The Best Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Name: The Best Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep time: 90 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 102 min
Ingredients: 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (at room temperature ); 1 cup granulated sugar; 1 1/2 cups brown sugar; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 2 eggs; 1/2 cup caramel sauce; 4 cups all purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon baking powder; 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips; 2 tablespoons sea salt (for sprinkling)

Dec 6, 2020 · 123 Comments

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I don’t throw around the term ‘the best’ lightly, but these truly are the best salted caramel chocolate chip cookies…EVER! Make them for your next party or get together and everyone will be asking you for the recipe between bites of cookie!

I understand that there are about 1,000,001 different chocolate chip cookie recipes out there, but if you were to make one recipe, THIS would be the one I’d recommend! The cookies have a smooth sweetness from the caramel sauce used in the batter, and then a nice hint of salt from the sea salt on top.

What ingredients do you need to make these cookies?

Butter -you should use an unsalted butter at room temperature.
Granulated sugar and brown sugar – you can’t have a truly amazing cookie without these two!
Vanilla extract – It makes a difference to use a good quality vanilla extract. I like using Neilson Massey or something similar.
Caramel sauce – no questions asked, the best caramel for baking is Fat Toad Farm goat’s milk caramel. It’s a goats milk caramel and is so creamy and luxurious. Plus, I got to collaborate with them and make my own caramel product called Hint of Salt (use code Sweetphi at checkout for $1 off Hint of Salt caramel).
Baking powder and baking soda – the essentials in all great cookie recipes.
Salt – just a touch of salt goes a long way in helping to balance out any sweetness.
Semi sweet chocolate chips – semi sweet chocolate is the perfect level of bitter and sweet. I always use Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips. They are always very consistent for baking.
Sea salt – you’ll use this for sprinkling on top of your cookies. My favorite brand that I always have in the house is Maldon or a good French Fleur de Sel (sea salt) this is the one I have too (I just purchased it on Amazon (along with my other favorite items) because I couldn’t find it at any of my local grocery stores.)

A few years ago I started to convey how absolutely delicious these cookies were when I first posted the recipe for bourbon salted caramel chocolate chip cookies, and since then I’ve been tweaking and perfecting the recipe. The recipe from a few years ago is fantastic, but they’re a little more labor intensive (you smudge caramel sauce onto each cookie before baking) whereas these cookies you simply add the caramel into the batter. Both recipes are THE BEST, but this one has fewer ingredients and is simpler to make.

I’ve also really honed in on a few key things that I want to share about making this recipe. Not only are good, quality ingredients important, but below are a few tips to ensure you make delicious cookies every single time.

Tools for making cookies – it all starts with creaming the butter and sugars, don’t skip this step! I use a hand mixer when I’m making smaller batches (this recipe can easily be halved) and a stand mixer when I’m making the full recipe. When mixing in the chocolate chips I’ve been told to always use a wooden spoon– this could very well be an old wives tale, but I follow it!
I use a cookie scoop (like this one) when measuring out the cookie batter – it helps make consistently sized cookies – it also happens to be one of my favorite kitchen utensils.
Lastly let’s talk about silicone baking mats….when my grandma-in-law gave me these silicone baking mats last year I thought nothing of it…until I used them for the first time. They are life changing! They make baking cookies a breeze, I would definitely definitely suggest getting some for your kitchen!

How do I make these delicious cookies?

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars with a stand or hand mixer until combined and fluffy (about 2 minutes) then add in vanilla extract and eggs, beat until combined, scrape down sides of the bowl with a spatula and pour in caramel and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Slowly add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and beat slowly until combined.
Now with a wooden spoon. stir in the chocolate chips. Place dough in the refrigerator for an hour.
Preheat oven to 350, line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
Scoop dough with a 1 tablespoon size cookie scoop and scoop onto prepared cooking sheets. Place about 2 inches apart (I get 12 per baking sheet). Flatten the dough balls slightly.
Bake cookies for 11-12 minutes, until edges are slightly golden brown (centers will be soft). Remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to a cookie cooling rack and allow to cool before serving. Repeat until all the dough has been turned into delicious cookies!

Tip – a little tip I heard once was to chill the cookie dough for an hour. I do that now and really think it helps develop the flavors of the cookie dough, so chill that dough!

Let’s say you have a family picnic to go to, or a birthday party, or a business meeting, or a tailgate party, or a picnic, or your hubby needs cookies for work….see where I’m going with this…there is no situation in which these cookies aren’t perfect! I’ve made them probably over a hundred times now (no joke) including for all those occasions mentioned, and it’s my go-to cookie recipe.

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