Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
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The BEST EVER chocolate chip cookies just got a makeover – super soft and chewy and stuffed with salted caramel, the flavor and texture is absolute perfection!
Cookie Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Best Easy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are more recipes to head to next after enjoying these cookies.
I almost called these, the ultimate most incredibly soft and chewy stuffed with salted caramel and wonderfully perfect cookies on the planet. But I ran out of room and it was sort of mouthful. Which is kind of an issue because my mouth was also stuffed with cookie so there just wasn’t any spare room for a title like that. Salted caramel chocolate chip cookies is gonna have to do.
Look at that gooey caramel right in the center there. Do you see that? Are you drooling yet?
There are a couple of easy peasy tricks to making these dreamboats. First off, you need instant vanilla pudding. It will make the cookies soft in the center but still lightly crispy on the outside – the perfect texture. Plus a little extra vanilla never hurt in the flavor department.
I love me some vanilla.
Another key step is the chilling time. I know, it’s hard to wait, but it is SO worth it. It’s like Christmas – well worth the wait. Just plan ahead and give yourself an hour to throw the dough in the fridge – just one hour! You can totally wait an hour.
I have faith in you.
And lastly, you’ve gotta make these cookies BIG. Each cookie requires about 6-7 tablespoons of dough. This is another part of that texture thing we were talking about. Yes, you can technically use a smaller amount of dough and make smaller cookies, but they won’t be and dense and chewy in the middle – they’ll be crispier. Not necessarily a bad thing, but these cookies are intended to be big and super soft in the middle.
And the last thing, my own little tip for enjoying these at their very best… After letting them cool completely to room temperature you warm them back up. I know, that seems completely contradictory to warm them up after letting them cool. But here’s how it works. The middle of the cookies needs to cool completely in order to get the correct chewy texture, but then when you warm them up the caramel gets all ooey gooey. Just trust me on this one – you’ll totally get it after the first bite!
What people are saying about these Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
“Mine turned out great! Also only used 1 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and topped them off on top of the cookie before putting in the oven. I probably used less than 1/4 cup though. I also used caramel bits instead of the caramel cubes. They smell delish. Haven’t tried them yet, mine are on the cooling rack right now. 
” – Teresa
“My guests absolutely loved these and I’m sure I will make them again. Even my usually nit-picky husband couldn’t find anything wrong with them! Thanks for a great recipe!” – Jenna
“I think that I may have died and gone to heaven! Salted caramel combined with a soft chocolate chip cookie… you are AMAZING! I have to make this asap.” – Crystal
“These are actually amazing! Thank you so much for sharing. I’ve made hear for Mother’s Day. I am in the UK and substitutes instant vanilla pudding mix with Angel Delight, although I am told creme caramel mix would be better (I couldn’t find it). I think they have worked well – that ear just on the cooling rack and smell and look wonderful! They look like they have the right texture anyway. First class!” – Alice
Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter, softened (12 tablespoons)
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg
- 2 cups flour
- 1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix – dry , not prepared, (one 3.4 ounce box, it must be INSTANT – not cook and serve, etc)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
- 24 soft caramels , (such as Kraft square caramels, unwrapped)
- optional: coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Start by beating butter and sugars together for 1-2 minutes until very fluffy. Add vanilla and egg and mix well. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, pudding mix, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until incorporated and dough comes together. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 and very lightly grease baking sheets. (I lightly mist mine with cooking spray, then wipe it off with a paper towel, too much grease will yield very flat cookies!) Roll about 3-4 tablespoons of the chocolate chip cookie dough into a ball , then repeat with 3-4 more tablespoons of dough. Press a caramel square into the center of one dough ball. Gently smash the two dough balls together and roll into one single ball. Repeat with remaining dough and place dough balls at least 3-4 inches apart on the baking sheet. Poke additional chocolate chips into the top of each cookie if desired (this is just for looks).
- Bake cookies for 10-13 minutes until set but still slightly undercooked. Remove from oven and (optional) sprinkle immediately with coarse sea salt (highly recommended!). Allow to cool at least 10 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack and allow to completely cool to room temperature. Store in airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I followed this recipe exactly and the cookies did not turn out. They were raw in the middle, too many chocolate chips and super puffy. I kept re-reading the instructions because the dough was so dry and they took forEver to bake, i had to keep putting them back in. Do not recommend!!!
Sorry to hear that you did not have great success with this recipe for whatever reason! Thanks for your input.
I made theSe and absolutely loved them!! Best choclate chip cookie I have ever made… I didn’t get the gooey caramel Centers though. I let it sit for an hour and then warmed it In the microwave, but it just didn’t happen.
Happy to hear that you enjoyed these cookies! Not sure what happened with your caramels- darn it! Thanks, Amalie!
I was really excited to make these for my coworker’s last day of work. I followed the recipe exactly, and the dough was very dry. The balls wouldn’t flatten in the oven after 10 min, so I Gently smushed them down with a spatula. Cooked for 18 min total- hope that was enough. Will taste in the morning.
I’m sorry to hear that you had that issue! I haven’t ran into that before. Hoping they turned out for your friend! 🙂
i love cookies. these cookie filling like a lava
Awwww . I shouldn’t have seen this at almost midnight. Need one right now !!
These cookies are AMAZING. I made it for my boyfriend and hes always asking for me to make them. He gave some to his family and they all want the recipe! When you microwave them theyre nice and gooey! When theyre at room temp theyre nice and chewy cookies! This is the best recipe i found on pinterest!
I reduced the flour to 1&1/4 cups but I forgot to reduce the butter so they spread out and were thin. Oops!
I just made these cookies, and I am a little disappointed. Mine did not spread out at all in the oven The dough was really dry also. After reading the other comments, I’m going to reduce the flour to 1& 1/4 cups and not wipe off the grease on the cookie sheet. And add a couple more minutes to the baking time because my caramels did not melt. But they taste fabulous! Wish me luck.
I had this same problem. The dough was so dry I couldn’t get it to stay together. Did reducing the flour and not wiping off the pan help?
I recently fell in LUV after eating a pint of Ben & jerry’s blondie bits with salted carmel core ice cream by myself, moaning with every bite!!! I will make these later today!!!
i used the same caramel you did and for some reason mine didnt really melt- but i didnt even care, i think these were the best cookies ive ever had! 🙂
Shoot, I wonder why yours didn’t melt!? Were they old maybe….? Glad they still turned out yummy for you though! 🙂