Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Make them small or big, these salted caramel chocolate chip cookies have salted caramel goodness in every bite!

I think we have all seen those caramel-stuffed chocolate chip cookies before, right? You know, the ones that have the caramel on the inside and when you pull it apart out comes the caramel?

OMG well yes I should totally be making those, but first, let me introduce you to these! These babies have salted caramel baked into the batter! Which means that there isn’t just caramel in the middle of the cookie, it’s IN EVERY BITE.

I use my homemade caramel sauce recipe, but you can for sure use store bought if you don’t feel like making your own. Salted caramel transforms the taste of this cookie batter into a deeper, richer flavor. Combine that with the huge chocolate chunks, and it is a match made in heaven.

Or your kitchen, whatever, either way they are damn good!

Naturally these were a no brainer to add to my holiday cookie gift box this year! I knew that to balance out the other fun cookie flavors that I added, I needed a cookie that would be universally loved.

Salted caramel chocolate chip cookies were the perfect fit. No pun intended. Actually yes, yes it was.

What’s in these salted caramel chocolate chip cookies?

These salted caramel cookies contain your typical chocolate chunk cookie ingredients, with the added bonus of salted caramel sauce. To make this chocolate chip cookie recipe, you’ll need two kinds of sugar, all-purpose flour, butter, kosher salt, vanilla, and so on.

These salted caramel chocolate chip cookies can also be made dairy-free, if desired. My homemade salted caramel sauce is naturally dairy-free, so you’d only need to swap out the butter for margarine.

How to make salted caramel chocolate chip cookies

Just make the salted caramel cookie dough like you would with any other cookies, then drop the dough onto a parchment paper-lined baking tray and freeze for an hour before baking. You’ll know the cookies are ready to come out of the oven when the chocolate’s gone all gooey and the edges are golden brown.

Can you freeze cookies?

Yup! These salted caramel chocolate chip cookies are also the perfect make ahead cookie because you can make the dough, store them in the freezer, then bake them whenever you feel like it. They last up to 3 months in the freezer!

I like to make a batch of these, then scoop them into different size dough balls using my melon scooper for smaller cookies, and my regular ice cream scoop for regular size. I freeze them on a sheet tray for one hour, then transfer them to a ziplock.

Then whenever I need a fresh batch of cookies, or my kids have something going on at school, or just have a boo boo, I can have fresh cookies in minutes.

Tips for making these cookies

• You can use either a mini scoop or a regular sized scoop to shape the cookie dough. If you use a mini scoop, check the cookies after 12 minutes. 
• If you like a flatter cookie, you can use the pan banging method to create those rippled looking cookies. Simply bake the cookies for 8 minutes, then open the oven, take the cookie tray and slam it against the rack of the oven a few times. Then continue to bake for another 6-7 minutes. 
• You can arrange a few extra pieces of chocolate on top of your dough balls before baking to create a more chocolatey top.

Need more cookie recipes?

To see the rest of the cookies that I added to my holiday cookie gift box this year and for a how-to on creating your own cookie box, be sure to check out these links below:

• How to Create the Ultimate Cookie Gift Box
• Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
• Chewy Lemon Coconut Cookies
• Raspberry Lemon Linzer Cookies 
• Chewy White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies with Cream Cheese Glaze
• Chunky Cherry Pistachio Oatmeal Cookies
• Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies 

Happy holidays, friends!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Make them small or big, these salted caramel chocolate chip cookies have salted caramel goodness in every bite!

• Author: Sam Adler – Frosting and Fettuccine
• Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: 16–32 cookies depending on size 1x
• Category: Cookies
• Method: Baked
• Cuisine: American

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temp
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, large
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon homemade salted caramel sauce or store bought
• 2.5 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 10 oz bag chocolate chunks

Instructions

1. Prepare 2 half sheet trays with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter and sugars on low-medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, combining into the mix before adding the next.
4. Add the vanilla extract and caramel sauce and continue to mix. You may have to scrape down the sides of the bowl to mix everything together.
5. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and continue to mix until dough forms.
6. Stop the mixer, add the chocolate chunks and mix by hand, so you don’t break up the chunks too much.
7. Using an ice cream scooper, or a ¼ cup measuring cup, scoop the dough into even shaped balls and line then up on the sheet trays with about 1” of space in between. Freeze for 1 hour.
8. Preheat your oven to 350°F, then bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the chocolate is melty.

Notes

• You can use either a mini scoop or a regular sized scoop to shape the cookie dough. If you use a mini scoop, check the cookie after 12 minutes.
• If you like a flatter cookie, you can use the pan banging method to create those rippled looking cookies. Simply bake the cookies for 8 minutes, then open the oven, take the cookie tray and slam it against the rack of the oven a few times. Then continue to bake for another 6-7 minutes.
• You can arrange a few extra pieces of chocolate on top of your dough balls before baking to create a more chocolatey top.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 large
• Calories: 318
• Sugar: 26g
• Sodium: 57mg
• Fat: 16g
• Saturated Fat: 10g
• Unsaturated Fat: 3g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 41g
• Fiber: 2g
• Protein: 4g
• Cholesterol: 48mg

Keywords: salted caramel chocolate chip cookies, caramel chocolate chip cookies, salted caramel cookies