a little kindness. Gray hair? Most of us have it beginning in our 40’s.
    One more thought. I’m assuming you haven’t lost your life partner. My Dad has lost my Mom & my brother has lost my sister-in-law @ a relatively young age. They are lonely, not lecherous. Glad you were polite. It only takes a smile & a few kind words to ease that void for a time…

    Reply

    • Jocelyn says

      Hi, Susie. Thank you for your comment. As I mentioned in the post, I was very nice and friendly to him. I wasn’t trying to be rude in my story, just making light about the situation. I would never be hurtful or rude to anyone and agree that a smile goes a long way.

      Reply

  45. Stephanie says

    Hey I just made these for first time and they came out pretty good! I followed the directions but the top and middle came out pretty doughy. I’m not sure if I did something wrong but do you have any suggestions?

    Reply

    • Jocelyn says

      Are they still doughy after chilling completely? They do look underdone after they come out of the oven, but they will firm up as they chill. Also, everyone’s ovens do bake slightly different. You could always try baking them 1 minute longer to get them to a consistency you like better. I never bake ours more than the 10 minutes though. I hope that helps.

      Reply

      • dan jackson says

        I had to double the cooking time to avoid raw centers as well. Also, about half the batch was ruined because the caramel leaked slightly out the bottom, stuck to the cookie sheet and gutted themselves upon attempting to remove them to parchment paper. I’m guessing those ones didn’t have quite enough dough, though any difference was pretty small: go bigger for the sake of your sanity.

        Reply

        • Jocelyn says

          Yikes! Double the cooking time? My guess is they were quite over done then. I have never baked mine longer than 10-11 minutes. Yes, they look under done and doughy when they first come out of the oven, but if you let them cool they are perfect. Did you scoop 24 dough balls before adding the caramel candies? This keeps them all the same size so you don’t have the issue with the dough. Also, it probably leaked out because you baked them too long. Also, using parchment or a Silpat on a cookie sheet keeps cookies from sticking.

          Reply

  46. Lacey says

    Jocelyn,
    Just found your recipe on Pinterest and was very interested until I saw the caramel source as Rollos. I know from experience that they don’t stay soft in a cooled cookie. However; when reading the comments I saw references to Milky Way mini bars as the caramel source. But, when checking the recipe again it clearly lists Rollos.

    Can you explain as these look so amazing? Thanks☺

    Reply

    • Jocelyn says

      Actually the Rolos stay pretty soft in these cookies. When I made the recipe originally back in 2014, you could buy the all caramel milky way mini bites. When I did the video earlier this year, I couldn’t find those anywhere, so I changed the recipe to Rolos, and it worked just as well.

      Reply

  47. Grama J says

    The filled centers of the cookies, are marvelous. Great idea. The grey haired gent ..well .. when someone does that to me, I do not take it …lightly. To me .. that is an INSULT to say the LEAST. I have always been a slim gal … and to say that I ATTRACT the OLDER GREY GUYS is just like I said … an INSULT. I know older men like to be sexy talkers but they are there for one reason. So gramps…. go home to your wife and be HAPPY!!!

    Reply

  48. Sarah says

    Just made these today, and they turned out flat and raw!!! I followed the instructions and it didn’t work! Tossed then all out.

    Reply

    • Jocelyn says

      I’m so sorry to hear these didn’t work for you. How many cookies did you roll the dough in and how long did you bake them? They set up more after they cool.

      Reply

  49. Katie says

    I tried these last night. I have to agree with a couple other commenters that the cook time didn’t work well for me. I made 20 balls (once I realized I wasn’t going to get 24, I didn’t feel like going back and resizing to get 4 more) and the dough chilled for probably close to 5-6 hours. I cooked 10 min and they were def not cooked yet, I added another 5 min….still not done. Another 5 min and took them out (total 20 min cook time) and even then I wasn’t confident they were done. After cooling, they were flat as pancakes and still very doughy. Not sure what could be wrong? I used Kroger brand white cake mix…I assume they’re all the same but this is the only ingredient that I can think of that might make a difference?

    Reply

    • Jocelyn says

      I have to admit that I am completely stumped at why they are not working for you and a few others. You are only using a half a block of cream cheese which is 4 ounces, right? Using different cake mixes shouldn’t make a difference at all. I have used different ones in all the variations that I have on the blog. I also make cake mix cookies all the time and never bake them more than 10 minutes. The other thing I thought of was that cake mix cookies do have different consistency than regular cookies, but I would not say they are doughy. Also, what kind of pan are you using? If you use a Silpat on a baking sheet vs. an airbake pan, the bottoms of the cookies will bake slightly different.

