Caramel Latte Thumbprint Cookies
These dreamy caramel latte thumbprint cookies are perfectly soft, thick and filled with coffee flavor. With gooey caramel and finished with a touch of sea salt, they are perfect for holiday cookie trays! Vegetarian.
Note: This recipe is NOT dairy free. It was published before Cook Nourish Bliss transitioned to dairy free recipes and remains popular with long time readers. You can try using substitutions to make it dairy free, however I have not tested this myself and canβt say how it will turn out.
Cookies. Cookies everywhere. Our holiday party was this past weekend and I pretty much baked up a storm.
While our friends did manage to eat an impressive amount of sweets, we still wound up with quite a bit leftover.
Since I tend to take things a little too far and got a little too excited about all the baking and hence went a little overboard.
And now there are still cookies everywhere.
Somebody come save me. Or my hips. Come save my hips and take away the cookies. Please?
But really, letβs be honest. I donβt want you to take away the cookies. Iβll just workout instead. That will save my hips.
Because I need a few more bites of these caramel latte thumbprint cookies.
I made these a while back but wanted to test them one more time before sharing them here on the blog. Do you see what I do for you? Eat way too many cookies, thatβs what.
And force-feed them to my friends. All in the name of quality control, right? I donβt think they minded eating these though.
A thick cream cheese cookie stuffed with a bit of espresso powder to give it that coffee flavor. And then filled with gooey caramel and topped off with a little sea salt for that sweet and salty goodness.
No, I donβt think they minded one little bit.
Additional Cookie Recipes:
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies
- Vanilla Chai Shortbread Cookies
- Grandma’s Butter Horns
- Maple Pecan Biscotti
Did you make this recipe? Rate and review it down below! I’d love to hear from you.

Caramel Latte Thumbprint Cookies
These dreamy caramel latte thumbprint cookies are perfectly soft, thick and filled with coffee flavor. With gooey caramel and finished with a touch of sea salt, they are perfect for holiday cookie trays! Vegetarian.
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
- Β½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- Β½ cup granulated sugar
- Β½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ΒΌ cups all-purpose flour
- Β½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon espresso powder*
- ΒΌ teaspoon salt
For the filling:
- 6 ounces caramel candies, unwrapped
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
To make the cookies:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the cream cheese and butter. Beat on medium speed for about 1 minute, until well blended. Add in the granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Beat again on medium speed until light and well-combined, about 2 minutes.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, espresso powder and salt. Mix on low until just combined.
- Transfer the bowl to the refrigerator and chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Shape the chilled dough into 1-inch balls (a heaping tablespoon or so of dough). Place on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Use your thumb (or a wine cork works really well) to make a deep indentation in the center of each cookie.
- Bake for 13 to 16 minutes, until lightly golden brown and set. If needed, as soon as the cookies come out of the oven, use a small spoon (or the wine cork again) to reinforce the well in the center of each cookie.
- Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.
To make the filling:
- Add the caramels and heavy cream to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until the mixture is smooth. You want the caramel to be easy to spoon into the indentations in the cookies.
- Spoon a small amount of caramel into the center of each cookie. Top with a sprinkle of sea salt. If the caramel starts to harden up, microwave for a few seconds and give it a good stir to get it back to the right consistency.
Notes
*Espresso powder is an ingredient you canβt usually find at your regular grocery store. You can buy it online or at specialty stores like Sur La Table, Williams and Sonoma, etc.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 27 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 120Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 56mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 0gSugar: 11gProtein: 1g
Nutrition data shown is an estimate provided by an online calculator and is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered a substitute for a medical professionalβs advice.
Is there any other reason to workout than to be able to eat cookies? That’s how I reward myself π Your cookies look perfect. I’ve been thinking about cookies too, I love the holidays for that. The caramel sounds yummy.
Yummy – these look amazing!! I don’t bake with coffee really, because my mom doesn’t like it, but I need to try these! The caramel center looks delicious.
I love thumbprint cookies! I’ve been on a cream cheese high π so these sound extra yummy. Pinning!
Thumbprints are one of my favorite cookies, but I never tried them with caramel added – I need to get baking with this recipe! Thanks Ashley!
Ashley these sound so good! I love thumbprint cookies and LOVE how creative you have made these! And I always go way too overboard on baking. I usually have way too many leftovers lying around!
