I’ve been making these salted caramel chocolate chip cookies before I even started Butternut Bakery! I bake up a fresh batch for just about any occasion because they’re an absolute crowd-pleaser. With a chewy edge, gooey center, chocolate, caramel, and sea salt, EVERYONE loves them!
Adding texture to these salted caramel chocolate chip cookies
One unique ingredient in these cookies is lightly ground oats. They add so much texture to these cookies and help to create that ooey gooey center. The oats don’t absorb as much as moisture as flour so you’re left with a very soft dough.
To get the perfect consistency, dump your oats into a food processor and pulse about 5-6 times. It should look like the photo below.
You also want to make sure to use old fashioned rolled oats as opposed to quick oats. They’re much heartier so they don’t retain as much moisture and absorb into the cookie.
Another important step is to really whisk together the butter and sugar. This goes for almost any cookie recipe. You can use an electric mixer to make it easier but I like to make these cookies by hand. There’s just something about manually mixing your dough that makes the end product so much more satisfying!
The butter and sugar will look somewhat separated at first but keep whisking until you get a smooth and silky consistency like the photo below. This lightens your cookie dough and creates a more homogeneous cookie.
How to bake caramel into salted caramel chocolate chip cookies
This step is actually very simple but takes a little extra time. For this salted caramel cookies recipe, mixing in the caramel is as easy as the chocolate chips!
I like to use Werther’s soft caramels here because once melted into the cookie, they don’t stick to your teeth like crazy. It just gives a soft and silky caramel bite.
One important thing to keep note of is the size of your caramels. Using the Werther’s soft caramels, I cut them in half before adding them to the dough. This is because I used a large 2oz cookie scoop. It’s also much easier to chop them when they’ve been in the refrigerator.
You want to make sure your caramels are proportionate to the size of your cookies, otherwise a large caramel piece in a small cookie will cause it to spread too much in the oven. You’ll be left with a puddle of melted caramel and hardly any cookie. I explain this further in the baking process below.
If you plan on making smaller cookies, cut your caramels a bit smaller. Again, I halved mine but you could quarter them as well for a more standard cookie size.
Why chill cookie dough before baking?
I know, nothing is worse than when you’re so excited to make a fresh batch of cookies only to realize they have to be refrigerated overnight. Just trust me when I say it’s so necessary and so worth the wait.
The reason being, a lot happens to the cookie dough as it chills. One of the more obvious reasons is that the cookie dough needs time to firm up before baking. Chilled cookie dough spreads slower in the oven, giving you that gooey center and chewy edges.
It also enhances the flavor of the cookie. In a King Arthur Flour blog post, they explain this perfectly. As the dough chills, it beings to dry out which transforms the texture and flavor.
Think of it as lemonade…a lemonade mix with more water has a weaker flavor as opposed to a well balanced lemonade drink. Therefore, less moisture in the cookie dough leads to a stronger flavor.
In order to prep your cookie dough for the refrigerator, make sure to pre-scoop your dough. If you chill the entire bowl it will not only take longer to chill, but it will also be nearly impossible to scoop it out because it will be completely solid.
Scoop your cookie dough onto a small baking tray lined with parchment paper. When they’re ready to bake, just pull the dough off the tray for each batch. Place the rest back in the fridge while that batch bakes.
The trick to baking perfect salted caramel chocolate chip cookies
We discussed the size of the caramels, now we need to talk about baking these caramel cookies as it can be a bit tricky.
First and foremost, make sure your caramels are EVENLY dispersed throughout your dough. A cookie with too much caramel will melt and lose its shape when baked.
Although, there will be times when this can partially happen to a cookie as you can see above. This is because the caramel was too close to the bottom edges of the cookie dough when scooped, so the caramel melted and burned around the edge as it baked. Side note – it still tastes amazing, it just looks a little more………..rustic.
Not to worry! It’s an easy fix and won’t affect the cookie. You can either completely cut that part off or use the edge of a butter knife to gently push the cookie back into its normal shape. I like to do a mix of the two techniques where I chop off SOME of the melted caramel and push the edges back in.
You could also leave it alone for a little crunchy bite! But if you do mold the cookie back to normal, make sure to do so when it’s still warm and on the baking tray. Just BE CAREFUL as the tray will still be hot.