      Reply

      • Katie says

        I used an aluminum sheet pan with parchment paper. Definitely only 4oz cream cheese. I read somewhere about cheaper butter possibly being the culprit? I used land o lakes non salted, 1 stick. …and when you say use the cake mix, you mean just the dry mix right? Not actually prepare it as it states on the box? I used only the dry mix plus the other ingredients you had listed.

        Reply

        • Jocelyn says

          Ok, so that should be fine, and yes, just use the dry cake mix. Ok, I have to ask this because it’s the only other thing I can think of. You are sure you used butter and not margarine, right? Margarine is mostly water, so it would definitely affect a recipe. The only other 2 things I can think of are was your oven at 350* when you put the pan in and are you at a higher elevation? I know that can affect baking.

          Reply

          • Katie says

            Yeah it was butter and not high elevation. I wondered if maybe the butter was too *softened*? It def wasn’t all melted but it was done in the microwave so it was warmer than just room temp probably. Would have thought the 5hour chilling would fix that though. I don’t know, even the failed cookies still tasted delicious (I’m eating one now!) so I really want it to work. I was planning on these going in my Christmas cookie presents this year. Not sure yet what I’m gonna try to do to fix it, gotta think some more. Thanks for all the replies.

          • Jocelyn says

            Yeah, the butter should just be slightly room temp, not melted at all. If you watch the video, you can see the butter goes in completely solid. But you are correct that 5 hours in the fridge would totally fix that. I am so sorry that I couldn’t figure out why they are flat and doughy for you. I swear mine come out soft and puffy every single time, so I really wish I could figure out how to get yours like that too. Good to hear you say they still taste delicious though. Ok, just had another thought. After you roll the cookie dough in the sugar mixture, how long did the cookie dough sit out before going in the oven? You could try refrigerating the dough for 1-2 hours, roll them into 24 balls, fill with candy, roll in sugar, then refrigerate the dough balls again for an hour. As you bake one batch, keep the other dough balls in the fridge until they go in the oven. I do this sometimes when I make the dough ahead of time and bake later.

  50. Katie says

    I just wanted to update you so no one gets discouraged from my comments. I made them again, I used convection bake setting and did 10 minute cook time. They look really uncooked in the centers (you can see where the cookies crack a little) but this time just trusted that they would set up nicely once cooled…and they did! Super delicious, they made it onto my cookie platter gifts for Christmas and I got many compliments on them. So I think for anyone uneasy about how they look coming out of the oven after 8-10 minutes, they just need to trust that will be delicious once fully cooked. They are very soft and chewy cookies and this was the first time I have made the cake batter cookies so I just wasn’t sure what to expect. These were great and i’ll Be sharing the recipe. Thanks again for all your replies. Merry Christmas!

    Reply

    • Jocelyn says

      Yay!!!! I am so glad you stuck with it and we figured out how to make the cookies work for you! And I’m so glad you were able to make them for your gift platters for Christmas! Awesome job 🙂

      Reply

  51. Katie says

    Typo correction: ….anyone uneasy about how they look coming out of the oven after 8-10 minutes just needs to trust that they will be delicious once fully COOLED*

    Reply

  52. Rita says

    Can these be made ahead of time? I’m thinking after filling and rolling in cinnamon sugar to then freeze for a few days, then take out and bake, adding like 3 more minutes to the baking time.

    Reply

    • Jocelyn says

      I have never tried freezing these cookies before baking, but I think they would be fine. And adding 2-3 minutes to the baking time if you bake them frozen should be good! Keep me posted on how they turn out.

      Reply

  53. ST says

    This recipe looks great and I’m about to make it as part of my Christmas cookie collection this year. Just a question: I’ve scoured the whole recipe page as well as the comments and I just want to confirm that the candy required is a chocolate-covered Rolo? (I live in Canada so I know American candies and brands can differ). Or does it call for just a plain caramel? Like a Kraft caramel cube? I see no mention of chocolate anywhere, nor do I see any traces of chocolate in the photos so I was a bit puzzled! Thank you 🙂

    Reply

    • Jocelyn says

      The candy in the recipe are Rolos now. Years ago when I made this cookie for the photos, I used a caramel candy bar. Unfortunately those are not around anymore which is why you don’t see chocolate in the pictures. If you watch the video though, you will see chocolate and see the Rolos that I used. I have not tried this recipe using a plain Kraft caramel, but I think it would work. I hope you have fun making the cookies and enjoy eating them. Keep me posted on how they work for you.

      Reply

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