Deliciously crunchy salted caramel biscuits. These were a little bit of an experiment. I had a tin of Carnation Caramel left over from making salted caramel buttercream frosting for my banoffee cupcakes and had visions of making salted caramel chocolate chip cookies. The recipe didn’t really go to plan, and I didn’t quite manage the chocolate chip cookie that I was envisioning. But, I think that what I made was actually a lot better. It was trial and error and I didn’t really know if it was going to work at one point. Yet it all came together and at the end I had these delicious salted caramel cookies.
To make these, I cheated and used a tin of Carnation caramel, rather than making the caramel myself. This is quick and easy to use, and helps to create the perfect caramel flavour. I used 3 tablespoons (165 g) of this to make the caramel flavour nice and strong, without being too overpowering. As always, you can adjust this amount by adding more or less, to your preference. Adding in a pinch of salt helps to make this a real showstopper and helps to create the salted caramel flavour.
Start by melting the butter slightly. I do this by placing the butter in an oven proof bowl and place it in the pre heating oven, removing when starting to melt (it should continue to melt as the bowl is hot). Place it to the side and allow it to cool down. Whilst waiting, weigh out the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
Once the butter has cooled down, add both of the sugars to the bowl and using an electric mixer, whisk everything together. Add the egg and mix in with the sugar. Add the flour mixture together, a little bit at a time and mix between each addition. It may seem quite dry at this point, but don’t worry, we’re about to fix that! Adding the milk and liquid Carnation Caramel will help to loosen the mixture and create a nice smooth batter.
These biscuits do not spread, so you can place them quite close together on the pre-lined baking tray. Using either a tablespoon or your hands, remove a small ball of mixture and use your hands to flatten on the tray. If you prefer a crunchier, crispier cookie, make sure that you make the cookie drop thinner. If you prefer a chewier biscuit, leave it slightly thicker. Keep going until you have a tray full of cookies, ready for the oven. If you want to intensify the ‘salted’ aspect of the cookies, you can add an extra sprinkle of chunky salt to the top of these before placing in the oven. I personally found that this created a really salty initial taste, so just be aware of that if choosing to add it.
Place these in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Remember that cookies are still slightly soft to the touch when fully baked. You can gently lift up a cookie and check the bottom, if it crispy and golden then the cookies are cooked and ready to come out of the oven. Leave them to cool on the tray for 5-10 minutes before placing on a cooling rack to cool completely.
I always think that biscuits taste better when fresh out of the oven, but any leftover can be stored in an airtight container for roughly 3-4 days.
Ingredients
- 100 g Unsalted Butter
- 325 g Plain Flour
- 75 g Caster Sugar
- 75 g Light Brown Soft Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
- Big Pinch Fine Sea Salt + extra for topping (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon Milk
- 2 tablespoons Carnation Caramel, more or less to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to Fan 160*C / 180*C / 350*F / Gas Mark 4, and line a baking tray with some baking parchment
- Place the butter into an ovenproof bowl, and place the bowl in the preheating oven, removing it when the butter has begun to melt slightly, (about 5 minutes should be fine)
- In the meantime, mix the flour, salt, ground cinnamon and baking powder together in a separate bowl, and set aside
- Once the butter has cooled, add both the sugars and mix until light and fluffy
- Add the egg to the butter mixture, mixing until just incorporated
- Using your spoon, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture a little at a time and mix until just combined. It will start to seem quite dry and crumbly at this point, don't worry, we're about to fix this!
- Gently stir in the milk and Carnation Caramel until thoroughly mixed in and the mixture has become a lot softer. It will be slightly sticky at this point
- Place small drops of dough, about 1/2 tablespoon onto the baking tray, spacing apart. These do not spread so can be placed quite close together. If you prefer a crunchier, crisper biscuit then make them slightly thinner. If you prefer a chewier biscuit then leave them slightly thicker. If using, add a sprinkle of salt to the top of the cookies.
- Cook for 15 - 20 minutes until slightly golden brown. They may come out soft, but will harden whilst cooling. You can check the bottom of the biscuit to check that they're cooked. It will look golden and crispy when done
- Remove from the oven and leave on the tray for 5-10 minutes. After this, transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely
Notes
I always think that biscuits taste better when fresh out of the oven, but any leftover can be stored in an airtight container for roughly 3-4 days.
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