Whole Wheat Caramel Cookies

If a cookie can taste like a season, then Whole Wheat Caramel Cookies taste like fall. Whole wheat adds a rustic, nutty flavor that pairs beautifully with the creamy caramel.

For more chewy caramel deliciousness, next time try Caramel Apple Cookies made with apple butter and a creamy caramel frosting.

Why you’ll love this recipe

This recipe pairs the flavor and texture of whole wheat with ingredients that enhance the nutty goodness. Caramel adds the perfect creamy sweetness.

If you prefer a lighter texture and milder flavor, this recipe works just as well with white whole wheat flour. The resulting cookies are still chewy and delicious.

Looking for the perfect lunch box or after school snack? You found it!

Recipe ingredients

• I used white whole wheat flour which has a lighter color and milder flavor than regular whole wheat flour. Either one can be used in this recipe.

• Golden syrup is a British syrup with a toffee flavor made from sugar cane. It’s easily found online, at World Market, and in some American supermarkets in the syrup aisle. However, it can also be replaced in this recipe with honey or corn syrup.

Instructions

This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Add golden syrup, eggs, vanilla, then dry ingredients. Fold in the chopped caramel pieces.
2. Chill the dough for 30 minutes to overnight.
3. When ready to bake, use a medium (1 ½ tablespoons) cookie scoop to place portions of dough on a parchment lined baking sheet about 2” apart. Add 1-2 pieces of caramel to each dough ball.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.

Storage

• These cookies keep their irresistible chewiness for up to 1 week when stored at room temperature in an airtight container.
• For care packages with longer shipping times vacuum sealing is recommended.

Tips

• Not everyone has the time or interest in mixing up a batch of homemade caramel. (Though, you really should try it. Homemade caramel is amazing!) I made several batches of these cookies with Kraft caramels (the little individual ones wrapped in clear plastic) and the results were delicious.
• Pomegranate Caramel has a slight fruity taste which adds a special, extra dimension to these whole wheat cookies, but plain caramel is just as creamy and warm.
• You can substitute white whole wheat flour for a milder, less nutty flavor.
• The recipe calls for Lyle’s Golden Syrup which tastes like liquid brown sugar. I think it is the best flavor match with the whole wheat and caramel.
• Golden syrup is available in some regular grocery stores in either the baking or syrup aisle. It can also be found at World Market and on Amazon.
• You can substitute honey or corn syrup for the Golden Syrup, which maintains the chewy texture, but the flavor of the cookie will change.
• To ensure little pools of caramel on top of each cookie, press 1-2 small pieces into the top of each dough ball before baking.

More caramel cookie recipes

You will love this recipe for Caramel Apple Cookies! These apple butter cookies are soft and chewy and are topped with creamy caramel frosting.

Caramel Chocolate Cookies are soft, chewy caramel cookies with the added deliciousness of chocolate chips and a caramel candy center.

Award winning Amsterdam Caramel Cookies are crisp butter cookies with bits of crunchy caramel candy.

Caramel Biscuits are convenient slice and bake cookies with lots of caramel and chocolate flavor in each crunchy bite.

My experience with this recipe

Recently, I attended a culinary class at the Operation Food Search School of Cooking and Sharing, which offers “cooking classes with a philanthropic twist”. Cooking school participants have fun gaining culinary skills, while the class tuition funds nutrition education programs for kids in the St. Louis city schools.

The class I attended most recently was “Bake for Good with King Arthur Flour with Paula Gray”.  Paula is the manager for the King Arthur Flour Bake for Good Kids Program which encourages kids to give back to their community by baking and sharing.

In the adult class I attended, we learned a basic bread recipe and a multitude of ways to use the dough, from artistically twisted rolls to pizza crusts. We also gained bread baking tips and some facts about flour.

Did you know that all-purpose flour can be stored in an airtight container on the counter, but whole wheat flour should be stored in the refrigerator?  Whole wheat flour includes the wheat bran. The bran contains natural oils which will go rancid if kept at room temperature.

What about white wheat flour? White wheat flour is also whole grain flour including the bran. It should also be stored in the refrigerator. The difference between regular whole wheat flour and white whole wheat flour is the type of wheat used.

White wheat flour is made from white wheat, (maybe I should have guessed that by the name?) which is lighter in color and flavor. I had a great time learning and eating my way through all of the demonstration samples!

Though the class was focused on flour for different types of bread, my thoughts predictably drifted to cookies; hearty, chewy cookies full of toasty whole grain flavor combined with the sweet, creamy flavor of caramel.

As soon as I got home, I began working on creating a cookie with all of the qualities I was imagining.

When I made Pomegranate Caramels a few days earlier, I trimmed the block of caramel to straighten the edges before cutting into individual pieces. Those trimmings found their home in these whole wheat flour cookies.

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First Published: October 2, 2017. Last Updated: October 5, 2021. Updated for additional information, improved photographs, and better reader experience.