Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

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5 from 3 votes

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Easy no chill chocolate chip cookies swirled with salted caramel sauce and topped with flaky sea salt.

plate of salted caramel chocolate chip cookies

When it comes to cookies, I am pretty easy to please. My very favorite cookie recipe collection includes my chewy oatmeal raisin cookies, my classic and perfect chocolate chip cookies, and my vanilla bean sugar cookies.

While all of those recipes are pretty different in execution, the end products are pretty standard and simple and nothing over the top.

But this salted caramel chocolate chip cookie recipe? Simple in execution (it’s no chill!) but a little something extra on the other side of the oven.

stack of salted caramel chocolate chip cookies

In fact, you might be surprised how such an amazing cookie can start with a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe that simply has some salted caramel sauce swirled around in each cookie dough ball.

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Because yes, that’s how simple these cookies are.

INGREDIENTS

I built this salted caramel chocolate chip cookie recipe from my butterscotch cookie recipe. That cookie recipe is a simple base that appears a few times in my cookie recipe collection, and it is as reliable as it is delicious, and I am such a fan of using one base recipe to produce many outcomes, just by changing up simple ingredients.

salted caramel chocolate chip cookies

I took those butterscotch cookies and simply swapped out the butterscotch chips for semi-sweet chocolate chips (you could also use dark chocolate chips!), so we’re working with very basic cookie ingredients for this version.

All purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, butter, brown sugar, and egg, and vanilla extract.

Super simple so far, yes?

And then we get to the goodies: the chocolate chips and the caramel sauce.

For this recipe, you can absolutely use store-bought caramel sauce, but if you’re feeling fancy, go ahead and make that salted caramel sauce from scratch.

jar of salted caramel sauce

You’ll only need 3 Tablespoons of it for these salted caramel chocolate chip cookies, so check out some of the other recipes you can make with your caramel sauce.

Try my caramel rolls, salted caramel banana bread, salted caramel brownies, or even try my bourbon caramel sauce recipe if you’re feeling extra fun.

salted caramel chocolate chip cookies on a kitchen towel

HOW TO MAKE SALTED CARAMEL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

The method for these cookies is quite straightforward. But when we add the caramel sauce, you’ll need to follow some crucial instructions to make them juuuuust right.

MAKE THE COOKIE DOUGH

We’ll combine all of the dry ingredients then set them aside.

Next, we’ll cream together the butter and brown sugar, then add the egg and vanilla extract before combining the wet ingredients with our whisked dry ingredients.

After we add in the chocolate chips, we’re now working with a simple chocolate chip cookie dough that gets kicked up a notch with the salted caramel sauce.

ADD THE CARAMEL SAUCE

Once the dough has come together, including with the chocolate chips, you’re going to scrape down the sides of the bowl as if you were ready to be done with the dough and moving on to baking it (though don’t clean off the beaters or paddle yet). 

You’ll add 3 Tablespoons of your salted caramel sauce to the cookie dough in three different additions.

Put one Tablespoon in one spot of the batter, the next in a different spot, and the third in another completely different spot. 

salted caramel chocolate chip cookies with a jar of salted caramel sauce

Then, turn the mixer to low and let it stir just a few times. Maybe 5 or 6. You want the salted caramel sauce to spread around, but you don’t want to lose it in the batter.

It should be swirly.

And you know what those swirls mean? Cookies with salted caramel puddles. And the good kind of puddles, not the totally-spread-all-over-the-baking-sheet puddles. Contained puddles, held in by the crevices of your cookie and all the chocolate chips.

Once the cookies come out of the oven, give them a little additional pinch of sea salt right on top if you want. This is totally optional but totally encouraged. Because OMG, salted cookies are extra delicious and so necessary.

If you need a chocolate chip cookie that is next level, here it is. Take it and bake it and share it. Because this.is.it.

If you’re looking for a salted caramel cookie that has more of a caramel center of each cookie, look no further than my salted caramel stuffed snickerdoodles, which will change your life (seriously, look at that gooey caramel center).

stack of caramel stuffed snickerdoodles

What I love about these cookies is that they start with reliably chewy chocolate chip cookies that get turned into caramel cookies with one simple step.

salted caramel chocolate chip cookies with a jar of salted caramel sauce in the background

The recipe is tried, it’s true, it produces a soft cookie with slightly crispy edges, has caramel pieces (or rather swirls) in every bite, and it sure to be one of your new favorite cookies if you are even remotely a fan of the combination of chocolate and caramel.

I love this cookie base so much, I’ve used it in Andes mint cookies, cookies and cream cookies, chocolate covered pretzel cookies, and even Lucky Charms cookies. Go ahead and make a second batch of cookies with one of these combos!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies: Easy drop cookies filled with chocolate chips and swirled with salted caramel sauce. No chilling required!
5 from 3 votes
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Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Easy no chill chocolate chip cookies swirled with salted caramel sauce and topped with flaky sea salt.
Prep Time10 minutes
Bake Time11 minutes
Total Time21 minutes
Recipe Author Lynn April
Servings: 18 cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons (150g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
  • ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons (75g) light brown sugar packed
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup (128g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 3 Tablespoons (53g) homemade caramel sauce store bought is fine
  • coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Line a baking sheet with a parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
  • In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 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 no lumps remain.
  • 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 on low until evenly dispersed.
  • Scrape down the sides of the bowl to gather the batter. In three separate Tablespoon additions, add the homemade caramel sauce, putting each Tablespoon onto a different area of the batter. Turn the mixer on low and allow it to make a few revolutions, just to swirl the caramel sauce around a bit.
  • Using a cookie scoop (I use this #50 cookie scoop for all of my standard size cookies), drop rounded balls onto baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes until sides just begin to brown. Remove from oven, sprinkle with sea salt (if desired), and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week. Baked cookies may be frozen up to 2 months. Rolled cookie dough can be frozen, up to 2 months. Bake frozen on baking sheet for 12 minutes.

Notes

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: 124kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 127mg | Potassium: 64mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 98IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg

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7 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Can’t wait to try these! Love reading your posts and your step by step explanations! Thank you!

  2. 5 stars
    These are delicious! We didn’t have any chocolate chips but wanted to add a little cinnamon – worked just fine. Definitely a fantastic batter that can have little extras added if you like. I will be making these again!

  3. 5 stars
    These turned out amazingly! They were flat with crispy edges & chewy centers. The recipe was fast and easy.