Description
These chewy salted caramel chocolate chip cookies are a perfect blend of sweet and salty, featuring crunchy bits of homemade hard caramel and rich dark chocolate chunks. With a vanilla-forward flavor and a delightfully chewy texture, these cookies are made easy with a quick caramel step and a simple one-bowl dough, requiring no resting time. Ideal for cookie lovers who appreciate a combination of caramel and chocolate in every bite.
Ingredients
Scale
Caramel
- 1 batch 5-Minute Hard Caramel
Cookie Dough
- 1 1/2 cups (330 g) light brown sugar (packed)
- 16 tablespoons (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons (19 g) real vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 ¼ cups (439 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups (255 g) dark chocolate, coarsely chopped or chips
- Sea salt flakes for topping, optional
Instructions
- Make the Hard Caramel: Prepare the 5-Minute Hard Caramel according to the recipe instructions, allowing it to cool and harden. Once set, break the caramel into small chewy bits to mix into the cookie dough.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: In a large mixing bowl, beat the unsalted butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy. This creates a smooth base for the cookie dough and helps achieve a chewy texture.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Beat in the real vanilla extract and eggs one at a time, ensuring each is fully incorporated before adding the next. The eggs help bind the dough and add moisture.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and all-purpose flour. This ensures even distribution of leavening agents and seasoning.
- Mix Dry into Wet: Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Avoid overmixing to keep the cookies tender.
- Fold in Chocolate and Caramel Bits: Gently fold in the coarsely chopped dark chocolate and the broken pieces of hard caramel, evenly distributing the chunks throughout the dough.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Portion Dough: Using a cookie scoop or spoon, drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
- Add Sea Salt Flakes: Optionally, sprinkle a few sea salt flakes on top of each cookie dough ball to enhance the salty-sweet flavor profile.
- Bake Cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden but the centers remain soft. This timing preserves chewiness.
- Cool: Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. This cooling step solidifies the caramel bits and chocolate pockets.
Notes
- Crunchy, chewy bits of caramel and puddles of chocolate lace these vanilla-forward chocolate chip cookies, offering a rich, layered taste experience.
- Making the hard caramel takes just minutes and requires no candy thermometer, making this recipe accessible for beginners.
- This is an easy, one-bowl recipe with no resting time required for the dough, making it quick and convenient for last-minute baking.
- Optional sea salt flakes on top enhance the salted caramel flavor and provide a pleasant contrast to the sweetness.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days to maintain freshness and chewiness.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 15 g
- Sodium: 120 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 23 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 35 mg
