Seal every crack before baking; melted caramel seeks even a tiny opening and burns on the tray.
Rice-flour yolk shortbread sealed around small pieces of soft caramel.
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Salted Caramel Stuffed Shortbread Cookies Recipe
Follow the tray sizes, portions and baking intervals in the instructions below.
Total time includes hands-on preparation, required chilling or resting, whole-batch cooking, cooling and finishing.
Kitchen tools you’ll need
- mixing bowl
- mixer
- kitchen scale
- two 13 x 18-inch half sheets
- parchment
- fork
- wide spatula
- cooling rack
Ingredients
US measures are approximate. Gram weights help keep portions consistent; spice weights vary with density.
Instructions
Mix the dough
- Mix the dough: Stir butter and sugar smooth, mix in yolk, then both flours and salt until a pliable dough gathers. Cut unwrapped soft caramels into 24 similar pieces, about 3.5 g each; do not use hard toffee or pourable caramel sauce.
Fill and chill
- Fill and chill: Divide dough into 24 portions, about 14 g each. Flatten each to a 2-inch disc, put caramel in the center, fold the dough fully around it and seal cracks. Gently flatten sealed balls to 1 3/4 inches wide and about 1/2 inch thick, keeping at least 1/8 inch dough around filling. Chill 45 minutes.
Bake the whole batch
- Bake the whole batch: Heat oven to 325°F (165°C) conventional or 300°F (150°C) fan. Use two parchment-lined 13 x 18-inch half sheets, 12 cookies per sheet, spaced at least 1 inch apart. Bake one tray at a time on the middle rack for 20–24 minutes, turning front to back halfway; keep the waiting tray refrigerated. Edges and bases should be pale gold and the centers dry. Whole-batch oven time is 48 minutes for both trays.
Cool the filled cookies
- Cool the filled cookies: Rest 10 minutes on trays and cool 30 minutes on a rack before biting into the caramel center. The 40-minute cooling allowance includes tray rest.
Timing and scaling
- Timing and scaling: 35 min hands-on + 45 min required chill/rest + 48 min whole-batch oven baking + 40 min cooling/setting = 168 min. Cooling includes tray/pan rests and runs from the final tray; earlier-tray cooling may overlap later baking. Ingredient warm-up and frozen-dough thawing are extra; preheat during shaping/chilling. Scale ingredients and US equivalents, not oven temperature, piece sizes or per-tray bake time; extra trays extend the whole-batch time.
Chef’s Science & Pro Tips
Ingredient science
Yolk makes a rice-flour dough pliable enough to enclose a small filling; the sealed shell traps softened caramel rather than carrying it as a bar topping.
Technique & texture
Seal every crack before baking; melted caramel seeks even a tiny opening and burns on the tray.
Finishing & serving
Serve at room temperature after full cooling; hot caramel can burn even when the cookie exterior feels cool.
Storage and make-ahead
| Method | How long | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Room temperature | 2 days | Up to 2 days. Seal fully cooled filled cookies airtight in a cool dry room. Separate layers with parchment; the filling gradually softens the crumb. |
| Refrigeration | up to 7 days | Unnecessary; up to 7 days if needed. Baked refrigeration is unnecessary for this formula; use only if the room is warm. Seal airtight to prevent condensation and odors. |
| Raw freezing | 1 month | Up to 1 month. Freeze the unfilled dough tightly wrapped. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then shape and complete the stated chill. Prepare the filling fresh. Thawing time is additional. |
| Baked freezing | 2 months | Up to 2 months. Freeze completely cooled cookies airtight with parchment between layers. Thaw sealed at room temperature for 1–2 hours. |
| Restoring | As described | Serve after thawing. Do not oven-refresh the assembled or coated cookies. Serve once thawed; reseal unused portions. |
Notes
- Scale ingredients, including US measures, without changing cookie size or oven temperature. Extra trays increase whole-batch time.
Nutrition
Approximate values per portion from the listed ingredient weights divided into 24 equal portions. Includes required fillings and finishes. Brands, unused coatings and actual portion size affect the estimate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes the rice-flour shell pliable?
Yolk makes a rice-flour dough pliable enough to enclose a small filling; the sealed shell traps softened caramel rather than carrying it as a bar topping.
Why did caramel leak out?
Seal every crack before baking; melted caramel seeks even a tiny opening and burns on the tray.
Can I eat the cookies straight from the oven?
Serve at room temperature after full cooling; hot caramel can burn even when the cookie exterior feels cool.
