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.
Last year 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 last year 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 like the ingredients, equipment, and tips that will have you making delicious cookies every time:
- I like to use good quality ingredients – Fat Toad Farm caramel sauce is one of my favorite caramel sauces to use in this recipe (I have also made it with Schmuckers’ caramel topping and other sauces).
- For vanilla extract I like to use a high quality one like this Madagascar bourbon vanilla extract from Nielsen-Massey (they make the BEST extracts!)
- For chocolate chips I like to use Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips – they are always very consistent for baking.
- A good French Fleur de Sel (sea salt) is also a must – this is the one I have (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.)
- 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!
- 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.
This recipe can easily be halved, simply half each of the ingredients - I've done this many times - the yield is 3 dozen.The Best Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
This cookie dough freezes very well. To freeze the cookie dough for use at a later time follow the directions for making the dough and then instead of letting the dough 'set' in the refrigerator for an hour put it in a gallon freezer bag and label, then freeze it until you're ready to bake them, then let the dough thaw in the refrigerator and then bake!
If you need me I’ll be over here sneaking a cookie (or two)!
If you make this recipe, I’d love to know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Facebook with #sweetphiblog or email me at sweetphiblog@gmail.com, I always love featuring your pictures on my Reader Recreations page!
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Note: This recipe was made by a reader and featured on the Reader Recreations page. If you ever make a SweetPhi blog recipe I’d love for you to submit it or share it on social media with the hashtag #Sweetphiblog I love seeing your recreations!
DEBORAH A MARCANTONIO says
Thank you 👏 for the information. A *BIG*, sincerely grateful, THANK YOU for the 🏅 recipe and suggestions.
From a totally 💯% 🇺🇸 Southern Woman born in *Atlanta Georgia*. 👀 🤠 🌻 💗
Debbie Marcantonio
Currently in Mobile, Alabama 🥜
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for the feedback, so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Summer says
I made these and they are yummy!! I used the snickers caramel because that’s all my store had and couldn’t really taste the caramel so maybe next time I’ll use chips or the caramel you suggested! Also couldn’t get the salt to stick to the tops?! Idk. Very yummy cookie and made plenty to freeze 1/2
Sweetphi says
So glad you enjoyed them (so interesting you used snickers caramel, I’ve never heard of that, sounds good!) The caramel flavor is subtle 🙂 I usually add the salt right after they come out of the oven, but you could certainly put the salt on before baking to get it to stay on the cookies more.
Steffany says
Have to agree that it was tough to taste the caramel! I used Ghirardelli caramel. I was torn at the store because they also had a ‘sea salt caramel’ bottle but I was afraid it would make the cookies too salty. Might try that next time because the cookies are delicious nonetheless!
Erin says
I was so excited to try this recipe as it sounds delicious! Unfortunately I didn’t taste any caramel flavor…I used Mrs. Richardson’s caramel sauce so maybe I need to try the suggested brand!
Sweetphi says
Thanks for your comment! The caramel flavor is mild, but still definitely there so i’m surprised you didn’t taste any! I would definitely give these another try with another caramel (the Fat Toad Farm caramel is so good – it’s very thick and delicious!)
Marcia Holland says
On the hottest day of the year so far here in Washington , i made 60 of these cookies for a fundraiser dinner (wrapped individually). I made 2. Batches were too big and spread a
Lot but finally made them smaller and the look better. They are not as thick as
I had expected. The first bunch had tiny little needle like holes in them! ??? I used everything you suggested except for the caramel sauce, which has a very subtle taste. We’ll see if I get raves for this cookie!
Marcia in Washington.
Sweetphi says
Hi Marcia, the heat could definitely have had something to do with them flattening out! Did you put the dough in the refrigerator for an hour before scooping it into dough balls/baking it? I’ve found that makes a world of difference (it could be that the batter was just too warm and therefor spread.)
Alana says
I was really excited to find this recipe, because I had an amazing salted caramel choc chip cookie in a restaurant and wanted to make some. Every other recipe I found had caramel bits instead of the caramel being incorporated into the dough, which I didn’t want. When I read the comments, I added another 1/4 cup of caramel, because I wanted to really taste it… the cookie texture was still amazing, but sadly the flavour is still way more subtle than I want… people eating them said they wouldn’t have guessed caramel unless I told them ☹️. I used Smuckers because I can’t find the sauce mentioned here anywhere that ships to Canada.
Sweetphi says
Thank you for the feedback. I made these with the Smuckers caramel sauce and they still came out good, with a subtler flavor but it was still present. They’re not super strong caramel, but the flavor is still caramel. So sorry they weren’t as caramel forward as you were expecting! The other thing I know someone tried that worked for a very strong caramel flavor was they melted those caramel squares with some heavy cream and made their own caramel sauce and then used that!
