Supercharge Your Cookies With A Simple Caramel Stuffing

Caramel can make any dessert irresistible. Sweet with notes of butter, the creamy confection is a treat on its own, but pair it with cookie dough, and the decadence multiplies. Working with caramel chips or adding a velvety drizzle over the baked goods is a great place to start. But if you really want to elevate cookies, we recommend stuffing them with caramel. Although the thought of achieving a molten caramel center may seem difficult, it's actually a lot easier than it sounds thanks to a simple hack.

Don't bother making caramel from scratch. It's not worth the time or the stress. Instead, use store-bought caramels to stuff your cookies. They're cheap, widely available, and work just as well as any homemade caramel sauce. However, knowing what to buy is important.

Whether you opt for brands like Kraft or Werther's, always make sure to select chewy varieties rather than hard. This is important as a soft texture is precisely what will make the caramels suitable for baking. That said, while any ordinary caramels will add layers of dimension, you can also experiment with flavored varieties such as sea salt caramels or even chocolate-covered caramels. With the right caramels in tow, the next piece of the puzzle is properly stuffing them inside a cookie.

Pairing caramel with the right cookie is the first step in making sure that the stuffing process goes off without a hitch. Any recipe for drop cookies is an ideal candidate as the dough is sturdy enough to cushion caramel without creating a mess as it bakes. Flavor-wise, caramel's warm and buttery profile makes it a great match for an array of classics, giving chocolate chip cookies an edge or amplifying the toasted goodness of peanut butter cookies. A caramel filling can even balance cookies like zesty ginger snaps or spiced snickerdoodles.

When it comes to assembly, start by unwrapping the caramels. You'll need a single caramel for every cookie. For rectangular confections, reshape them into a sphere — the warmth from your hands should be enough to make the candy malleable, but you can also place them in the microwave for a few seconds. Otherwise, square caramels can be left as is. Now, onto stuffing.

To perfectly stuff a cookie, start by scooping out a portion of dough and forming it into a ball. Placing a caramel into the center, cover it with the remaining dough. Make sure no caramel is exposed as this will cause it to escape from the cookie. Likewise, chilling the stuffed dough balls before they go into the oven will also prevent premature melting and consequent oozing. Once cookies are baked, let them cool briefly before digging in, and enjoying the fruits of your labor.