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Salted caramel chocolate chip cookies are loaded with caramel bits and sprinkled with sea salt to create a deliciously sweet and salty cookie.
I adore all things salted caramel. I go through phases where it’s all I want to bake.
From salted caramel brownies and salted caramel blondies to these salted caramel chocolate chip cookies – I’m obsessed.
My phases of infatuation with this sweet and salty flavor usually come about after, against my better judgment, I pick up a container of the Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels from Whole Foods.
If you’ve never tried those little bites of caramel bliss, they’re “can’t keep my hands out of the container” incredible.
So if you’re also a big fan of the combination of chocolate, caramel, and sea salt, this cookie recipe is a must-make for you.
Chewy salted caramel chocolate chip cookies
These salted caramel chocolate chip cookies start with my absolute favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, but they get kicked up a notch with the addition of caramel bits and a sprinkling of sea salt.
They’re just as chewy and perfect as the originals, but with an added layer of deliciousness from the caramel.
Since I love dark chocolate paired with salted caramel, I often make these with dark chocolate chips. But semisweet chocolate chips are perfect for anyone who isn’t as into dark chocolate as I am!
These cookies are one of my go-to recipes for summer barbecues, family get-togethers and just overall cookie eating.
If you love these, I’ve also made salted caramel pretzel cookies, chocolate chip cookies with brown butter and toffee, and white chocolate macadamia nut cookies based on the original New York Times chocolate chip cookie recipe.
How to make salted caramel chocolate chip cookies
These cookies take a little bit of time to make, thanks to letting the dough rest in the refrigerator, but they are still pretty dang easy to make!
Ingredients you’ll need
To make my salted caramel chocolate chip cookies, you will need:
- 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons cake flour
- 1 2/3 cups bread flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 bag dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 heaping cup Kraft Caramel Bits OR 1 bag caramel baking chips
- sea salt
I know, I know. Using two flours seems silly, but it’s one of the things that makes these cookies so good!
As I mentioned before, feel free to use dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips in these cookies. They are both totally delicious!
I personally prefer the Kraft Caramel Bits in these cookies. They do harden a bit after the cookies cool, but I think they add a better caramel flavor in this recipe than the caramel baking chips do.
That said, use whichever you happen to prefer!
And PLEASE don’t skip the sea salt on these salted caramel chocolate chip cookies! It’s the absolute perfect way to finish them – and your friends will think you’re so fancy for it.
Making these cookies
To start, sift the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together into a bowl. Set this aside.
With a mixer, cream the butter and sugars together for about 5 minutes. You want the mixture to be very light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing each one in before adding the next. Mix in the vanilla.
Now turn the mixer to low speed and slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and caramel bits.
Now it’s time to chill the dough. Cover the dough and refrigerate it for 24 to 36 hours.
This cookie dough can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours, so feel free to bake these cookies in batches if you want!
When you’re ready to bake your salted caramel chocolate chip cookies, let the dough sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, until you can scoop it. Scoop the dough into 2-ounce mounds – they’ll be about the size of golf balls.
Since these are big cookies, you’ll only want to bake about 6 at a time on lined baking sheets. Sprinkle the dough mounds lightly with your sea salt and bake for 14-16 minutes at 350°F.
The cookies are dough when they are golden brown but still soft.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Repeat baking with the rest of the dough or keep it covered in the refrigerator for baking the rest later.
Helpful resources
- Before you get started, make sure you know how to measure flour correctly and how to cream butter and sugar. Understanding both of these seemingly simple steps will make a big difference in your final cookies!
- If you don’t have cake flour on hand, don’t worry. You can make an easy cake flour substitute to use instead.
- Similarly, don’t stress if you’re also out of brown sugar. Learn how to make a brown sugar substitute and how to soften brown sugar if yours hardened in the pantry. Save yourself a trip to the store!
- If you haven’t baked with different salts before, check out my guide on the types of salt.
FAQs
Absolutely. For regular-sized cookies, use a heaping tablespoon of dough for each cookie and bake them for approximately 8-10 minutes.
You can, but I don’t really recommend it for this recipe. You can get away with substituting the cake flour for all-purpose flour, but I recommend at least keeping the bread flour to help the cookies keep their chewy texture.
While the cookies will still taste delicious with only all-purpose flour, the texture won’t be the same!
While you can bake these salted caramel chocolate chip cookies before the 24-hour mark, I have tried it and I can promise you that they just aren’t the same. Your patience will be rewarded, I promise you!
Yes! This dough is perfect for freezing and baking later. To learn more, check out how to freeze cookie dough.
Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons cake flour 8 1/2 ounces
- 1 ⅔ cups bread flour 8 1/2 ounces
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter
- 1 ¼ cups light brown sugar 10 ounces
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 8 ounces
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 bag bag dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips 10 ounces
- 1 heaping cup Kraft Caramel Bits OR 1 (9-ounce) bag caramel baking chips (we used Nestle) (see note below)
- Flaky sea salt for topping
Instructions
- Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
- Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
- Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds.
- Add in chocolate chips and caramel chips and mix on low speed until just combined.
- Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
- When ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
- Scoop 6 2-ounce mounds of dough (about the size of golf balls) onto baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 14-16 minutes.
- Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more.
- Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I share you love of caramels….try Sanders milk or dark choc salted from Costco. Amazing.
Those sound yummy! Thanks for stopping by, Andrea
Hi! These cookies look DELICIOUS but I only have one question: what if I don’t have any bread flour? Can replace it with all-purpose flour instead? Thank you!
Hello! You can use all-purpose flour instead; they just might not have the same chewiness as with the bread flour. Hope this helps!
Jamie
Does the caramel ooze out of the cookie while baking?
Edel-
Not too much at all. If you line the baking sheet with parchment they will come right off the pan, even if there is a little oozing. Happy Holidays to you and yours!
-Jamie
These are really delicious! They are easier to scoop before chilling, as another commenter suggested. I would stress lining the pan with parchment, since the caramel will stick to anything else! And this dough freezes well. Just scoop it up and freeze in an airtight container. Bake from frozen, allowing an extra minute or two and sprinkling on the sea salt as they come out of the oven, before they have a chance to cool. One of our favorite cookies!
So happy to hear you enjoyed them, Sharon!
I love this recipe! I always pre-scoop the dough onto a pan before putting it into the fridge. After the cookies have baked and cooled, I dip half of each cookie into chocolate and sprinkle a little more salt on them. Divine.
That sounds amazing! I’m going to give that a try.
I just wanted to weigh in on my experience. These cookies really are fabulous. I know people have asked about time in the refrigerator, and it was a big question for me as time was limited. I want to say that I put my dough in the refrigerator for about 6 hours, and the cookies turned out great. The dough is more challenging to scoop than your regular cookie dough, but the results were delicious – great texture. Scooping is a bit more work than you are probably used to if you don’t regularly chill your cookie dough. It’s a great recipe, and I’d definitely say the 24 hours in the refrigerator isn’t necessary if you are in a rush.
Thanks so much for your feedback, Jodi!
-Jamie
I weighed ourt the 1 1/4C brown sugar and it came to about 15oz, not 10 as listed in the recipe? which is correct? thank you
Hi, Kim! Both measurements will work. Usually bakers go with weight measurements, but it’s your choice. I would suggest weighing out the 10 ounces of brown sugar and using that. Let me know how it goes!