Chai Pecan Caramel Stuffed Cookies (Vegan Gluten-Free)

These Chai Pecan Caramel Stuffed Cookies are so perfect for the autumn and celebrate all things warmly spiced. A thick and fudgy cookie stuffed with a gooey date-free caramel baked until golden and topped with pecans – these are vegan, gluten-free and easy to make.

Cookies are one of my favourite things to make and bake and I love coming up with new and original flavour combinations. I have had my heart set on making some stuffed cookies for a while now and these caramel stuffed cookies fulfil all my dreams. They are sweet but not too sweet and have the best, fudgy texture made with a couple of less common (but easy to find) ingredients.

These Chai Pecan Caramel Stuffed Cookies are:

• Thick, chewy and fudgy
• Gooey with a caramel centre
• Crisp on the outside with sweet nutty pecans
• Easy to make in one bowl
• Naturally vegan and gluten-free
• Easily nut-free
• Great for having friends and family over
• Easy to multiply to make a larger batch of cookies

Yes, these cookies are pretty delicious and so easy to whip up. There are a few steps, as the caramel sauce needs to be made in advance so it can cool down, but apart from that, they are very quick to make. Skip ahead to the recipe card to make these cookies right now.

What ingredients go into these Chai Pecan Caramel Stuffed Cookies?

For the caramel, we only need 3 ingredients (plus salt!):

• Cashew or almond butter: I prefer cashew butter to bake with as the taste is like cookies, it’s sweet and so delicious. You can also use almond or another nut butter or use a seed butter, alternatively, to make these nut-free. Make sure the nut/seed butter is runny and smooth for the best results.
• Maple syrup: or another sticky syrup like agave, date or coconut or use vegan honey.
• Coconut oil: this achieves the lovely smooth and caramel-texture.
• Salt: what is caramel without salt? Just a pinch takes this to the next level.

When you make this salted caramel, it will be smooth and runny, so pop it in the fridge so it sets. Then, roll into balls to make the hidden gooey centres.

The cookie dough mix is easy but has 1 or 2 surprising ingredients:

• Vegan butter: the base for a lot of good cookies. I prefer the taste and texture of using a block of butter rather than the spreadable margarine, but that would also work. I have not tried this with coconut oil but assume it would work.
• Vegan cream cheese: much like my Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies, this adds the best texture to the cookies. You may not expect to find cream cheese in cookies, but it makes them fudgy, slightly moist and chewy in every bite, and they would not be the same without it.
• Sugar: this recipe calls for white and light brown sugar as it really is best to use a mix for the flavour, colour and texture of the cookie. If you don’t have both sugars, you can just use all white caster or granulate sugar, or use coconut sugar.
• Aquafaba: this is the second (maybe not so) surprising ingredient as it acts as our egg replacer to keep these Chai Pecan Caramel Stuffed Cookies vegan and light. Aquafaba is the water from a tin of chickpeas, so just drain the chickpeas, saving them for another recipe, and keep the water for the cookies.
• Vanilla: for the classic cookie flavour.
• Plain or GF flour: this keeps the cookies really light and fudgy. The batter may be slightly wetter if you are using a GF flour, but they are still great. Make sure your GF flour is a 1:1 baking blend with xanthan gum.
• Cornflour: I love adding this to cookies for the texture, it really does add a lot of the fudginess.
• Baking powder: for a little rise. These are slightly airy, thick and fudgy cookies.
• Chai spices: I am loving all the chai spices and for these cookies, we need cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and nutmeg. The most important ones are cinnamon and ginger, so if you don’t have the others, these will still taste great but they won’t be as “chai-like”.
• Pecans: add these on top before the cookies bake for a lovely nutty crunch and seasonal addition.

To make the cookie dough, beat together the ingredients in the order of the list and then pop it in the fridge. This cookie dough needs to rest a little bit before baking as it makes the texture much better and they are easier to roll. Once everything is ready to go, there are a few simple steps to these Chai Pecan Caramel Stuffed Cookies.

How does the caramel stay in the centre of the cookies?

Divide the cookie dough into balls and then roll each one in your hand. Flatten the dough slightly and then press a chilled ball of caramel in the centre. Roll the cookie dough around the caramel, so it’s well sealed in. Now press down lightly onto a baking tray and bake with the pecans on top.

Do these cookies spread?

Yes, these cookies do spread, and they will make lovely round cookies rather than domes, so leave a 2-3cm gap around each one.

Can I make these nut-free?

These cookies are easily nut-free if you use a seed butter like sunflower seed or tahini for the caramel and then leave off the pecans on top, or swap them for seeds.

Are these Chai Pecan Caramel Stuffed Cookies gluten-free?

Yes, these are totally gluten-free if using a GF 1:1 baking flour blend. Make sure it has xanthan gum to help bind these cookies.

How long will these cookies last?

These cookies don’t last long as they are so tasty! But if you don’t eat them all, they’ll keep for 3-5 days at room temperature or for up to 1 week in the fridge. You can easily double or triple this recipe to make more cookies, too.

I hope you will love these warmly spiced and gooey Chai Pecan Caramel Stuffed Cookies, and if you are looking for more cookies, how about my:

• Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies
• Coffee Walnut Chocolate Chip Mini Cookies
• Vegan Chocolate Brownie Sprinkle Cookies
• Vegan Monster Cookies
• Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies

I look forward to hearing what you think of these Chai Pecan Caramel Stuffed Cookies so please let me know in the comments below. If you do make these cookies, I’d love to see them so please tag me,I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest – please say hello!

With chai caramel cookie love x