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Franske vafler inspiration
You may be reading the name of this recipe and wondering: what are “franske vafler?” Well, don’t worry. We have an entire other blog and recipe post sharing that information! You can find our franske vafler recipe here. But the short answer is that they’re cookies rolled in sugar that are filled with a vanilla buttercream. They’re often bought at the grocery store in Denmark, but we like to make them at home. The cookies are like pie crust, so they’re super flaky and not super sweet, despite being rolled in sugar. And the sugar adds a great crunchy texture to the smooth and silky buttercream filling! Now, add some autumnal flavors into the mix, and you end up with these beautiful salted caramel and cinnamon cookies!
Autumn obsession: cinnamon!
It wouldn’t be an autumnal cookie without some cinnamon. But sometimes, cinnamon can be a very overpowering flavor. We’ve all had a cookie or a cake that doesn’t taste of anything other than cinnamon. That’s why we add the cinnamon to the sugar that the cookies get rolled out in, so that it adds a nice hint of cinnamon, but not too much. It’s exactly what you want in a cookie!
Salted caramel filling
Now, the key to franske vafler is that they’re sweet to eat – they’ll always be sweet – but you do want to counteract the sweetness. That’s why the cookie dough itself doesn’t have sugar in it, and it’s more of a pie crust texture and taste, buttery and rich. That’s also why we thought adding salted caramel to the filling would be perfect. And when we tested this recipe, it was just the perfect combination of flavors. It adds more depth to the cookie than just the regular vanilla buttercream, and a flavor that reminds us all of autumn, crisp, colorful leaves, and cold nights.
Ingredients you’ll need for these salted caramel and cinnamon cookies
To make these salted caramel and cinnamon cookies, you’ll (unsurprisingly) need cinnamon, and plenty of butter and sugar. For the dough, all you need is flour, butter, salt, and water. Then, you need sugar and cinnamon to roll out the dough, so it gets that nice sugary crust. For the salted caramel, you’ll need sugar, butter, cream, and salt. Then, you’ll add that to the buttercream, which is made with more butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Honestly, it’s a pretty simple list of ingredients for a delicious end result!
How to make salted caramel franske vafler
The process of making these cookies is also surprisingly simple. Start by making a basic pie dough by crumbling butter into the flour and salt until it resembles sand. You can do this by hand or in a food processor. Then, add the ice-cold water and combine until the dough comes together into a cohesive dough. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, before rolling it out and cutting into circles. Then, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar onto some parchment paper, and place each circle onto the cinnamon sugar. Roll a rolling pin over them, pushing them into the sugar. Place them (sugar side up) on a baking sheet and bake.
In the meantime, make the salted caramel by heating sugar until it’s amber and the granules are dissolved. Then, add butter, then heavy cream. Add salt at the end and set aside to cool. For the buttercream, whip up the ingredients until light in color and soft and fluffy in texture. Add the salted caramel until well-distributed throughout the buttercream. Finally, once everything is ready, sandwich the cookies together with the buttercream! Delicious and perfect for the fall.
Other autumnal recipes
If you’ve got the autumn itch for baking, these are a couple of recipes to check out:
- Hazelnut Coffee Cake: A cake with a delicious flavor and texture from chopped hazelnuts, and a sharp coffee icing that is the perfect complement.
- Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins: The epitome of fall baking – soft and moist apple muffins with a deliciously buttery and crunchy streusel topping.
- Pumpkin-shaped Bread Loaf: A bread loaf with a fun autumn twist – it’s shaped like a pumpkin! Perfect to slice up for sandwiches or enjoy alongside a hearty bowl of soup.
- Æblesnegle (Apple Cinnamon Rolls): Will make your house smell delicious – that’s a promise – and are sure to be a hit with family and friends for brunch or dessert.
- Græskarkage (Pumpkin Cake): A beautiful spiced and moist cake topped with a smooth and tangy cream cheese frosting and decorated with candied oranges or orange zest.
Watch Our Video
Salted Caramel and Cinnamon “Franske Vafler” (Sandwich Cookies)
Cookies with delicious autumn flavor from the salted caramel and cinnamon, plus great texture from the flaky cookie base!
Ingredients
SALTED CARAMEL
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 42 grams unsalted butter
- 60 ml heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp salt
DOUGH
- 113 grams cold cubed unsalted butter
- 200 grams flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3-5 tbsp ice cold water
- 100 grams sugar (for rolling out)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
BUTTERCREAM
- 113 grams unsalted room temp butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 160 grams powdered sugar
Instructions
SALTED CARAMEL
- First, make the salted caramel sauce by melting the granulated sugar in a saucepan until it turns amber and all the sugar crystals have dissolved.
- Add the butter and cream while whisking, and heat to 104C or 220F. Add salt and remove from the heat to let cool.
COOKIE DOUGH + BAKING
- Start by making a basic pie dough which will serve as the cookie part of the sandwiches. Combine flour, cold butter, and salt in a bowl or a food processor. In the processor, pulse until it resembles sand. By hand, crumble the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles sand.
- Add ice cold water a tablespoon at a time. In the processor, pulse a few times until the dough starts to come together. By hand, add your water a bit at a time and bring the dough together, being careful not to knead too much. If you need to add a bit more water, you can! Once the dough has come together, wrap in plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for at least 30 mins.
- Preheat your oven to 390 F (200 C). Once your dough has rested, roll out your dough until it is about 1/8 inch thick on a floured surface.
- Cut out rounds (ours were about 2 inches in diameter). Repeat with any remaining dough.
- Add sugar to a bowl and add 1 tsp of cinnamon, mixing well to make cinnamon sugar.
- Once you have cut out all your cookie rounds, brush with egg wash.
- Prep a piece of parchment paper by sprinkling cinnamon sugar in an even layer on the top. Place your cookies egg wash side down onto the sugar.
- Roll across your cookies with a rolling pin to make them an oval shape and press the sugar onto the cookie.
- Honestly, if you don't want to do the above steps, just roll the rounds into ovals with your rolling pin, brush with egg wash, and sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the top. We find the results have been quite similar!
- Once your cookies have been rolled into an oval shape and are covered in sugar, place on a prepared baking sheet – sugar side up! – and bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden. The top should be nice and crispy and caramelized with the sugar layer!
- Repeat with any more baking trays you have, as you may need to bake them in a few batches.
- Once your cookies are done, let them cool on a wire rack.
BUTTERCREAM AND FILLING
- In the meantime, make your buttercream by whipping your room temperature butter until light and fluffy. Once it has considerably lightened in color, add your vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, and powdered sugar. Keep mixing until you have incorporated the sugar fully and the mixture looks light and fluffy.
- Add your cooled salted caramel to the buttercream, mixing until fully incorporated and a nice, silky smooth consistency.
- When your cookies are fully cooled, begin assembly by adding buttercream to one half and adding a second cookie to the top. Repeat with all the cookies. Enjoy! You may have a little bit of leftover buttercream at the end!
