Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) Headshot By Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes)
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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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Salted caramel chocolate chip cookies on a baking pan with one broken in half with the caramel oozing out.

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

  1. Add the butter and both the granulated sugar and the brown sugar to the bowl of your mixer.
  2. Cream them together on high until the mixture is light and fluffy.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Add the chocolate chips to the bowl.
  6. 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.
A collage of making salted caramel chocolate chip cookie dough from mixing the butter and sugar, adding the eggs, the flour, and then chips.

Shape and Bake Cookies

  1. Scoop the cookie dough into balls about the size of a tablespoon. Add an unwrapped caramel to the center of each ball of dough.
  2. 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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A collage of images showing the cookie dough with caramel on top and then rolled into a large ball.
A salted caramel chocolate chip cookie broken in half with caramel oozing out on the baking pan.

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.
4.52 from 170 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
Total Time 34 minutes
Author: Jocelyn Delk Adams
Course: Dessert
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.

*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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Filed Under:  Cookies, Dessert and Baking, Oven

Comments

  2. Has anyone tried these in high altitude?
    I’m in Denver at 5200 feet and my cookies like to spread if I’m not using a High Altitude recipe 🙂

    Reply

  5. Hi Jocelyn! Just made these cookies. Right now they are cooling on the counter. They look and smell amazing. Looks like I have a winner of all of my chocolate chip cookie recipes. Thank you for sharing!! A big hug from the Netherlands.

    Reply

  6. Words cannot described how incredibly delicious these cookies are. I made the mistake of not using wax paper and turned all my cookies into little piles of deliciousness for the first batch. The second batch was perfect! I am adding this one to my recipe book for sure and will bring it to my annual holiday cookie swap. THANK YOU so much for sharing!!!

    Reply

    1. Hooray thank you so much Nina! That makes me so happy that you enjoyed them so much.

  7. Oh my goodness! While I am a decent cook, I am NOT an experienced baker. I followed the recipe exactly as written, and honestly had a difficult time abstaining from eating every single one on the way to my friends’ dinner party. I think these are AMAZING, and that sentiment was echoed by every person who was able to pry one out of my hands that evening. This will absolutely be my go-to recipe from here on! Thanks so much for creating this recipe and sharing!

    Reply

    2. Quick question: I’m heading to a family get-together out of town and was wondering if I could mix and assemble the cookies ahead of time, freeze, then let them defrost as I drive and bake when I got to the event…anything I can do to save time but still have freshly-baked cookies would be awesome!

  8. I am obsessed with sweets that are also salty and was looking for a salted caramel chocolate chip cookie. Of all the recipes that popped up I decided this was the best one and I was not wrong. It was a hit and I’ve already made 3 batches within a week. Definitely keeping this one in my files. The only thing I would change (and I do this with every cookie, cupcake, etc. recipe) is cut the sugar in half or match the sugar 1:1 with the amount of butter a recipe asks for. Everyone will thank you for it.

    Reply

    2. I’ve made these almost every 2 weeks since the beginning of Covid because all my family and friends keeps requesting them. I’ve tested different levels of sugars and have to admit that my original technique of halving the sugar of recipes, though tastes better, changes the texture too much and for a cookie, texture is so important. So now I use about 2/3-3/4 of the sugar in the recipe (1/3 cup granulated sugar + 1 cup of brown sugar) and it’s just right. Thanks again for this recipe!!!

  9. This looks like a great recipe. I think that I may try freezing the caramels and then break them up into pieces/bits and fold them into the batter, much like the chocolate chips. Thoughts?

    Reply

    2. I purchased caramel “bits” they are small caramel balls bigger than a pea but smaller than a marble…I wonder how these would work…

    3. Oh that should be tasty. They will probably be smaller like chocolate chips. Let me know how it turns out.

  10. Made the cookies and they tasted DIVINE! Only problem was they spread too much and the caramel oozed out. The cookies were out of shape – not a pretty sight! 🙁

    Reply
4.52 from 170 votes (87 ratings without comment)

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