Dulce de Leche Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Turn traditional chocolate chip cookies into something with a little extra pizzaz by swirling them with dulce de leche! This is a no chill cookie recipe that yields gooey and chewy cookies every time.

Does anyone else have a slight obsession with dulce de leche? Raise your hands, because mine is waving in the air while I’m yelling “I do! I do!”

Because my friends, dulce de leche is that good.

It’s creamy, it’s caramelized, and it’s shockingly easy to add to all of your favorite goodies. It’s all the things that home bakers dream of (an ingredient that can just jump right in and bring it all together).

And so today I’m bringing to you my recipe for dulce de leche chocolate chip cookies. My initial test runs of this recipe did not include chocolate at all, but once I had a batch with chocolate chips, I knew they had to make it into the final recipe.

And boy, am I glad I made that choice. Not only are these dulce de leche cookies ooey and gooey, but they are also chocolatey and rich. Every bite gives you a sweet, creamy pocket of dulce de leche followed by a decadent hit of chocolate that melts on the tongue almost instantly.

In short? These cookies will not disappoint, and they may not make it through the night. You’ve been forewarned, so proceed with caution!

This is the same no-chill dough I’ve used to make butterscotch cookies, cookies and cream cookies, Lucky Charms cookies, aaaaaand these amazing Andes mint cookies. It’s safe to say I’m kind of obsessed with it.

But what’s not to like? It results in the most beautiful cookies that are soft, chewy, and require zero time in the refrigerator. I don’t know about you, but when I want cookies, I want them NOW! So allowing the dough to chill for an hour or more? Nah, that’s not for me (well, sometimes it is, but those are a cookie for another day… Literally #foodbloggerlife).

The best part is that the dough uses pantry staples. No fancy ingredients are found here, just simple and basic necessities you probably already have in your pantry and fridge.

You’ll need some flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, room temperature butter, brown sugar, an egg, and vanilla.

Then, to give it that special dulce de leche flair you’ll need some cinnamon, dulce de leche (of course), and some chocolate chips. Because why not add chocolate chips?

While I do absolutely adore that delicious cookie, it is meant to let the traditional chocolate chip cookie flavor shine. Could I have added a hint of cinnamon and dulce de leche to that recipe? Sure. But this super simple no chill cookie lets the sweetness of the dulce de leche shine through.

The cookie base is just a vehicle for some dulce de leche filling. Can’t be mad about that, can we?

My personal preference is to use a good quality brand since the texture and consistency is ideal. It can be a little trickier to get a thicker consistency with homemade, and of course, there is the time factor.

One really good reason to make your own dulce de leche is if you can’t find it in your local supermarkets. I’m pretty lucky to live near a major city, so it’s easy for me to find less common ingredients. For many of my readers, this is not the case.

So if you have trouble finding special ingredients, you just might want to go the homemade route! My homemade dulce de leche recipe will show you two different methods (baking or boiling), so you can choose whichever one works best for you.

Let me explain…

While both caramel and dulce de leche use some of the same ingredients (sugar and milk), they are considerably different. Dulce de leche is basically cooked milk with sugar, while caramel is cooked sugar with cream and butter.

So although both caramel and dulce de leche are caramelized, how they are caramelized and the ingredient proportion makes them two distinct products.

They also vary with mouthfeel and taste, with dulce de leche being sweeter, thicker, and creamier than caramel. While caramel is distinctly buttery and has a much thinner viscosity.

See? Totally different, although both are delicious. I mean, be it dulce de leche or caramel, I’m not turning my nose up at it and I’m most definitely dipping apple slices in it, that’s for sure!

Oh, and psst… If you’re looking for these cookies salted caramel style, check out my salted caramel chocolate chip cookies!

Then set your baking sheet aside, slap on an apron (or not, but even a small amount of dulce de leche can be stiiiiiicky!), and get ready to make some cookies!

Then grab a second medium-sized bowl and add the softened butter and brown sugar. Use a hand mixer (or you could use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment) to cream together the butter and brown sugar on medium speed.

Make sure to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula. This ensures everything is well mixed together and there are no clumps of sugar or sections of plain butter.

Then add in the vanilla extract and the egg and beat again on medium speed until everything is well combined and the mixture is lump free.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, using 2 additions and leaving the mixer on low as you add them in. As soon as the first addition of dry ingredients is incorporated, add in the next and mix until it forms a consistent dough.

Once your cookie dough base comes together, it’s time to add in the chocolate chips. Just add them right into the bowl and fold them in using a silicone spatula.