Alana says
I’ve made caramel sauce before so I think I will try that. And I by no means regret making these, they taste like the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. And the coarse sea salt on top takes them to a whole new level!
ShazInCA says
A new favorite! I used Smuckers Salted Caramel Sauce, as it was the nicer of the sauces my market had. Delicious! My husband said “Don’t change a thing. They are perfect.” 😀
My notes: I made the dough and used my cookie scoop, placing dough balls close together on a small cookie sheet and froze. Then bagged up in Zip-loc bags. I set 4 on a small sheet for my countertop oven (it’ll be 103 here today) and let thaw 5-10 minutes, baked at 325 for 15-18 minutes and they were perfect. They do stick to the sheet for me so I used parchment paper, let cool on the pan for 5 minutes, slid the parchment onto a damp paper towel, and the cookies came off without sticking.
Sweetphi says
I’m so happy to hear this, so glad you loved these cookies as much as we do!
Katrina says
Made these last night. I was excited about them because they’re really similar to another favorite recipe of mine that my kids LOVE! So when a girl at work brought this to my attention, I just HAD to make them. She is trying to make a knock off of the cookies at Arby’s. I got Ghiradelli chocolate chips and found Lyon Caramel sauce at Smart and Final. Exactly as I hoped, the only difference in recipe was baking soda, caramel, chip type, and some salt on top. AND THEY DID NOT DISAPPOINT!!! Sooooooo delicious!!! You can totally taste the caramel, it’s a little more than a hint, but when you add that salt – OMG! My son liked it without the salt, my daughter liked it as dough with no chips, and the co-workers loved the entire package. I could eat the whole bowl of dough! And it made SEVEN DOZEN! Maybe 8 if I hadn’t eaten so much dough 🙂
Sweetphi says
Thank you SO MUCH for your amazing comment and feedback! So happy to hear how much you and your family enjoyed them, now I’m totally craving one of these 🙂
Brenda Griffin says
The Fat Toad Farm caramel sauce I see is made from goat’s milk. Do you taste a difference from other caramel sauces? And could you describe the flavor. I’ve had goat’s milk ice cream and the taste is very different than cows milk ice cream. Also saw Amazon has a salted bourbon caramel from Fat Toad Farm. Have you tried this or the other 2 varieties of caramel? Can’t wait to make these. Just had Arby’s salted caramel cookie and while good, homemade will have to be better.
Sweetphi says
Homemade is definitely so much better 🙂 Maybe the Fat Toad Farm Caramel sauce does have a stronger flavor, although I have made it with a few different caramel sauces and didn’t really notice the difference (well, I take that back, the Fat Toad Farm caramel is just SO good!) I’ve used the salted bourbon caramel or the regular one (I’ve also used the vanilla bean and cinnamon ones and all of them have come out amazing!) Hope you enjoy these cookies
Stephanie Fry says
Do you have to use unsalted butter? I prefer a salty cookie, so I’m wondering if it would be ok or should I get unsalted butter??
Sweetphi says
You’d be totally fine with salted butter, I prefer salted too 🙂
Katelyn says
These came out great! I followed the instructions exactly but instead of caramel sauce and chocolate chips, I quartered Rolos Candy. I used the Rolos as the chocolate and caramel and it was delicious!!
Sweetphi says
Oh my goodness, what an amazing substitute, I love hearing that. Thanks for commenting!
Joseph says
Phi, thank you for this recipe! I have made it maybe 6 times now for my wife to snack on while at work, and the cookies have turned out wonderfully each time. I make and refrigerate the batch before I go to my college classes, then I bake them when I get back. She absolutely loves them!
I have made them with butterscotch chips instead of chocolate chips, and that is really good! I also use Torani salted caramel syrup as a substitute for the caramel sauce. Fantastic!
All that to say, I am most grateful for this recipe! The cookies bring my wife extra joy while she is at work. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for this lovely comment!!! Love the modifications you made. Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to you as well!!!
Cesilia says
I made this yesterday using my own homemade caramel sauce, i left the cookie dough in the fridge overnight because i want to deepen the taste. However the cookies were too hard, and the caramel flavor was not great. Can you help me? What have i done wrong? Because i read the other comments seemed theirs turned great
Sweetphi says
Hi Cesilia (love the name btw, my name is Philia), I’d love to help try to trouble shoot because these cookies are amazing! When you took the dough out of the refrigerator, did you let it come to room temperature? Did you over bake them by chance? those are the two things I can think of.