These Churro Dulce De Leche Cookies combine the best of Crumbl's Churro and Dulce De Leche cookies into one - and, honestly, are better than both! They're made with a snickerdoodle cookie base double coated with cinnamon sugar, a gooey dulce de leche filling, and are topped with a swirl of dulce de leche cream cheese frosting. They are big and chunky, crispy on the outside, soft and gooey inside, and smell and taste divine. Yes, my mouth is watering, too.
If you've never had cinnamon and dulce de leche (caramelized sweetened condensed milk) together, you're in for a treat. They're a match made in heaven! The inspiration came to me after trying churros dipped in dulce de leche instead of chocolate, and these cookies capture the cozy, caramel-cinnamon flavor and smell perfectly! However, you're welcome to skip the dulce de leche and turn these into plain churro cookies (it would be sad, but who am I to judge?).
And if you're a fan of Crumbl cookies, I think you will LOVE my Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake cookies which are everything you love about fall in cookie form!
4 components of these cookies
These dulce de leche churro cookies are made of 4 simple components:
- A thick, chewy snickerdoodle cookie base. This is very similar to my favorite snickerdoodle cookies, but bigger and thicker with a crispy exterior and soft interior
- Dulce de leche filling. You scoop dulce de leche into little balls, freeze them, and stuff them in the middle of the cookie dough balls
- Cinnamon sugar coating. These cookies get a double coating of cinnamon sugar to get an extra crispy, churro like exterior
- Dulce de leche cream cheese frosting. You top the cookies with a beautiful swirl of a simple dulce de leche cream cheese frosting to bring everything together
If you want to simplify this recipe further, you can skip the filling or the frosting. If you don't frost the cookies, they can be served warm and gooey just like the picture below (my personal favorite way to eat them!)
Getting the perfect bake on big cookies
Crumbl cookies are notorious for being either under- or overbaked - and after testing a lot of Crumbl cookie recipes, I understand why. It is inherently challenging to get the perfect bake on 6oz cookies because the heat takes much longer to get to the middle than the edges. You end up with a cookie that's either undercooked in the middle or too dark outside.
After testing nearly 100 cookies at different temperature settings, I have finally figured out the formula:
- Start at 375F so the edges set quickly and the cookie doesn't spread too much
- Then drop the temperature to 340F so the middle can cook without the edges burning. This doesn't apply to every Crumbl style cookie, but definitely to these!
A few more tips to perfect these cookies
A few tips you should know before you make these cookies:
- Weigh all your ingredients with a kitchen scale. I say this with almost all my recipes, but weighing is a lot more accurate than measuring cups, especially for flour.
- If the cookie dough feels too soft or sticky, chill it for 10-15 minutes before shaping the cookies. This should make it easier to work with
- Make sure the dulce de leche scoops are chilled and firm before you stuff them into the cookies - otherwise you will make a mess!
- Shape the cookie dough balls according to your preference. If you want the cookies to be thinner / flatter in shape, press the cookie dough balls slightly to give them a disc like shape. For thicker cookies, keep the balls circular
- DO NOT rush the chilling process! These are giant cookies, and if you don't chill the cookie dough, they will spread way too thin. If you wanna read more about the importance of chilling cookie dough, I did a deep dive in my snickerdoodle recipe
- Use a light colored baking sheet. Trust me, a darker sheet will cause the cookies to brown too much on the bottom
- ALWAYS bake a test cookie first. Every oven is different, and the baking time will vary. When baked correctly, the cookies should have a light golden exterior, feel set on the edges, but still soft in the middle. After resting at room temperature for ~20 minutes, they should firm up perfectly.
