Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies are your new favorite cookie! They’re loaded with chocolate chips and stuffed with gooey caramel pieces. These cookies are super thick and soft with crisp edges, and come together in no time, in just one bowl!
Published: Sept 2022. Updated: May 2023.
I mean, how can anyone resist that stack of warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies! Get me a glass of milk and watch me dive into that pile! These are the best cookies – you’ll instantly fall in love and forget all about regular chocolate chip cookies. They have the perfect balance of salty and sweet
Why you’ll love this Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe:
- Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies – These cookies are super soft, thick, and chewy with crisp edges.
- Chocolate and Caramel– Chocolate and caramel are a match made in heaven! Melty chocolate chips and pools of gooey caramel mingle together in these cookies.
- Easy to Make – These cookies take almost no time to whip up, thanks to store-bought caramel candies – and are made in one bowl for ease.
Ingredient Overview:
As always, the full ingredient list is found in the recipe card below.
- Salted Butter – I always use salted buter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer. Make sure to use room temperature butter, not cold butter.
- Brown Sugar – Brown sugar adds depth of flavor and keeps these cookies soft.
- Granulated Sugar – Granulated sugar helps balance the flavor of the brown sugar.
- Chocolate Chips – I used semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- Caramel – Use Werther’s soft caramels for this recipe. They’ll stay soft in the oven and taste fabulous.
Ingredient Substitutions:
- Chocolate Chips – Feel free to use dark or milk chocolate chips, or even chunks if you prefer.
- Caramel – For best results, I recommend the type of caramels mentioned above. Homemade caramel sauce will cause the cookie to melt everywhere, and other brands like kraft caramels bake up too firm to chew. However, I think caramel bits will work if you need an alternative.
How to Make this Caramel Cookie Recipe Step-by-Step:
Step 1: Make the Cookie Dough. Start with your wet ingredients. Cream together your butter and sugars with an electric mixer or stand mixer in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla, and then add the dry ingredients last. Mix in the chocolate chips – don’t just stir them in, use a mixer so they get well dispersed.
Step 2: Roll Into Balls & Chill the Dough. Roll the cookie dough into balls that are about 100 grams each. Use a scale for precision, but this is about 3 slightly generous tablespoons worth. Flatten each ball out, and press one caramel candy into the center.
Step 3: Stuff with Caramel. Wrap the dough back around the caramel so it’s encased. Chill the stuffed dough balls in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days.
Step 4: Bake Cookies. Bake the cookies on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes. Let them cool about 10-15 mins on a wire rack, then dig in!
Enjoy these cookies while they’re warm and gooey from the oven, with a sprinkle of sea salt on top and a glass of cold milk. This delicious recipe is sheer perfection!
Expert Success Tips:
- Beautiful Cookies – To make your cookies look bakery-worthy, press extra chocolate chips into the tops right when they come out of the oven. And, use a round cutter to scoot the cookie into a perfectly round shape.
- Caramels – Don’t be tempted to mix caramel pieces into the bowl of dough. It will create too many pockets of melty caramel in the cookies while they bake and you’ll end up with delicious puddles on your cookie sheet.
- Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
- Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.
FAQs:
Yes! Freeze cookie dough balls, covered with a kitchen towel. Once solid, transfer to an airtight freezer-safe container. Cookies can be stored this way for about 2-3 months, and can be baked straight from frozen!
Yes, feel free to scale the recipe up or down.
These would be delicious with chopped pecans, in my opinion. Feel free to try cashews or walnuts as well. Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup.
Yes, make dough balls 60-70 grams in size for a smaller cookie and a larger yield. Place only 1 caramel piece on top of each cookie ball. Bake for 8-9 minutes.
I don’t recommend other caramel candies, as they get very hard once they’ve been baked. These stay nice and chewy. Another option would be to just bake these as chocolate chip cookies, then drizzle on my salted caramel sauce once they’re baked and slightly cooled.