Why you want to under bake these salted caramel chocolate chip cookies
You’ll notice the cookies might look a little underdone but that’s exactly what we’re going for. As you can see in the photo of the melted cookie on the baking tray, it’s pale, puffy, and gooey in the middle. That’s what it should look like straight from the oven.
As the cookies cool, they’ll continue to bake and settle from the residual heat. Thus, giving you a cookie that looks exactly like the ones above.
Using this method will help you get that perfectly chewy outside and soft inside.
And don’t forget the sea salt on top! My favorite is by Maldon and that little box has lasted me so long. I’ve hardly made a dent. Sprinkle some on top of the WARM cookies so that it sticks. It not only looks great, but it enhances the flavor of these delicious salted caramel chocolate chip cookies.
For more delicious chocolate chip cookie recipes, check out my:
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Make sure to tag me @butternutbakery on Instagram or comment below if you make these Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies. To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, the buttons above or below this post, or on any of the photos above. Happy baking!
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Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Total Time: 35 minutes + 4 hours
- Yield: 18–20 large cookies 1x
Description
These salted caramel chocolate chip cookies are chewy on the outside and gooey on the inside. With pieces of caramel baked right in, there’s a bit of chocolate and caramel in every bite!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup lightly ground old fashioned oats
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups dark chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup Werther’s soft caramels, chopped
- Flaked sea salt for sprinkling
*RECIPE MAKES 18-20 LARGE COOKIES. SEE NOTES FOR HALF MEASUREMENTS.
Instructions
- For the caramels, I chopped mine in half and used a large 2oz cookie scoop. If you’re using a smaller scoop, cut the caramels into quarters to make even smaller pieces. They’re also much easier to chop when they’ve had time to chill in the fridge. Set aside.
- Dump 3/4 cup of old fashioned oats into a food processor and pulse 5-6 times. You should be left with some finely ground bits with some larger chunks. See photo in post for reference.
- Whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars and melted butter. Keep whisking until you get a smooth and silky consistency. See photo above for reference.
- Whisk in the vanilla and eggs.
- Fold in the dry ingredients until combined. Then, fold in the chocolate and caramels.
- Scoop your cookie dough side-by-side onto a small cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. This recipe makes 18-20 large cookies. Refrigerate for AT LEAST 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
- When ready, preheat the oven to 350F and bake 4-5 cookies at a time on a large baking tray lined with parchment paper. Place the rest back in the fridge when the others bake.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes for large cookies, 13-15 for regular cookies. The edges should be a nice golden brown and the center still slightly doughy.
- You may get some cookies where the caramels melt out. If that’s the case, take a knife and cut off some of the excess then use the inside curve of a fork to push the cookie back together. Do this while the cookie is still warm and on the baking tray.
- Let them rest for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Sprinkle with sea salt when they’re still warm.
- For a more gooey cookie, enjoy when they’re still warm. Otherwise, eat them at room temperature for a perfectly soft center.
Notes
RECIPE – HALF
6 tbsp lightly ground old fashioned oats, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 large egg, 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips, Heaping 1/4 cup Werther’s soft caramels, chopped, Flaked sea salt for sprinkling
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
Keywords: salted caramel chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip cookies, caramel cookies
Love that you have an option to halve the recipe. Not that I wouldn’t want the whole batch though!
★★★★★
Hah I was worried 20 extra large cookies was too much for some people! Although once you try one, you’ll understand why a big batch is necessary.
Dear Jenna,
The scooped cookies are chilling and while I rest my arm I have a few comments.
1. I tried to chill the caramels, which turned them to rocks. So, I let them sit to room temp and cut them with kitchen shears. I then
put them in a small bowl with a bit of flour coating them so they would not stick together while I prepared other things and when I looked next the caramels had started settling together like silly putty might do. I quickly separated them again and put them in the fridge and when I took them out to use they were all stuck together again. A hammer was involved in the next step.