- Bonus tip: If you feel the cookies spread too much or look oddly shaped after baking, you can gently nudge them into a circular shape with a fork while they're still hot
Crumbl Churro Dulce De Leche Cookies Recipe
- Total Time: 1 hour + chilling time
- Yield: 5 large cookies
Description
Soft and gooey Crumbl style snickerdoodle cookies coated with cinnamon sugar, dulce de leche filling and dulce de leche cream cheese frosting
Ingredients
Dulce de leche filling:
- ½ cup dulce de leche (~150g)
Churro cookie dough:
- 12 tbsp butter (170g), room temperature
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (67g)
- ⅔ cup light or dark brown sugar, packed (133g)
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla
- 2 ¼ cup flour (292g)
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Cinnamon sugar coating:
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Dulce de leche cream cheese frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature (226g)
- ⅓ cup dulce de leche (100g)
- ½ cup heavy cream, chilled (120g)
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
Dulce de leche filling:
- Line a small pan or plate with parchment paper
- Divide the dulce de leche into 5 30g portions (about 1 heaping tablespoon each). I recommend using a round tablespoon measure so each portion is round in shape (spray the spoon with a little oil so the dulce de leche doesn't stick). Place the balls on the parchment paper, not touching, and put in the freezer for ~20 minutes while you work on the cookie dough
Churro cookie dough:
- Whisk the butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar in a large bowl at medium high speed for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is fluffy and light in color, scraping the bowl along the way
- Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla, and whisk for another minute to combine
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a separate bowl and mix to combine
- Add the dry ingredients to the cookie dough in 2 batches, and fold gently with a rubber spatula until just mixed and no streaks of flour can be seen. If the dough feels firm too soft or sticky (which can happen if the butter was too soft), place the bowl in the fridge for 10-15 minutes until the dough is easier to work with
Cinnamon sugar coating:
- Mix the cinnamon and sugar for the coating in a bowl
Assembly:
- Divide the cookie dough into 5 5oz portions (this should use up almost all of the dough with a little leftover, which you can bake as a small, bonus cookie)
- Remove the dulce de leche scoops from the freezer
- Working one cookie dough ball at a time, gently flatten into a disc in your palm, place a dulce de leche scoop in the middle, and seal the cookie dough around it so the dulce de leche is completely covered in cookie dough. Gently shape the dough into a round ball which will weigh ~6oz
- If you want the cookies to be thick and gooey, leave the balls round. If you want the cookies to be flatter, gently press the balls into discs (2.5 to 3" wide)
- Generously coat each cookie ball with cinnamon sugar on all sides, and place on a sheet / plate. Save the leftover cinnamon sugar
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 6 hours, and ideally overnight for the best results
Baking:
- Once the cookie dough has chilled, pre-heat your oven to 375F (conventional / no fan) and line a large, light colored cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove the cookie dough balls from the fridge, and coat them in cinnamon sugar again
- Place the cookie dough balls on the baking sheet, keeping at least 3" between them
- Bake at 375F for 5 minutes, then drop the temperature to 340F and bake for another 12-14 minutes (total baking time of 17-19 minutes). When perfectly baked, the cookies should be golden in color, set around the edges, and soft to touch in the middle
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest for at least 20 minutes until they feel set
Dulce de leche cream cheese frosting:
- Add the cream cheese and dulce de leche to a bowl, and whisk on medium speed for 1-2 minutes until combined and creamy. Scrape the bowl 1-2 times
- Add the chilled heavy cream and salt, and whisk for another 1-2 minutes until the mixture reaches medium peaks and holds shape. Do not overmix
- Transfer to a piping bag fit with a French star piping tip
- Once the cookies have cooled down, pipe the cream cheese frosting on top in swirls, starting from the middle and going outwards with steady pressure
- Finish with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar
- Serve & enjoy!
Notes
- These cookies are best eaten at room temperature, but you can also eat them cold. If you skip the cream cheese frosting, I recommend serving them warm for the best texture
- I do not recommend making cookies ahead of time, they should ideally be consumed within 3 hours for the best texture. If you want to save some for later, store the cookie dough balls in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, and bake when you want to eat them!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 19 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
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