Crumbl Salted Caramel Cheesecake Cookies

These Crumbl Salted Caramel Cheesecake Cookies bring your favorite cheesecake into cookie form! Thick and chewy Graham Cracker Cookies are topped with a smooth caramel cream cheese frosting, drizzled with caramel sauce and topped with flaky sea salt. It’s the ultimate cheesecake cookie dessert! 

Crumbl bakery has really delivered on the cheesecake and pie cookies! I recreated their Crumbl New York Cheesecake Cookies, Crumbl Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies, and Crumbl Key Lime Pie Cookies — both with a delicious graham cracker cookie base and a cream cheese topping. They are so yummy and yet so different! You’ll want to give both a try! 

Why This Recipe Works

• Delicious caramel flavor. These Crumbl Salted Caramel Cheesecake Cookies use caramel sauce and caramel extract in the frosting! This really amplifies the caramel flavor — that way we aren’t relying solely on the caramel drizzle to bring out the caramel flavor. 
• Graham cracker cookie resembles a graham cracker crust! The graham cracker cookie has graham cracker crumbs in the dough and is rolled in graham cracker crumbs prior to baking! This makes it so the outside has a little of the slight crunch and even looks like graham cracker crust! 
• Perfectly salted. This Crumbl cookie recipe really delivers on the salted aspect of salted caramel. But don’t worry! It’s the perfect balance of sweet and salty! My big recommendation would be to not skip the flaky sea salt!  
• Better than the original! This is the best Crumbl salted caramel cheesecake cookie recipe! The cookies are soft, moist and they don’t fall apart in your hand! The frosting is smooth, creamy, and has caramel extract to bring out the caramel flavor. The caramel drizzle is soft and sits into the frosting so well. You won’t want to miss out on these Crumbl cookies! Make them at home for a cheaper and more delicious cookie experience. 

Ingredient Notes

• Light Corn Syrup: This is just a small amount, but it really makes a difference in helping the cookies stay soft! Even when chilled, these cookies are soft! 
• Graham Cracker Crumbs: The graham cracker crumbs will replace some of the flour in this Crumbl cookie recipe, enhancing the flavor throughout the graham cracker cookies. The dough is also rolled in graham cracker crumbs to produce a look that is akin to a Graham Cracker Crust.
• Cornstarch: The cornstarch will help keep the cookies moist. Cornstarch clings to the liquid in the dough, holding it in. 
• Cream Cheese: Be sure the cream cheese for these cheesecake cookies is nice and soft. If not, you’ll get clumps in the frosting.
• Unsalted Butter: For frosting, you want the butter to be slightly chilled but not cold. Softened butter will be way too soft, making the texture of the frosting all wrong. Butter that is too cold will be hard to beat. The butter for the cookies can be softened. 
• Powdered Sugar: Sifted powdered sugar will produce a smoother frosting texture. 
• Caramel Extract: Adding the caramel extract helps enhance the caramel flavor in these salted caramel cheesecake cookies. 
• Salt: Kosher salt is a coarser texture than table salt, so be sure to know the substitutions if a recipe calls or one or the other. We’re using table salt in this copycat Crumbl cookie recipe.
• Caramel Sauce: You can use a homemade caramel sauce, store-bought, or you can melt caramel candies. Whatever works best for you! 
• Flaky Sea Salt: The salt in the salted caramel comes in a few forms: salt in the cookies, salt in the frosting, and the flaky sea salt on top! 

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Cream together the wet ingredients. Cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together in a large bowl or stand mixer for about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and light corn syrup. Mix until combined. 
2. Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour, 1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined. 
3. Portion into dough balls. Using a ¼ cup, portion the dough into balls then roll in the remaining ¼ cup graham cracker crumbs. Place 6 balls of dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently press down on the dough balls so they resemble a thick disk.

4. Bake the salted caramel cookies. Bake at 350°F for 10-11 minutes or until the edges are just set and the tops are no longer shiny. (I baked mine for 10 minutes). You don’t want to over bake the cookies (they will continue to cook while cooling on the pan.)
5. Let cool. Remove the graham cracker cookies from the oven. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. 
6. Make the caramel cream cheese frosting. Add the softened cream cheese and chilled butter to a large bowl and beat until smooth. Add the sifted powdered sugar, caramel extract, and salt. Mix until combined. Place in a piping bag and pipe on top of each cookie once completely cooled.

7. Add the caramel sauce. Drizzle the tops of each cookie with caramel sauce. Sprinkle generously with flaky sea salt! 

Recipe Tips

When adding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mix until just combined. You’re welcome to cream the wet ingredients to your heart’s content, but over mixing once you add the dry ingredients will make the cookie dough tough. 

It’s important not to skip the caramel extract! It really helps bring out the caramel flavor so you aren’t relying solely on the caramel sauce drizzled on top.

Drizzle, or spoon, the caramel sauce overtop of each cookie, working in a zig zag motion. I place the caramel in a ziplock bag, snip the corner off and then drizzle overtop. This allows the caramel to go on in a prettier fashion.

Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing

To make the salted caramel cookies ahead of time, make the cookie dough and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-24 hours. Remove from the fridge and let come to room temperature to roll into dough balls. 

Store the frosted cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-6 days. The cookies need to be refrigerated if they are frosted due to the cream cheese in the frosting.

Store any leftover caramel cream cheese frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-6 days.

To freeze cookie dough, roll into dough balls, roll in the graham cracker crumbs, then flatten into thick disks. Place on a cookie sheet and flash freeze until firm. Transfer to a Ziplock bag or airtight container and freeze for 1-2 months. Remove and bake from frozen. You may need to add an additional minute onto the bake time. 

Freezing baked cookies will work, but I recommend freezing without the frosting and drizzled caramel sauce. Let the graham cracker cookies cool completely, then wrap individually in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container or Ziplock bag in the freezer for 1-2 months. Remove and let thaw, then frost and drizzle with caramel sauce.

If you do want to freeze them after they’ve been frosted and drizzled with caramel, flash freeze them on a baking sheet until firm, then transfer to an airtight container, layering parchment paper between the cookies. Freeze for 1-2 months. Remove and let thaw. 

Recipe FAQs

More Recipes with Graham Crackers

• 7 Layer Bar Cookies
• Graham Cracker Crust Recipe
• Key Lime Pie Cake
• 7 Layer Bars
• Banoffee Pie Recipe