I seriously put my foot in these Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies when I developed them. My followers are gone legit crazy for them! I use my tricks of the trade to keep the dough chewy then I add a gooey caramel surprise in the middle and a healthy sprinkle of flaky salt on top. Seriously you have no idea how many of my followers are addicted to these cookies. And soon you will be too.
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Video Tutorial
Ingredient Notes
- Cornstarch: Don’t leave this out. It makes the texture chewier and lighter. If you just use flour, the cookies will be denser and heavier.
- Butter: Unsalted or salted is fine. Just leave out the salt in the dough if you use salted.
- Sugar: Granulated and brown sugar but we use more brown for a softer cookie. Make homemade brown sugar with white sugar and molasses.
- Caramels: They must be the soft chewy caramels or they won’t melt in the middle.
How to Make Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Make the Cookie Dough
- Add the butter and both the granulated sugar and the brown sugar to the bowl of your mixer.
- Cream them together on high until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time beating after it’s added until it’s fully incorporated. Add the pure vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
- Turn the mixer down to low and add the whisked flour mixture in three separate intervals. Beat after each addition until it’s well combined.
- Add the chocolate chips to the bowl.
- Stir them into the dough and then place the dough in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour but two hours is even better.
Shape and Bake Cookies
- Scoop the cookie dough into balls about the size of a tablespoon. Add an unwrapped caramel to the center of each ball of dough.
- Add another ball of dough on top to cover the caramel. Roll these together to form one larger ball of dough. Place the cookie balls on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet making sure they are at least 1 1/2 inches apart and bake in the oven.
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Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Salted caramel stuffed inside chocolate chip cookies finished with a little sea salt. Just stuff the caramel chews in the cookie dough and bake.
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Servings: 20 large cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Individual wrapped SOFT caramels make sure they are soft like the ones I list above
- Sea salt for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder and baking soda and put aside.
- In the bowl of your mixer, add butter and both granulated and brown sugars and cream together for 3-4 minutes on high until light and fluffy.
- Next add in eggs one at a time beating until incorporated. Then add in pure vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
- Turn down your mixer to low and add in flour mixture in three intervals beating after each addition until well-combined. Lastly, stir in chocolate chips.
- Place dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Two hours is even better.
- Scoop cookie dough in balls the size of a tablespoon. Add an unwrapped caramel to the center of 1 ball of dough then add another ball of dough to cover the caramel. Roll into one larger ball of dough
- and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet at least 1 1/2 inches apart.
- Bake 11-14 minutes. Cookies may seem a little undone but remove from oven if you like them soft and chewy. If you want them more crisp, bake 14 minutes or longer.
- Sprinkle with sea salt and serve.
Video
Notes
Storage: Store your baked cookies in an airtight container in a cool dark place in your kitchen. I find the pantry or a cabinet works great. You can enjoy them right from the container or you can reheat them in the oven or air fryer for 2-3 minutes or in the microwave for a few minutes if you want them slightly warm.
They will last up to 3-5 days when stored at room temperature. After that, I recommend freezing any leftovers to keep them fresh for up to three months.
Freeze your baked cookies by placing them in an airtight freezer bag and squeezing out all the air. You can also freeze the raw cookie dough shaped into balls for up to three months. Thaw out the cookie dough balls overnight in the fridge and then bake in the oven as directed.
Nutrition
Calories: 377kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 200mg | Potassium: 172mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 323IU | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 2mg
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Recipe Tips
- Crisp or Chewy Cookies. Cook for a shorter amount of time for a chewier cookie or longer if you prefer them more crisp.
- Chill the Cookie Dough. This helps the butter solidify. This keeps the cookies from spreading too much in the oven.
- Use a Cookie Scoop. That way your cookies will be evenly sized.
- Sprinkle Salt While Cookies are Warm. The cookies will be slightly soft so the salt will adhere a bit better.
Recipe help
Can I use caramel bits or chips instead of the individual caramels?
You can but it ain’t my fave. The chips or bits don’t soften enough to create the ooey-gooey center I love in these.
How can I make sure my chocolate chips don’t sink into the dough when baking.
Just before baking, press 3-4 extra chocolate chips on the top of each cookie ball so that when they are baked you have visible chocolate chips on the top of each cookie boos.
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Mrs. Field’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
*Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating and leave comments below!* Post a photo of how your version of the recipe came out on Instagram (using #grandbabycakes)!!
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OK, so necessity made me mess with your recipe. I had no caramels, so I used Torani caramel sauce and made a hole with the handle of a wooden hole to pour about 3/4 tsp. into. Then I kind of smoothed a piece over the top. I couldn’t roll them at this point since the sauce would have leaked out. I dropped a few grains of salt on top of the sauce before I added the dough cookie top. From my Christmas baking I had salted caramel chips. Personally, I think they were butterscotch chips with some salt in them. The brand was store-brand Kroger. Even though I made these changes, these were amazingly delicious. I do wonder if I could away with a bit less sugar…maybe use 1/3 cup white and 1 1/3 cup brown. I thought they were just a bit on the too sweet side. Nevertheless, the recipe is going into my cookie book. Now that I’ve found your blog, I will subbing and next-up to try, your lemon white chocolate chip cookies. Thank you.
Hi Erica, I’m so glad you enjoyed them. I think you could definitely lessen the sugar a bit and play with it until you get the amounts you like but only go down maybe a tablespoon then try another tablespoon. Too many changes in amounts can change the texture of the cookies.
I’m making these for an office cookie swap, and I was wondering, would it be bad to leave the dough in the refrigerator overnight?
Hi Chrissy, you should be fine leaving the dough in the fridge overnight!
These are good cookies! What I will do next time is to chill the caramels and somehow chop them into bits as I don’t care for the hunk of caramel in the center. I would love to taste the caramel throughout. When I warm them a bit before eating the caramel is nice and gooey just as the picture presents. And ice cream just adds the “wow” factor. Definitely a keeper!
These cookies look devine! I finally tracked down some caramels (my local stores haven’t carried them in years in bulk and I was only lucky because it’s Halloween season I’m told) . Just set out my frozen butter and soon my eggs and will put together the dough. I am patient. I will wait until tomorrow to bake them as they come together today and overnight in my fridge. Sweetie, please believe that I will contact you tomorrow evening after dinner to let you know how these went. I can’t wait! I have started to follow you and I look forward to your posts! Take care!
I can’t wait to hear how they turned out for you Ann!
I love Caramel so much that I could DRINK it….therefore, I MUST make these for this upcoming holiday weekend! I think that the Easter Bunny may like to enjoy one of these. I, on the other hand, will eat the rest.
Anything i can replace the gluten free mix with ? Cannot find those ingredients in my small town, only have whole wheat and i guess oat flour which i can make in my nutri bullet. help! these look delicious !
Hi Taste USA, let me know if things worked out.
l made a double batch of cookies and surprised my co-workers. Raves all around. I have to measure out my dough balls twice unsure I had the right size. The huge cookies were appreciate, they looked as good as your photo’s, mine were picture perfect too. Lost a couple when the caramel oozed out on the cooling racks, but that’s fine, those are my private stash. Next time I’m move cookies and all to the parchment to the cooling racks.
Hooray Judi! I’m so glad they turned out well for you. They are quite delish aren’t they?
These look ridiculously good! The amount of caramel that you packed in these beauties is impressive!