Ever had a cookie that stopped you in your tracks? These sourdough gochujang caramel cookies are that cookie—chewy, complex, and just the right amount of spicy. If you’re into sweet heat and deep, complex flavour, you’re going to love these!
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Jump To:
- This recipe is perfect for anyone who:
- What are Gochujang Caramel Cookies?
- Why You’ll Love These Sourdough Gochujang Caramel Cookies
- What is Gochujang?
- Key Ingredients You Need
- How to Make Sourdough Gochujang Caramel Cookies
- Make Ahead and Storage
- FAQs
- Let’s Just Say…There Won’t Be Any Leftovers
- Sourdough Gochujang Caramel Cookies
This recipe is perfect for anyone who:
- Loves a little sweet heat
- Has sourdough discard to use up
- Wants to impress friends with cookies that look way fancier than they are to make
What are Gochujang Caramel Cookies?
First made famous by Eric Kim’s viral NYT Cooking recipe in 2022, gochujang caramel cookies blend rich, spicy Korean chili paste with buttery sugar cookies. It sounds weird—but it works. That recipe swirls a paste of gochujang, brown sugar, and butter into soft cookies for a spicy-sweet umami combo that’s straight-up addictive.
I tried it a few months ago and absolutely loved the flavour, but didn’t love how much they spread. Not that there’s anything wrong with Eric’s recipe, it’s fantastic and went viral for a reason! It’s just that super spread-out and thin cookies aren’t really my thing. So I made my own version with a sourdough twist, a slightly thicker dough that doesn’t spread out as much, and just as much chewy and spicy-sweet goodness.
Why You’ll Love These Sourdough Gochujang Caramel Cookies
- Unique but approachable. The gochujang caramel swirl makes them look impressive, but they’re actually super easy to make.
- Spicy-sweet-umami flavour bomb—it’s a really unique and addictive flavour you won’t be able to stop snacking on!
- Great for gifting. It’s totally unexpected in a holiday cookie box, and yet very crowd-pleasing! Even my kids who don’t like spicy things, love these cookies.
- Freezer-friendly. Stash some scooped dough in the freezer and bake off a few at a time whenever a craving hits.
What is Gochujang?
Gochujang is a Korean fermented chili paste made from red chili powder (gochugaru), glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, and salt. It’s thick, usually deep red, and packed with complex flavour—spicy, savoury, a little sweet, and packed with umami. More than just a condiment, gochujang is a major ingredient in Korean cooking. It’s used to make traditional dishes like bibimbap and tteokbokki, but it’s also been popping up in all sorts of recipes thanks to its bold, addictive heat.
What Kind of Gochujang to Use?
That’s really up to you! Choose one with a heat level that suits your taste, and make sure to use a thick pasty goghujang that comes out of a tub. Avoid using a runny sauce-like gochujang, or your cookies could turn out sticky and the gochujang caramel won’t remain as distinct swirls.
Key Ingredients You Need
- Gochujang Adds a spicy, funky, and slightly sweet depth. Choose one with a spice level that you like.
- Dark brown sugar balances the heat from the gochujang and adds some delicious caramel-molasses notes.
- Unsalted butter binds the gochujang caramel together, and adds body and richness to the sugar cookie dough. You can use salted butter instead, but if you do you should reduce or omit the salt called for in the recipe.
- Sourdough discard helps keep the cookies chewy and tender for days, and adds a subtle tang that balances out the spiciness of the gochujang caramel. If you don’t have any yet, you’ll need to make some sourdough starter yourself, buy some from a local sourdough bakery, or ask in your neigbourhood Facebook group if anyone has some to share.
How to Make Sourdough Gochujang Caramel Cookies
You only need two bowls, no chill time (unless you want to deepen the flavour of the dough) and about 20 minutes of prep.
- Make the gochujang caramel. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, butter, and gochujang to form a paste. Though it’s not technically caramel, this is the gochujang “caramel” that will be rippled through the dough.
- Make the sourdough sugar cookie dough. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the egg yolks, discard, and vanilla and beat until completely combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until combined.
- Dollop blobs of the gochujang caramel over the sugar cookie dough.
- Marble the gochujang caramel into the sugar cookie dough, so that lots of visible streaks still remain.
- Scoop the dough out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Make sure to space them at least 3″ (7.6 cm) apart—they will spread a fair bit!
- Bake at 350˚F (175˚C) for 16-18 minutes or until spread and just starting to turn golden brown around the edges. Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make Ahead and Storage
Freeze Raw Dough
Scoop onto a tray, freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, but add 1–2 extra minutes to the bake time.
Freeze Baked Cookies
Let them cool completely, then store in an airtight bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Refrigerate the Dough
Store for up to 3 days before baking. As a bonus, doing this develops flavour even more thanks to sourdough fermentation!
Store Baked Cookies at Room Temp
Keep them soft and chewy in a cookie jar or airtight container for 3–5 days, or on an open tray for up to 2-3 days.
FAQs
Yes, but active starter will have more gluten structure than unfed discard. This might make the sugar cookie dough a little tougher to mix. I prefer using discard for this reason, but make sure your discard is no more than 2 weeks old or it may impart too much of a sour or even an acetone flavour to your cookies.
No matter what, these cookies are going to spread a fair bit. If you want them to spread less, you can refrigerate or freeze the raw scooped cookies for a couple hours before baking.
They’re not very spicy, though that really depends on what kind of gochujang you use. You can adjust the heat level by choosing a gochujang with a spice level you like. If the cookies are turning out too spicy for you even with a mild gochujang, you can reduce how much gochujang caramel you swirl into the dough. If you want it even spicier, add a pinch (or more) of cayenne pepper in with the dry ingredients.
Look in the international or Asian aisle in the grocery store, or at any Asian or Korean market. Keep your eyes peeled for red plastic tubs.
Absolutely! See above under “Make Ahead and Storage”.
Dollop pieces of the gochujang caramel over the sugar cookie dough, and just gently mix or fold it in. Stop when the gochujang caramel is marbled throughout the dough, but you can still see lots of visible streaks.
Let’s Just Say…There Won’t Be Any Leftovers
These cookies are chewy, spicy, sweet, and just a little unusual (in the best way). If you’ve been looking for something fun and unique to make with your sourdough discard, I think these will hit the spot! Try making these just once, and I’m sure you’ll be hooked and will want to hide a few raw cookies in the freezer for later, trust me.
And let me know how it goes in the comments—I love hearing from you!
Sourdough Gochujang Caramel Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- In a small bowl, mix together 35 g dark brown sugar, 32 g gochujang, and 20 g unsalted butter to a uniform paste. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F (175˚C) and line two half-sheet baking pans with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Arrange racks in the top and bottom third of the oven. In a medium bowl, whisk together 300 g all-purpose flour, 2 teaspooons baking powder, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt until combined.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, cream together 226 grams unsalted butter and 250 grams granulated sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add 2 large egg yolks, 75 g sourdough discard, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix on medium-low until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Dollop pieces of gochujang caramel over the surface of the dough, and use a rubber spatula to gently swirl through the dough. You don't want to completely combine the gochujang caramel and cookie dough together, just gently fold it together a few times and stop when you still see lots of distinct swirls.
- Scoop the cookie dough out onto the lined baking sheets, leaving at least 2-3" (5-7.5 cm) between each cookie. Bake both sheets at the same time for 15-18 minutes, turning and switching their positions on the oven racks about halfway through.
- Leave to cool on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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