I don’t recommend using a mixer at this point as it will strengthen the gluten structure of the dough, making for a tough cookie. Just go slowly by hand, folding everything together until the chocolate is evenly dispersed.

To add it, all you do is gather all of your cookie dough into one cohesive spot in the bowl. Then drop in 3 tablespoons (I use this #50 cookie scoop) of the dulce de leche into 3 different spots in the bowl.

As in 1 Tablespoon of dulce de leche, 3 times, in 3 different spots. Got it?

These should be evenly spaced out so that no one portion of the dough is lacking.

Use the same cookie scoop you used for the dulce de leche to drop rounded balls of the dough onto your prepared baking sheet. Just be aware that the dough will be sticky. This is totally ok and everything is going to firm up nicely once its baked.

Bake your cookies for 10-12 minutes (for some reason, mine are always done at exactly 11 minutes), or until the very edges are beginning to brown.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the dulce de leche cookies to cool for about 10-15 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Once they have cooled down, you can enjoy one (or two), or store them to enjoy later.

If you want a longer storage time, dulce de leche cookies freeze very well. Just add them to labeled freezer bags and freeze them for up to 2 months.

When you’re ready to enjoy, just take your cookies out and thaw them at room temperature. It takes just 10 or so minutes for them to thaw, meaning you can satisfy your cookie craving in a flash. And they are so much better than any store-bought cookie I’ve ever had.

If you would prefer to freeze the raw cookie dough, you could totally do that too. You could either freeze rolled cookie dough (just roll it into a log with some waxed paper) or portion it into scoops. If you want to freeze portioned cookie dough, just drop scoops of dough onto a baking sheet and freeze flat. Then transfer the fully frozen cookie dough balls to a freezer bag.

When you’re ready to bake, bake your dough from frozen on a baking sheet for about 11-13 minutes. This is my favorite method because it yields that fresh baked taste that we all know and love.

I don’t know about you, but half of the appeal of a gooey dulce de leche cookie is some of that oozing caramel-like goodness coming out of the cookie (you should try my peanut butter Rolo cookies if gooey caramel oozes are your style). Talk about yum!

All that being said, if you’re still having trouble with the dulce de leche oozing out, you can chill the tray of scooped cookie dough for about 10 minutes to firm up the ingredients.

Now that I’ve got you drooling over these dulce de leche chocolate chip cookies, may I tempt you with a few of my favorite recipes featuring this special ingredient?

First, you have to try my dulce de leche cupcakes— they are just so simple to make! Then you can move on to my recipe for dulce de leche cake OR the decadent and delicious banoffee pie. Whichever one you choose, you can be sure it’s going to be delicious.

5 from 4 votes

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Dulce de Leche Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Turn traditional chocolate chip cookies into something with a little extra pizzaz by swirling them with dulce de leche! This is a no chill cookie recipe that yields gooey and chewy cookies every time.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Bake Time11 minutes mins

Total Time21 minutes mins

Recipe Author Lynn April

Servings: 16 cookies

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 and ¼ cup (150g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
• ▢ ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons (125g) firmly packed light brown sugar
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ ¾ cup (128g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons (57g) dulce de leche divided

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
• In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon. Set aside.
• In a separate medium size bowl with a hand held mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and brown sugar on medium speed. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat again on medium speed until everything is combined and there are no lumps.
• With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 2 additions, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add the chocolate chips and mix again until evenly dispersed.
• With a large spatula, gather the dough into one cohesive spot in the bowl. Using a cookie scoop (I use this #50 cookie scoop for all of my standard size cookies), scoop 3 individual Tablespoons of the dulce de leche into 3 distinct and separate places in the cookie dough. Mix again on low just a few times so the dulce de leche ribbons through the batter. Stop after about 3-5 rotations.
• Use that same cookie scoop to drop rounded balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Dough will be sticky. Bake for 10-12 minutes (mine always take exactly 11 minutes). Cookies may have become misshapen because of "oozing" caramel pieces. This is ok. Refer to my Instagram reel for my trick for shaping cookies after they come out of the oven. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week. Cookies freeze well, up to 2 months. Rolled cookie dough can be frozen, up to 2 months. Bake frozen on baking sheet for 11-13 minutes.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @freshaprilflours on Instagram or tag #freshaprilflours!

Nutrition Disclosure

All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 133kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 134mg | Potassium: 70mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 108IU | Vitamin C: 0.003mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg