Caramel and Cinnamon with Pecan Cookies

The easiest way to add flavor to any cookie is by adding chips. Of course, chocolate is the most common, but the cinnamon and caramel chips are just too good to pass up.

The chips I used for this cookie are both made by Hershey's in Hershey, PA. The Sea Salt Caramel comes in many ways, from a caramel square with sea salt on top to the chips you can add, just like chocolate chips. Chips, of course, make them perfect for baking—nothing like salty and sweet together in the same cookie.

Ingredients You Will Need

• ½ cup Butter unsalted 
• 8 ounces Cream cheese 
• 1 cup Sugar white 
• ½ cup Light brown sugar 
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon juice
• 2 Eggs room temperature
• 2-½ cups All purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking powder
• ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
• ¾ cup Caramel Chips with Sea Salt
• ½ cup Cinnamon Chips
• ½ cup Pecans chopped

How to Bring Together Salty and Sweet

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C)

Mix on the medium speed of your mixer the cream cheese, butter, and sugars till smooth (image 1). Then add the vanilla extract, lemon juice and blend. Add one egg at a time till incorporated.

Next, add all the dry ingredients and mix. Finally, add the sea salt caramel chips, cinnamon chips, chopped pecans, and mix till everything looks evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough. (image 2)

Refrigerate for one hour.

I use a medium cookie scooper since it makes my cookies all about the same size. It also takes the guesswork of whether the cookies are finished, which can happen when they are of different sizes.

Image 3 shows how full I fill my cookie scooper. I overfill the cookie scooper just a little to make sure I get a nice size cookie. I space about and 2 inches apart, and I could get twelve scoops to a sheet pan. (image 4)

Bake for 12-14 minutes. These are easy cookies to make, and I hope you enjoy them!

Do I Have to Refrigerate my Cookie Dough?

You do not have to chill your cookie dough, but if you don't, you may not get the results you were looking for as far as looks.

In this recipe, the butter and cream cheese need the refrigerator's cold to become solid fat again. This process helps to make the cookie not spread so much.

For cookies using butter, I refrigerate for 30 minutes to 2 hours. Of course, you can do longer, but if you want to make the cookie that day, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Here is an article on Cookie-Baking Chemistry if you would like more detail on why cookies bake the way they do.

Storage

The Caramel and Cinnamon with Pecan Cookies store very well in a plastic container with a lid for up to a week. I purchase the cheap ones at the grocery store with red covers and are not a brand name.