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cookies made with caramel and chocolate chips on parchment paper
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Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

These Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip cookies are made with nutty brown butter, filled with silky smooth caramel, mini semi-sweet chocolate chips and flaky sea salt on top. They are a chewy, easy to make, sweet and salty cookie that you’re going to fall in love with!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 12 cookies
Calories 291kcal
Author Tawnie Graham of Kroll's Korner

Ingredients

  • 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 1 (4.51 oz.) package soft caramels + 2 tsp. flour
  • 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup cake flour
  • 1 tsp. cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • flaky sea salt
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Brown the butter: For a detailed tutorial, see this post on how to brown butter.  Allow the butter to cool slightly, ~10-15 minutes. 
    8 Tbsp. unsalted butter
  • *Note about the caramels: sometimes the caramel can ooze out of the cookies when folding the caramel pieces into the cookie dough. To avoid this, you can you press small caramel pieces on the cookies right when they come out of the oven and let them melt onto the cookies if you prefer to avoid the oozing caramel.
    1 (4.51 oz.) package soft caramels + 2 tsp. flour
  • If you'd like to fold the caramels in the cookie dough: Unwrap the soft caramels and chop them into small pieces. It’s important they’re pretty tiny so they don’t ooze out of the cookies. Toss the chopped caramel pieces in a little flour in a small bowl to prevent the caramel from clumping together. Set aside. 
  • Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl: flour, cake flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
    1 1/4 cup all purpose flour, 3/4 cup cake flour, 1 tsp. cornstarch, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt
  • Whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar and slightly cooled brown butter in a large mixing bowl. Then whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract until combined.
    1/2 cup brown sugar, packed, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
  • Fold in the flour mixture.
  • Add in the chocolate chips and chopped caramel pieces, fold just until combined.
    2/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 (4.51 oz.) package soft caramels + 2 tsp. flour
  • Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  • Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
  • Using a 2 Tbsp. cookie scoop, scoop cookies onto prepared baking sheets. Or you can use your hands to roll into balls.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 9-11 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown and the centers look done but still gooey. Remove from the oven.
  • If the caramel has escaped from the cookies a little, it’s OK! While the cookies are still warm, place a circular cookie cutter or a circular drinking glass around one of the cookies (it should be larger than the cookie so you don’t cut off any edges) and give the cookies a spin. Swirling the cookie should help to smooth out any uneven edges and as the cookie cools further you’ll be able to easily pinch away any escaped caramel puddles. 
  • Sprinkle the tops with sea salt and enjoy! Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
    flaky sea salt

Video

Notes

  • Chilling dough for just 30 minutes helps to firm up the caramel pieces so they don’t ooze out of the cookie too much. A little oozing will happen but using the cookie cutter trick on the warm cookies right out of the oven easily gets that back into tip top shape! Also the dough can be a bit sticky sometimes so a little chilling is helpful!
  • Freeze the cookies for up to 3 months. Allow cookies to come to room temperature since caramel will be hard. 
  • Bake cookies just until edges are golden brown. To keep these cookies soft and delicious, you’ll want to be sure not to over bake them. I always say slightly under-baked is best. (Baking time can also vary depending on size of cookies).

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 291kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 175mg | Potassium: 124mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 298IU | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 2mg