These Salted Caramel Gingerbread Cookies are soft, chewy, and packed with warm spices. The caramel center adds a sticky, buttery richness that balances the ginger and cinnamon perfectly. They’ve got the perfect crisp edges and soft, gooey centers. Like gingerbread but softer and more buttery, with a salted caramel sauce!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Soft and chewy centers with just the right amount of ginger and spice.
- Simple ingredient list and no chill time, so you can go from mixing bowl to oven in under 30 minutes
- Finished with flaky sea salt for that subtle crunch and contrast against the sweetness
- Softer than regular gingerbread, these are the perfect combination of cookie dough with gingerbread spices and of course that gooey caramel center.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Exact measurements are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, but for your convenience, here’s a quick shopping list of everything you’ll need:
- brown sugar
- vegan margarine
- neutral oil
- sea salt flakes
- maple syrup
- vanilla extract
- ground ginger
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- cloves (optional)
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- vegan condensed milk
Instructions
Follow along with this step-by-step guide to make your salted caramel gingerbread cookies. You’ll find all the exact times, temperatures, and measurements in the recipe card below.
Step One: Make the caramel by melting everything together until smooth and golden, then set aside to cool slightly.
Step Two: Cream the margarine, brown sugar, and salt until soft and combined.
Step Three: Add the oil, maple syrup, and vanilla, then mix in the spices until fully incorporated.
Step Four: Sift in the flour and baking soda, mixing until a dough forms.
Step Five: Scoop the dough onto a lined tray. Press the cookies with your thumb down to make a small well in the centers. Add a spoonful of caramel on top of each then pop them in the oven.
Step Six: Once baked, sprinkle some sea salt on top while warm.
Storage
Once they’ve cooled, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temp – they’ll stay soft for about 4–5 days. If it’s warm where you are, pop them in the fridge to keep the caramel firm.
Expert Tips
Use room-temperature margarine – it helps the dough mix evenly and keeps the cookies soft, not greasy.
FAQ
Yes! You can refrigerate the dough for up to 2 days or freeze it for later. Just let it soften slightly before scooping and baking.
Definitely – just go for a thicker style so it doesn’t spill outside the cookies.
The edges should look set and slightly golden, but the centers will still be soft. they’ll firm up as they cool. The caramel will stay a little chewy and soft.
Yes, it scales perfectly – just bake in batches so the cookies have enough space to spread evenly.
More Recipes
If you’re in the Christmas baking spirit I have a few other holiday favorites for you to try! For cookies, my Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodles and regular Vegan Snickerdoodles are cinnamon-y for fall. My proudest (and most tested) cookie recipe though are my classic Chocolate Chip Cookies. They’ve got the perfect crispy edge and bottom, chewy center and pools of gooey melted chocolate. Or for a more classic option, try my Vegan Linzer Cookies – the jam looks so pretty.
I hope these add a fun little addition to your Christmas baking! If you try them please tag me @glowdiaries___ so I can re-share to stories and let me know what you think in the comments below.
Salted Caramel Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar 150 g
- ⅓ cup vegan margarine softened (75 g)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tablespoon neutral oil
- 1.5 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves optional
- 1 cup all-purpose flour 120 g
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 tablespoon Salted Caramel Sauce see below
- Sea salt flakes for finishing
Salted Caramel Sauce
- ⅓ cup vegan condensed milk about 90 g
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter or margarine
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F / 180 °C and line two trays with parchment.
- Make the caramel: combine condensed milk, brown sugar, butter, and salt flakes in a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat for 4–5 minutes, until golden and thickened. Cool 5–10 minutes until thick but pourable.
- In a large bowl, beat margarine, brown sugar, and salt until creamy.
- Add oil, maple syrup, and vanilla; mix until smooth.
- Stir in ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
- Sift in flour and baking soda. Stir until a soft dough forms. If dough is not sticky enough to shape, add a tiny splash of milk (about 1/2 tbsp) until it can be rolled into balls.
- Roll tablespoon portions into balls and arrange on lined trays about 5 cm apart.
- Press your thumb or the back of a teaspoon into each ball to make an indent. Add a dollop of caramel (about a 1/2 tablespoon) onto each cookie.
- Bake 9–10 minutes, until edges are set and centers are still soft. Caramel will remain gooey.
- While warm, top each cookie with a few Cornish sea salt flakes.
- Cool 10 minutes before moving to a rack.
Linda says
These reminded me a bit of snickerdoodles, soft and chewy! Loved the salted caramel sauce too will use it for other things
Ron says
LOVE this cookies so much! Just a right balance of sweetness and salt.