One of my favorite drinks EVER is a good caramel macchiato from Starbucks. Perfectly sweet, rich caramel and strong espresso is such a genius combination. So I thought why not have these flavors in a cookie? Oh. Em. Gee. I am ridiculously glad I made these.
The coffee flavor is pretty prominent in these chewy, soft sugar cookies. Out of the oven after cooling, I simply drizzled my favorite salted caramel from Trader Joe’s on top. That perfect mix of coffee and caramel stands out wonderfully!
A lot of times I’ve run out of all-purpose flour, but somehow have a bunch of self-rising flour. Like today. It works perfectly in this recipe and even cuts some time! Self-rising flour — I no longer hate you. ๐
I adapted the cookie recipe from Once Upon a Chef (check out her blog…it’s awesome!). You can use whatever caramel you prefer. I like Trader Joe’s and Mrs. Richardson’s is pretty amazing as well. And did I forget to mention!!! It’s National Caramel Day, so this comes at the perfect time. Recipe below. ๐
Caramel Macchiato Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temp
- 1 oz. cream cheese room temp
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp. instant coffee or espresso powder
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
- 2-4 tbsp. caramel
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. I use a stoneware cookie sheet, or you can line a non-stick cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a hand mixer, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy, a few minutes. Beat in the vanilla and instant coffee/espresso powder. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the egg. Scrape down the bowl again, then sift in the flour. Mix on low speed until the dough comes together into a ball. It should be a little sticky.
- Place dough in fridge for 10 minutes. Gently roll into balls (I used a heaping tablespoon) and place 2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Using a flat-bottomed glass, gently flatten the cookies to 1/2-inch thickness. Bake for 10-12 minutes. The cookies will turn golden on the bottom but remain pale on top. Cool on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- After cooled, drizzle caramel of choice on top of the cookies. Enjoy!
These look delicious (as usual!). Anything Starbucks related, and I am so in. ๐
Thanks a bunch, Rissi! Oh my goodness, I was just trying to figure out if I should take a trip to Starbucks today. ๐ I could really use an actual Caramel Macchiato. Haha!
caramel macchiacto cookies?!?!? i can’t even. tieghan from half baked harvest has a really good coffee caramel; her instructions aren’t quite right on it, but it makes for an amazing, rich, complex, coffee-filled caramel that i bet would be amazing on these (or you know, that tj’s salted caramel is pretty wows too).
Haha, thanks Heather! OMG, coffee caramel sounds AMAZING and I adore Half Baked Harvest!! Thanks for the heads up — looking up that recipe now!! ๐