Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles by Lisa H.

I originally found this recipe from this blog, but I changed a few minor things. My notes are in italics...

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles

2½ cups all-purpose Gold Medal flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup unsalted butter, sliced
1¼ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt
1 cup caramel squares, cut into ¼’s
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Coarse Sea salt for sprinkling on completed cookies

Instructions

In a medium sized bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cream of tarter, cinnamon, and set aside.

To brown the butter, heat a medium saucepan to medium high heat. Add the sliced butter, whisking frequently. You will notice the butter starting to become frothy on the top and brown specks will start to form along the bottom. You have to watch it closely because the turn happens quickly and you don’t want it to burn. You will start to smell a nutty aroma and once it turns to a brown color, remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature.

While the butter is cooling, cut the carmel squares into ¼’s. (I used Werther's Caramels and cut each one in half).

In a stand mixer, combine the brown butter and brown sugar, and ½ cup granulated sugar. (The ¼ cup sugar will be used for rolling in the cookies). Mix until blended and smooth.

Beat in egg, yolk, vanilla and yogurt and mix until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients until combined.

Form the dough into a ball and cover with plastic. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight. Once you are ready to bake preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Measure about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the ball and place 1-2 caramel squares inside, wrap the cookie dough over the caramel and roll back into a ball. Make sure it is completely covered so that the caramel won’t stick to the pan.

(Instead of refrigerating the dough in a big ball I used a small cookie scoop to shape the cookies, wrapped the caramel inside and made a ball, rolled in the cinnamon and sugar, placed on a cookie sheet and then refrigerated the dough before baking. I think refrigerated cookie dough is hard to work with!)

Mix ¼ cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and roll each cookie in the mixture. Place on a cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt. (I used course Kosher salt)

Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges turn lightly brown. The centers will be soft. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, and transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Best served warm with a tall glass of cold milk.