Hello and welcome to the first holiday recipe of December. I’ve been very excited to share these cookies with you because they have become one of my most popular recipes. Many people have tried them and loved them wayyyy more than I anticipated. So I figured it would be best to publish these early.
It’s crazy that it’s December. I say this at the beginning of every month but I really mean it this time. Thanksgiving is over, and in just a few weeks it will be Christmas.
As fun as this season is, it’s also extremely stressful. I love performances and celebrations and all that but so many of them back to back can be exhausting. Over break, I tried to practice what I needed to, and get all my homework done, and test a whole lotta recipes but there are only so many hours in a day. No matter how fast I go, sometimes it just isn’t possible to cram it all in.
But instead of focusing on what I didn’t do, let’s focus on what I did do! I finished up 4/6 of my holiday recipes, and (most importantly) I finished the second phase of my project! It feels good to not have that dwelling in the back of my mind.
I’m feeling kind of conflicted about getting my recipes done. First of all, I feel stressed that I won’t have them done in time. But on the other hand, if I rush to get them finished, I’ll be closer to my less exciting recipes for January and February and such. I love baking year round, but I do feel a lot less motivated in late winter and spring.
But let’s focus on the present. Let’s talk about these cookies. These are THE Christmas Cookie of the season. I’ve had several people tell me they don’t usually like gingerbread, but they love these cookies. The same with coffee flavored things. These are cozy and decadent, but still pretty simple to make.
Describe these Cookies To Me
Taste: Like any gingerbread cookie, these are filled with cozy spices and molasses. But the espresso powder adds this unique warmth to them, and the caramel adds these notes of nutty sweetness. All these flavors work so well together, and the cookie really just melts in your mouth.
Texture: The cookie itself is crisp on the outside and gooey in the center. The caramel adds a little chewiness, but not so much that it makes them unpleasant to eat. I recommend you eat a few of these warm, while the center is still gooey and soft, but they are equally as tasty cooled down.
Ease: The base of this cookie dough is a super simple, one bowl, no chill recipe. The thing that might scare a lot of people is making the caramel. But, it’s the easiest caramel you will ever make, and it only adds about 10 minutes. After that it’s smooth sailing.
The Caramel
Oh the dreaded caramel. I understand why people don’t like making caramel, I myself used to be afraid of it. But trust me when I say this is an easy caramel. It cooks slower than most so it’s less likely to burn, and there’s no fancy temperature guidelines. All you have to do is melt down a little sugar and stir in some butter. When you add the butter it will sizzle and look kind of angry, but if you just keep mixing quickly it should come together. Then you just pour that on a baking sheet with parchment paper, sprinkle on some cinnamon, and let it rest for five minutes. After that, it should be hard and you can break it into shards.
The Dough
This dough is pretty simple and quick. Salted butter adds to the melt in your mouth, cozy flavor, especially when mixed with molasses and brown sugar. Mixing a whole lot of espresso powder in with the butter and sugar helps it bloom, kind of like cocoa powder. For the dry ingredients, you’ve got your typical flour and baking soda, but cinnamon and ginger really compliment the molasses and espresso. Then all you have to do is fold in some of those caramel shards, scoop the dough, roll it in sugar, press some more caramel on top, and bake.
My Cookies Came Out Wonky!
Never fear! Some of my cookies usually turn out a little misshapen from where the caramel melted out of the cookie. But the good news is, you can use a round cookie cutter, or just a spatula, to gently nudge the warm cookies back into shape. This also helps contribute to those crispy edges.
Caramel Gingerbread Latte Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Get out all the ingredients for the caramel so they are at the ready.
- In a medium sized saucepan, melt the sugar over medium heat until amber brown, for roughly 6 minutes. It will seem like nothing is happening at first, but the sugar will begin to melt and clump up, and will eventually all melt down to a deep amber brown. Once melted, add the butter and use a whisk to combine. Once butter is completely melted, remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk vigorously just until the butter is mostly combined. Then immediately pour the caramel onto the previously prepared baking sheet and spread it out into a relatively thin layer. It hardens fast, so work quickly! Sprinkle the top with cinnamon. Let the caramel sit for 5 minutes before using your hands to break it into small shards. Set aside while we make the cookie dough.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl using a hand or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, espresso powder, and vanilla extract together on medium high speed until creamy and combined. Mix in the egg and molasses. Sift in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt and beat on low speed until just combined. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in three quarters of caramel shards into the dough to distribute them evenly.
- Using a cookie scoop or your hands, roll the dough into balls, about two Tablespoons in size. Toss the cookies in the granulated sugar before placing on the previously prepared baking sheets roughly two inches apart. Press a few pieces of the remaining caramel onto the top of the cookie dough balls.
- Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes or until set on the sides. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before enjoying warm (highly recommended!) or let them cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.
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