This is such a creative recipe! Totally agree with eating all the cookies and just working out instead :-). That’s always my philosophy!
Amazing looking cookies! Love that you are so creative with ingredients! I also recently baked thumbprint cookies (will soon publish the photos) and mine came out quite thick and not as elegantly looking as I was hoping for. Yours look perfectly shaped, and, I am sure, very YUMMY!
these cookies sound amazing! i love thumbprint cookies π and a coffee version?!? sign me up!
Woww.. looks super delicious and tempting.. loved the last pic π
I’ll eat them! I’ll help with quality control anytime, especially when it means stuffing myself with these caramel latte thumbprint cookies! I can’t seem to get enough holiday cookies lately, and I def. need to add these to my baking list this December. π
I could eat 1 or 2 of these. Or 9 or 10! Sounds like you had a great holiday party!
Coffee in cookies….must be delicious. And carmel…a perfect combination π ela
Mmm – cream cheese IN the cookie?! Yes please!
I got excited just reading the word latte and caramel in the title! I love anything with espresso powder and these are definitely my kind of cookies. π Heck, I’ll snack on batches of these and work on the hips later at the gym. π Have a great rest of the week Ashley!
Thumbprint cookies are fantastic! Love the caramel choice!
I would love to take some cookies off you hands! Especially when they involve caramel and latte flavor. Looking forward to hearing about your holiday party!
These look fantastic Ashley! I love thumbprint cookies during this time of year and just made a few batches for a party this weekend too but yours sound incredible with the cream cheese and espresso powder. I would gladly be your taste tester and help you take these cookies off your hand π
It is really hard to resist cookies like these at Christmas time. Before you know it, you’ve had 3 or 4 and there’s still “real” food to be had. It’s totally worth it though. I’ve never tried cream cheese in/for a cookie – so interesting!
haha oh I know – I really should focus more on real food and less on cookies right now but that probably won’t happen!
A good cappuccino or a latte are a must for me right now. I think these cookies would be the perfect addition. Thank you for sharing. They’re just beautiful Ashley!
that filling sounds amazing!
I ALWAYS go overboard with baking for parties. But maybe its because I love the leftovers, and god forbid there are no leftovers I get so sad. I took cookies to a baby shower last week without tasting them first. After lunch I went to grab a cookie and they were all gone, I was so sad but I guess I’ll just have to make them again! π Caramel in thumbprint cookies = best thumbprint cookies ever!
Definitely will need to make them again! : )
Caramel thumbprint cookies – delicious! We love thumbprint cookies in our house and I love the addition of the caramel. Will have to give these a try π
Oh, love the sound of these! I could go for a couple of these with an afternoon cup of coffee!
Wow, these look fabulous! I’ve never had a cookie made with cream cheese but it sounds delicious. I love a good thick cookie too. I’d gladly be your workout partner for a few of these!
Oh, I love the flavor combinations in these cookies! I always forget that thumbprint cookies are popular this time of the year. These look wonderful! Love that little pool of caramel. Yum!
These sound so good. I love coffee flavored cookies, and my favorite drink at Starbucks is a caramel macchiato so these really fit the bill for me!
I would be happy to take some of these cookies off your hands π I can imagine the cream cheese makes them so soft and a little tangy, a perfect offset to the caramel. Sounds like you’ve had some fun holiday celebrations!
These babies are thick, just the way I like my cookies best! I’m a good friend, and I would sacrifice my hips to help you to save yours, so if you’d like to send me some of these irresistible cookies, I will! Pretty, please.
Done! I don’t mind sharing : )
Over-indulgence without the guilt… that’s one of the perks of the Christmas season, right? We’ll get back to healthy eating come January 1, so keep those cookies coming π These look so good… very creative!!!
I love caramel and these cookies look delicious! Pinning this!
So i take it my invite to your cookie party got lost in the mail? π
No no – you really don’t have to workout more – I will just come and take away your cookies – it will be painless and easy (for me)
All joking aside – LOVE these caramel thumbprints!
haha I’ll set aside a few for you : )
These cookies have to be in my life! They look so beyond amazing. And I love the sprinkling of sea salt. My favorite! I’d definitely work out to be able to eat these babies. π I must make them for my office party, they’ll be a huge hit!
You’ll have to let me know if you give them a try!