Rolo Cookies

This bakery-style Rolo cookies recipe features chopped milk chocolate and caramel-filled Rolo candies in a brown sugar cookie dough base. A gooey caramel twist on the traditional chocolate chip cookie!

Why Make These Rolo Cookies?

After a few years of living in London, I learned that Rolos are available for purchase at UK supermarkets. (I’d never thought to look—I always assumed these were only available in America!) Shaped like thick buttons and packaged, quite literally, in a roll, these foil-wrapped round candies feature a chewy caramel center enrobed in a milk chocolate shell.

After learning that I can buy Rolos on both sides of the pond, I started playing around with using them in baking and candymaking, with this Rolo cookies recipe quickly becoming one of my favorite bakes.

These Rolo cookies are oversized (I’ve hand-shaped the dough into 2-inch balls, for 18 big, bakery-style cookies); gooey, and perfectly chocolate-y. The dough itself stays nice and soft thanks to the addition of brown sugar, and the caramel-filled Rolo candies will ooze as they bake, creating a chewy caramel treat. 

Rolo Cookie Recipe Ingredients

To make homemade Rolo cookies, you’ll need the following:

• All Purpose Flour – All purpose flour (plain flour, in the UK) forms the dough base.
• Leavening Agents – A combination of baking soda and baking powder provide the lift.
• Kosher Salt – A small amount of kosher salt cuts the sweetness of the sugar and caramel.
• Sugars – I used a mix of dark brown sugar and granulated sugar for a soft, sweet cookie dough base. Light brown sugar will also work.

• Egg – You’ll need one large egg, at room temperature.
• Vanilla Bean Paste – I recommend a good-quality vanilla bean paste from a brand like Nielsen-Massey. Save the rest to make homemade vanilla pudding, or vanilla bean ice cream!
• Milk – I used whole milk, but feel free to substitute skimmed, or your favorite plant milk.
• Chocolate – Milk chocolate chips or chopped milk chocolate will both work. Callebaut, Guittard, and Valrhona are some of my favorite chocolate brands for baking, but even supermarket chocolate chips will work in a pinch!
• Rolos – You’ll need 170 grams, or about 32 Rolos. See my notes on freezing, below.

Tools and Equipment for Making Rolo Cookies

A round metal cutter (I used the largest one from my trusty set of round metal cutters) comes in handy for reshaping the baked cookies (the chunky Rolos can cause these to spread a bit unevenly) but this is entirely optional. Oddly shaped Rolo cookies will taste just as good as perfectly round cookies!

These Rolo cookies will spread as they bake, so I suggest using a large, half-sheet rimmed baking tray, lined with baking parchment or a silicone mat.

Freezing the Rolos

Freezing the Rolos prevents the candies from breaking as you stir and roll the dough, and will also stop the caramel from becoming overly-oozy in the oven. I recommend freezing for at least one hour, but the candies can also be frozen overnight. Before freezing, unwrap the Rolos and arrange on a plate or a small tray

Rolo Cookie Recipe Tips and Tricks

Get your hands dirty. While tempting, DO NOT use a cookie scoop for this recipe! Instead, use your hands to portion and shape the cookie dough into balls. I tested this recipe both ways, and found that the scoop damaged the Rolos, causing an excessive amount of caramel to ooze onto the tray.

Don’t damage the Rolos. Try to avoid breaking the Rolos while stirring the candies into the dough, and while rolling the dough into balls. Some breakage will occur (and you’ll probably find some already-broken Rolos in the package, it’s fine to use these) but the more broken Rolos, the gooier and messier your cookies will be.

Bake in batches. Bake the cookies in two batches, with nine cookies per tray, rather than all at once. These spread, and the caramel will leak, so if you place the balls too close together you’ll have to spend time post-bake cutting the cookies apart.

Line the rack with parchment. If you bake on parchment, use your hands to gently slide the entire sheet of parchment onto the wire cooling rack. If baking on silicone, use a flat metal spatula to transfer the partially cooled cookies to a parchment-lined wire rack. Avoid cooling directly on a wire rack or the hot caramel will adhere to the rack, making it difficult to remove the cookies without breakage.

Reshape after baking. For Insta-worthy cookies, use a round metal cutter to reshape the Rolo cookies after baking. I suggest greasing the cutter with butter, olive oil, or nonstick cooking spray to prevent it from sticking to the hot caramel.

Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions

Allow plenty of chilling and freezing time. I suggest freezing the Rolo candies for a minimum of one hour prior to baking, but if desired, they can be frozen overnight. The dough also needs at least an hour of chilling time before it’s ready to bake.

Rolo cookies are best enjoyed on the day they are made, but will keep for up to five days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Layer between sheets of parchment or wax paper to prevent the cookies from sticking together.

To freeze: Layer baked and cooled cookies between sheets of parchment and freeze in an airtight container or large ziploc storage bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

Other cookie recipes you might enjoy:

Black and White Cookies
Magic Middle Cookies
Chocolate Molasses Cookies
Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Quadruple Peanut Butter Cookies

And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!

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