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Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Salted caramel chocolate chip cookies with gooey chocolate pockets and caramel bits, finished with flaky sea salt. The dough is folded for tender texture and baked until the edges are golden while centers stay slightly underdone.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
Servings: 28 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 240
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dry ingredients
  • 2.25 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 0.5 tsp salt
Wet ingredients and mix-ins
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 0.5 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1.5 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup soft caramel bits or chopped soft caramels
  • 1 Flaky sea salt for topping

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Preheat and line
  1. Preheat the oven to 375F and line baking sheets with parchment. Make sure the sheets are ready so you can scoop cookies right after mixing.
Mix dry ingredients
  1. Whisk all-purpose flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt until evenly combined. The mixture should look uniform in color with no streaks.
Cream butter and sugars
  1. Beat unsalted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until very light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and then mix in vanilla extract until smooth and thick.
Combine and fold in mix-ins
  1. Fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients just until no dry flour remains. Keep folding gently so the dough stays tender.
Fold in chocolate and caramel
  1. Fold in semi-sweet chocolate chips and soft caramel bits or chopped soft caramels. Stop when the chips and caramel are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Scoop and bake
  1. Scoop dough into 2-tablespoon rounds and place them on the parchment-lined sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375F until the edges are golden but the centers still look slightly underdone.
Add toppings and cool
  1. Immediately press extra chocolate chips and caramel onto the tops if desired while the cookies are still hot and soft. Sprinkle generously with flaky sea salt.
  2. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes. The cookies will finish setting as they cool and the salt will adhere to the warm surface.

Notes

Pro tip: for more visible caramel pools, press a few extra chocolate chips and caramel bits onto each cookie right after baking—do it immediately before the surface fully sets. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 7 days; freeze baked cookies up to 2 months. For a dairy-free swap, use a 1:1 plant-butter alternative and dairy-free chocolate chips, keeping the same baking times.