Caramel Snickerdoodles

This post is sponsored by McCormick® but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Pillowy soft Caramel Snickerdoodles have just the right amount of cinnamon, sugar and vanilla flavors. Pair with a cup of coffee or tea to enjoy the holiday season!

There’s something about the holidays that just can’t be replicated. People are a little friendlier, potlucks and parties are plentiful and there are plenty of opportunities to bring a plate of Caramel Snickerdoodles along as a dessert or hostess gift.

During the holiday season as I was growing up, my family made it a tradition to bake at least 5 different varieties of cookies and make several dozen of each. We would usually give most of them away throughout the holiday season to teachers, friends, neighbors and the hostess of any holiday event we were invited to. They were always a huge hit with the recipient - what’s better than a platter of homemade cookies?

Caramel Snickerdoodles didn’t make the “cookie list” for distribution until I was old enough to cast my vote for them to nudge out oatmeal cookies. Our usual cookie rotation included:

Chocolate chip cookies

Peanut butter cookies

Oatmeal cookies

Chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips

Rainbow chocolate candy cookies

I made a test batch for my family to sample and they were a huge hit! Our other cookies are chocolate-forward, so snickerdoodles were the perfect more mellow option. They are perfectly spiced with McCormick® Cinnamon throughout the batter and rolled around in more McCormick® Cinnamon and sugar before they’re baked.

To kick off this holiday season, I headed out to our local Stop & Shop and picked up some McCormick® Cinnamon and McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract for this recipe. I could sit and stare at the McCormick® spice display all day if I had the chance - but I knew these caramel snickerdoodles weren’t going to bake themselves!

• 

• 

• 

The dough for these snickerdoodles comes together really quickly - you don’t have to soften the butter or wait for the dough to chill! Actually, the recipe is written so that you begin with cold butter and cream it together with sugar and brown sugar, then eggs and vanilla followed by the dry ingredients.

Because the butter doesn’t need to come to room temperature and then get chilled again, these cookies come together really quickly and are perfect when you’re in a time crunch before a potluck and don’t know what to make.

The caramel centers inside these caramel snickerdoodles is the perfect little surprise to round out the flavor of these cookies. The cookies are pillowy soft and the caramel can be a bit hidden if you don’t let people know it's there. But...extra caramel is certainly not something to be disappointed about!

Using Quality Ingredients

I’ve mentioned it before, but sometimes it is absolutely necessary to use high quality ingredients in your cooking and baking. I am known to bake frequently, but I always use high quality McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract in all my cookie recipes. You can taste the difference between authentic vanilla extract and the imitation vanilla flavoring.

If you’re going to be baking for a special occasion, the intended recipients of the cookies will 100% appreciate a cookie that is made with ingredients that taste noticeably better.

I may have acquired a reputation for being a cookie snob because of this, and people know me as “the baker” at work because I will always drop off my blog extras in the break room for my colleagues to enjoy. They give me compliments on the recipes they love (and still eat the ones they don’t love as much). These caramel snickerdoodles got rave reviews across the board!

The Perfect Holiday Cookie

I’m going to make a bold statement and say that snickerdoodles are the perfect cookie for the holiday season. They aren’t as heavy as a chocolatey cookie, they are slightly sweet and spicy from the McCormick® Ground Cinnamon, and the little pocket of caramel on the inside is the perfect unexpected little treat.

Pair these caramel snickerdoodles with your favorite cup of coffee, tea or hot cocoa as you catch up with family and friends this holiday season. Snickerdoodles are so simple to make and are the perfect way to say “I appreciate you” in a subtle way by packing these up and leaving them for the hostess of a holiday party.

Whether you’re heading out to a cookie exchange party, holiday party for work, or just gathering with your family to make some cookies this holiday season, Caramel Snickerdoodles made with McCormick® Cinnamon and Pure Vanilla Extract will make the holidays feel like home this season.

Have you ever tried snickerdoodles? What’s your favorite holiday cookie or dessert? Let me know in the comments below!