Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

There's nothing better than salted caramel with chocolate... unless you add them to a cookie! YUM. I made these salted caramel chocolate chip cookies last night and made the mistake of leaving them on the counter. My kids saw them when they woke up and were begging to have some for breakfast... Honestly, I was tempted by the idea... Don't worry, we opted for something a little bit healthier!

Tips for Making Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chill the Cookie Dough

The key to this recipe is making sure to chill the cookie dough before baking. I normally try to avoid this when baking because when I decide to make cookies, I want them ASAP. But for these, it's essential. Trust me, I've made this mistake before. The dough is super soft because of the butter, and the caramels melt fast. Chilling the dough first will keep the cookies from melting all over the pan.

Don't be put off by the prep time listed on the recipe-- an hour of that is chilling the dough in the fridge. I'd say that is the least amount of chill time you can get away with, so don't be afraid to leave them in longer. If you're in a hurry, you can put the dough in the freezer for ¼ the chill time. I put this batch in the freezer for 15 minutes, and they turned out great.

I also play it safe and chill the caramels before putting them into the dough (step one). That way they melt slower, and allow the cookie to form its shape before they run off the cookie dough ball and all over the pan.

Types of Sea Salt

This really comes down to personal preference. I prefer to use a fine sea salt in the dough so that the salt evenly distributes throughout the cookie. On top, however, I prefer to use either a coarse or flaky sea salt--these larger chunks really give that punch of saltiness that you get with a sea salt caramel flavor. Again, it all depends on what you prefer.

The Caramel

I like to use Werther's Original soft caramels, and I think they work best in this recipe. However, feel free to use another brand if you'd like. Just make sure that they are soft caramels!

These salted caramel chocolate chip cookies are absolutely DELICIOUS, but if you are looking for a recipe with no chill time, try my original chocolate chip cookie recipe!

If you try out these salted caramel chocolate chip cookies or any of my other recipes, I’d LOVE to hear about it. You can leave a comment below the recipe, or if you post a picture on Instagram, be sure to tag me! Getting any feedback on my recipes is both rewarding AND helpful as I write and edit recipes in the future.

Now get baking, and enjoy!

Print Recipe

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Cook Time9 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course: Desserts

Servings: 16 servings

Calories: 450kcal

Ingredients

• 1 cup cold salted butter, cubed
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 2 ½ cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 20 Werther's soft caramels
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt to sprinkle on top

Instructions

• Remove 16 soft caramels from their wrapping. Bend them in half and roll them each into a ball. These will go in the center of each cookie. With the remaining soft caramels, chop them into small flakes to put on top of the cookies. Place these in the fridge or freezer while preparing the dough so that they harden before baking.
• Cut butter into small, 1 inch cubes, and add standing mixer, along with brown and white sugars. Mix on high for about 5 minutes, until creamy. Scrape down sides of the bowl with a a few times to make sure it's mixed evenly.
• Add eggs and vanilla extract to the standing mixture, and mix on medium high, until well combined. Again, scrape down sides of the bowl as necessary.
• In a separate bowl, add flour, sea salt, cornstarch, and baking soda. Whisk together.
• Add flour mixture to the standing mixer and mix on lowest setting until combined. Fold in chocolate chips so that they are evenly distributed.
• Take a round ball of caramel, and cover with cookie dough, making a ball with the caramel at the center. Repeat with all 16 caramels. Once all cookie dough balls are formed, Press extra chocolate chips and flakes of caramel into the top of each cookie.
• Line a two cookie sheets with parchment paper* and evenly spread out cookie dough balls on each. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to chill for at least one hour**. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Remove plastic wrap and bake for 9-10 minutes, until edges of cookies start to brown. They will still be very soft. Sprinkle the cookies with sea salt, and allow to cool on pan for at least 15 minutes before eating. Enjoy!

Notes

*I recommend using parchment paper instead of cooking spray, because the caramel is a pain to get off of the pan.

You can chill the dough in the fridge for an hour minimum, or in the freezer for ¼ of the time.