2. I tried, really tried, to make sugar and melted butter look like your photo but you must have the arms of a blacksmith because I simply could not achieve your look. Finally I just added the eggs and vanilla and then I was able to whip up to the consistency you picture. (I am 76 and a very experienced baker but not strong)
3. The chips went in then the caramels but there will be some REALLY gooey cookies judging by the clumps of caramel.
These will be an intermission treat at the outdoor theatre tonight. I’m going to sprinkle some with a Bourbon Smoked salt and some with salty smokehouse almonds that I chopped.
I’ll be back when they are baked with my rating. They look like they will be amazing. BTW I got 37 scoopsfull using one of those old fashioned aluminum scoops.
Hi Sue,
I’m sorry to hear you had some struggles along the way! For 1. Are you using the Werther’s SOFT caramels? I found that those don’t harden up as much as regular caramels. If you did use them, it might be better to chop them and then refrigerate them on a plate so they don’t all glob together. Love the flour idea though. 2. I definitely can skip my upper body workouts at the gym with all the butter whipping I do! It does take some effort to really merry the butter and sugar together. In that case, I would recommend an electric mixer so it can do all the work for you. 3. Yep, you definitely have to make sure the caramel pieces are evenly distrusted among the batter. Otherwise, some of your cookies will just be caramel puddles. Hopefully my tip for the caramels will help with this. LOVE the bourbon smoked sea salt on top! That sounds amazing! I hope your cookies turn out for tonight 🙂
Hi. I am a diabetic and wanna reduce the sugar amount. How much sugar should i reduce to ensure the texture of the cookies are not affected. What would be the least amount of sugar portion
Reduce the amount of caramel in the cookies and swap out all of the sugar for coconut sugar. Unfortunately reducing the amount of sugar will drastically change the cookies.
Hi! I’ve made your recipe before and loved it. I wanted to ask if I could freeze half the dough to bake it later?
Absolutely! After the scooped dough is chilled in the fridge, transfer to a freezer safe bag and when you’re ready to bake, leave them out at room temp for about 30-45 minutes then bake.
Oh I’m thrilled to hear that! I may even double the batch then LOL and just have a stock of these cookies ready to go in the freezer! Thanks for getting back to me 🙂
Love this recipe and have made them several times. I always use jumbo eggs when baking and because this recipe makes them flat and chewy, I add an egg yolk. This results in a cookie that is just a bit cakey, which I prefer. Either way, they’re delicious and I’m always asked for the recipe.
Thanks for sharing Cindy!
Hey are the oats needed for this recipe
I haven’t tested it with just flour but it could work.
I loved this recipe! Gave some to my husband and in-laws, and they loved it too! Definitely 5 stars for the flavour profile. I just had one question. I followed your recipe exactly, but my cookies came out super thick and didn’t flatten out like yours did in the pics. I have no idea why this would happen, I did kept my cookie dough balls on the tray in the fridge overnight, but didn’t take them out until later that day. Do you think I kept it in the fridge to long? Is there a max time limit for keeping cookie dough refrigerated? I look forward to hearing from you! 😃
★★★★★
Hi Cerise – It sounds like it’s an issue with the flour. When measuring, make sure to spoon it into your measuring cup and don’t shake it or pack it down. This leads to too much flour in the dough, making it harder for the cookies to spread.
A very good base to substitute other goodies,such as Heath bar bits and chopped nuts
I found that the caramel candy tends to get chewy.when baked, so i.did melt them and stirred in a tablespoon of cream into them. Let them cool and scooped them.intp small balls. After chilling the dough balls, I imbedded the caramel back into the center of the cookies before baking. There was less caramel oozing during baking and the cookies were more uniform.
★★★★★
Such a good idea!
Hi
Could I substitute the Kraft caramel bits/morsels for the Werthers??
Yep I’m sure that would be fine, they just won’t be as soft and melty in the cookie.
These are delicious! Can I turn this recipe into bars? My son’s birthday is coming up and it would be easier to make these and serve them warm in a pan as bars.
Oh I haven’t tested it but maybe!
I have made these several times. They are AMAZING! There is a delicate balance between the chocolate, caramel, and salt and they are chewy and gooey at the same time. My husband and friends request that I make them often!
★★★★★
Yay so glad to hear it!
Can I use butterscotch chips in place of the caramel?
If you plan to do this, I suggest my butterscotch chocolate chip cookies 🙂