Servings
Font
Back
Salted Caramel Linzer Cookies
4.9 from 21 votes

Salted Caramel Linzer Cookies

These Salted Caramel Linzer Cookies consist of abuttery shortbread cookie filled with delicious, rich caramel. They’re dustedwith powdered sugar for a festive cookie that is perfect for the holidays.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
12 mins
Decorating Time:
20 mins
Total Time
52 mins
Servings: 24
Calories: 223 kcal
Course: Dessert, Baked Goods
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Cookies:
  • 1 cup butter at room temperature, unsalted
  • 1 cup granulated sugar white
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg large
  • 1 egg large, yolk
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Salted Caramel:
  • 1 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons butter at room temperature, unsalted
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • sea salt flakey

Instructions

To Make the Cookies:
    Cup of Yum
  1. In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, add the butter, sugar and salt. Beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract and beat once more until combined. In two batches, add the flour, being sure each addition is combined before adding the next one. Divide the dough in half, transfer it to two sheets of plastic wrap (it’ll be quite soft!), shape into a disc and transfer to the fridge. Allow to chill for about 1 hour. Ideally it should be at least 3 hours.
To Bake the Cookies:
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the first disc of dough from the fridge. If it’s super cold, it may need some time to come closer to room temperature, probably 10 minutes. Place the dough between two sheets of parchment and roll out the cookie dough to a 1/8-inch thickness. I find it easiest to stamp out the cookies when the cookie dough is very cold, so transfer the parchment sheet unit to a baking sheet and place in the freezer to chill for 5 minutes. Stamp out the cookies with a cookie cutter of your choice, being sure that half of the cookies (the cookie tops) have something stamped out of the center so we get that linzer effect.
  2. Transfer the cookies to the baking sheet, spacing them about 1-inch apart (these spread slightly). Re-roll the scraps to get a few more cookies. Repeat with the second disc of dough.
  3. Bake the cookies, one baking sheet at a time, for about 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly golden brown around the edges. Cool on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
To Make the Salted Caramel:
  1. In a medium saucepan, set over medium-low heat, add the sugar and water. Cook on medium-low heat until the sugar has dissolved into the water completely. Then, turn the heat to high and allow to cook for about 5 full minutes, until the cooked sugar goes from clear to light golden brown. At this point, lower the heat slightly and keep cooking until it turns a golden brown.
  2. Add the butter and whisk until it melts. The mixture will foam up a bit so don’t be alarmed. Next, pour in the heavy cream; again, it’ll foam up and might seize but continue to stir it over low heat until it seems very smooth. If it’s a super light brown, feel free to cook it for about a minute over low heat until it turns a bit darker in color. Mix in the vanilla. Remove it from the heat to cool slightly. It will thicken as it cools slightly!
  3. In order the decorate the cookies, you want the caramel at a medium temperature, not too warm and not too cold. If it gets a bit cold, feel free to transfer it to a small bowl and stick it in the microwave for 10 seconds, just until it’s pourable.
To Decorate the Cookies:
  1. Transfer the cookies tops (the ones with the center hole removed) to a cooling rack. Dust with a liberal amount of powdered sugar. Flip the cookie bottoms (the ones without the center hole removed) over and smother a scant teaspoon of salted caramel onto the cookie. Top with a teeny pinch of sea salt. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Place the tops on the bottoms and sandwich the two together. Cookies will last 3 days when kept in an airtight container.

Notes

  • Tips and Tricks
  •  
  • I’m a make-ahead girl. I love to make this cookie dough the day before so it just eliminates a huge step off my plate. Alternatively, you could make the cookies the day before, store them in an air-tight container and then assemble them the next day. You have options!
  • Choosing your cookie shapes. I went simple. Stars and circles. The more intricate the cookie cutters are, the more likely they’ll get messed up. I have learned the hard way. So I say keep it simple! I used a small round cookie cutter to stamp out the centers. A piping tip also works just as well.

Nutrition Information

Serving 24g Calories 223kcal (11%) Carbohydrates 30g (10%) Protein 2g (4%) Fat 11g (17%) Saturated Fat 7g (35%) Cholesterol 32mg (11%) Sodium 29mg (1%) Potassium 21mg (0%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 19g (38%) Vitamin A 363IU (7%) Vitamin C 1mg (1%) Calcium 9mg (1%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 24 Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 223

% Daily Value*

Serving 24g
Calories 223kcal 11%
Carbohydrates 30g 10%
Protein 2g 4%
Fat 11g 17%
Saturated Fat 7g 35%
Cholesterol 32mg 11%
Sodium 29mg 1%
Potassium 21mg 0%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 19g 38%
Vitamin A 363IU 7%
Vitamin C 1mg 1%
Calcium 9mg 1%
Iron 1mg 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.