March Madness (Crinkle Sugar) Cookies
It’s that time of year again – March Madness! I had added a star to this recipe when it popped up around St Patty’s Day. I made a mental note to keep these in mind whenever I had some extra egg yolks. And believe it or, I had two extra egg yolks a couple days later. We were going over to a friend’s house to watch Purdue play in the tournament (Go Boilers!). I decided to make these cookies festive for the game using Purdue’s gold and black. Everyone loved these cookies. They’re basically snickerdoodles dipped in colored sugar. You could make these for any occasion with any colored sugars.
Crinkle Sugar Cookies – from How to Eat a Cupcake, adapted from AllRecipes.com – I got 22 cookies using my cookie scoop10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Sift together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.
Cream butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.
Add egg yolks and vanilla, and beat for 2 more minutes.
With mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture a little at a time.
Roll 2 tablespoons of dough into a ball and roll it in some sugar. Place the dough balls 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes, until tops are cracked and the edges are just brown (the centers will still be very soft). Cool on wire racks.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
If Carlos claims this is the best thing you have ever made … I might have to make them tonight!
beantownbaker — February 10th, 2014 @ 9:57 am
Let me know if you do. I was seriously SHOCKED when he said that.
OH. MY. LORD.
Yeah, I can see why these are the best ever!!!! Love Samoas!
I grew up calling them Samoas and didn’t like them when I was selling them, but have since grown to love them. Great twist on a traditional rice krispie treat!
beantownbaker — February 11th, 2014 @ 12:14 pm
I can’t tell if the naming thing is regional or not. I know people who grew up in Indiana like me who call them Samoas. They’ll always be Caramel Delites to me.
they look sooooo good!
Sharing these in my friday link roundup!
Everyone needs to see these!
beantownbaker — February 13th, 2014 @ 8:49 pm
Thanks for sharing them!!
oh jeez. caramel de lites here, too 🙂 these sound killer!
beantownbaker — February 23rd, 2014 @ 12:47 pm
You’re the first person I’ve met who calls them Caramel de Lites too!
I’ve been wondering why they aren’t always called Samoas!
Are the pecans there for the Samoa flavor or just an extra addition?
beantownbaker — March 18th, 2014 @ 8:03 am
They add some texture but you could leave them out if you wanted.
Awesome recipe! Let me provide a little insight to the naming of the cookies (Caramel deLights vs Samoas my wife is a girl scout troop leader). The girl scouts rely on a few bakeries to produce their cookies. Caramel deLights are made by one bakery, while Samoas are made by another.
Just made these – very tasty, but I had a lot of trouble with the caramel layer. It hardened so much, I couldn’t cut the squares. I had to heat them up a bit to cut through the caramel, and then they got rather sticky and did not cut cleanly. Followed directions exactly, not sure what went wrong…
On Sunday nights, my hubby leads a college-age Bible study group and I use the kids/young adults as my guinea pigs for trying new recipes. I made these yesterday and they LOVED them. Thank you for the recipe!
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 6:59 pm
So glad these were a hit for you! This has become my most frequently made and requested recipe that I’ve made.
Explained well.