Recipe Variations:
- Caramel Skillet Cookie – If you’d like to mix the caramel pieces into the dough, you can do that and bake it as a skillet cookie. Add to a well-greased 10-inch oven safe skillet and bake at 350 degrees F for 14-18 minutes (the edges will appear set and a toothpick inserted into the center will pull out moist crumbs).
- Chocolate – Use whatever type of chocolate you like best – chunks, dark, milk, etc. You can even add caramel chips.
- Salted Caramel Cookies – Don’t want the chocolate chips? Swap in caramel chips or butterscotch chips!
Serving + Storing this Recipe:
Enjoy these cookies warm from the oven! Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-6 days, or in the fridge longer.
Special Tools:
- Cookie Sheet – These are my favorite cookie sheets, I’ve used them almost every day for 6 years and they’re still in great shape.
- Cookie Scoop – Use this cookie scoop to make your cookies the size I did. It’s technically an ice cream scoop, but it’s the perfect size for large bakery-style cookies.
- Silicone Baking Mat – I love silicone baking mats because they’re reusable and dishwasher safe.
- Round Cutters – Use this set of round cutters for rounding cookies, cutting donuts or biscuits, and much more.
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes to Love:
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- S’mores Skillet Cookie
- One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies
- S’mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
- Cookie Dough Bites
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Best Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, softened at room temperature 2 sticks, 226 grams, or 16 tbsp
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 35 pieces werther's soft caramels
Instructions
- Prep: Unwrap your caramels, and leave 15 of them whole for stuffing inside the cookies. Slice the rest into 2-3 pieces each. Those will be used on top of the cookies.
- Make the Cookie Dough: Cream the softened butter in a large bowl, with a hand mixer on high speed. Add the sugars and mix until well creamed together with the butter, at least 1 minute. Add the vanilla and eggs and mix until just combined, on medium speed. Add the dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms (it may be a bit crumbly at first, but keep mixing until it comes together). Add the chocolate chips and mix on low speed to distribute evenly. Form the dough into balls that are 100 grams each. Flatten each dough ball, and place a caramel candy in the center, and then wrap the dough around it to encase it. Press 1-2 of the sliced caramel pieces on top of each cookie dough ball.
- Chill: Chill the dough balls in an airtight container for at least 2 hours and up to 48 hours.
- Bake the Cookies: Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line a few cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Place about 5-6 cookie dough balls on a sheet, leaving room for them to spread. Bake for 10 minutes. The centers of the cookies will look a tad underdone, but the edges should be set when gently tapped, and will be lightly golden brown. They'll set up to the perfect soft-baked texture as they cool.
- Serve + Store: Let cookies cool on the pan until they're not too hot, then dig in while they're warm! Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for 4-5 days or longer in the fridge. Re-warm in the microwave or oven for warm, gooey perfection.
- Freezing Cookie Dough: Once you've got your dough scooped into balls, freeze them on a baking sheet, covered with a clean kitchen towel. Once solid, transfer to an airtight freezer-safe container or bag. Cookies can be stored this way for about 2-3 months, and can be baked straight from frozen! Follow the baking directions as listed above.
Nutrition
Chantell says
Ooey gooey goodness! These turned out perfectly, will absolutely make them again. Followed the recipe to a T.
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks so much, Chantell!
Madison says
These were THE BEST cookies ever!! I made them for a class, and even weeks later I’m still getting asked about them. I’ve been asked how much the cookies would cost if I sold them, everyone wants to get their hands on them!!
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks so much for the rave review, Madison! 🙂
Melanie says
These are my new “be my friend” cookies. They are amazing! We really like how they stay soft and they’re not TOO sweet. They’re also very simple to make. Definitely a hit in our house and with our friends.
Stephanie Simmons says
So glad to hear you liked these, Melanie! ☺️
Angel says
This is a great recipe but make sure you follow it exactly and not cut corners!
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks, Angel! 🙂
sally says
delicious cookie
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks, Sally!