Salted Caramel Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are pretty perfect on their own, but add bits of homemade hard caramel to the dough and they suddenly become 10 times as intriguing. Our salted caramel cookies are chewy on the inside, crispy at the edges and deepened with flavor thanks to nutty, toasty browned butter and bits of crackly caramel.

With our recipe, you’ll make the caramel from scratch; that way, there are nice pieces of fresh caramel inside every cookie. They mingle with big chocolate chunks, so you don’t lose any of that classic chocolate chip cookie flavor. It’s not in the recipe, but I love to finish these with a little flaky salt to cut the sweetness and bring out the nuanced caramel and chocolate flavors a bit more. Crushed pretzels would be good, too!

Ingredients for Salted Caramel Cookies

• Granulated sugar: Granulated sugar is the only ingredient you’ll need to make your caramel from scratch.
• Butter: Since you’ll be browning the butter, there’s no need to bring it to room temperature first as many cookie recipes require. Instead, cut it into cubes so the butter melts and browns evenly and quickly.
• Brown sugar: Brown sugar isn’t just in there for sweetness. This particular sugar has more moisture and flavor than granulated sugar, making the cookies chewier with a deeper, more caramel-like flavor.
• Eggs: We’ll use two eggs plus one egg yolk to bind the ingredients and add volume and structure to the cookies. The extra egg yolk makes the cookies richer.
• Flour: There’s no need for fancy flours here; all-purpose flour is best. Measure the flour properly so you don’t add too much, otherwise you’ll end up with dense cookies.
• Leavening agents: Test your baking powder and soda if they’ve been sitting in your pantry for a while. Over time, they can lose their potency.
• Chocolate chips: These cookies feature a knockout combo of chocolate chunks and caramel pieces. We recommend semisweet chocolate for the best flavor.

Directions

Step 1: Cook the caramel

In a small heavy saucepan, spread the granulated sugar all over the bottom of the pan. Cook the sugar, without stirring, over medium-low heat until it begins to melt. Gently drag (without stirring!) the melted sugar to the center of the pan so the sugar melts evenly. Cook, without stirring, until the melted sugar turns a deep amber color.

Editor’s Tip: If there are certain spots cooking quicker than others, gently swirl the pot to redistribute everything. Also, use a wet pastry brush to take any sugar off the sides of the pot, as the sugar will quickly burn.

Step 2: Pour onto pan

Quickly pour the caramel into a nonstick foil-lined pan. Once the caramel has cooled, break it up into small pea-sized pieces.

Step 3: Brown the butter

Place the butter in a small, heavy saucepan. Cook the butter over medium heat until it turns golden brown, five to seven minutes. Immediately pour the browned butter into a bowl to stop the cooking process and allow it to cool slightly.

Editor’s Tip: If you’ve never browned butter before, know that it feels like it takes forever at first, but it will suddenly turn all at once. So never walk away from the pot.

Step 4: Make the cookie dough

In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar, eggs and egg yolk until blended. Slowly beat in the browned butter, then the vanilla extract all at once.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Gradually add the flour mixture to the brown sugar mixture and mix them well.

Fold in the chocolate chunks and caramel pieces until they’re evenly dispersed.

Step 5: Portion and chill

Scoop the cookie dough into 1/4 cupfuls. Chill the cookie dough balls until they’re firm, about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Step 6: Bake

Place the cookie dough balls 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake the cookies until they’re golden brown, 13 to 15 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and transfer them to wire racks to cool to room temperature.

Recipe Variations

• Add more caramel: If you’re a big salted caramel fan, swap the chocolate chips for butterscotch chips, or drizzle salted caramel sauce on top of the baked and cooled cookies.
• Finish with flaky salt: I love finishing my salted caramel cookies with big crystals of flaky salt to offset the sweetness of the caramel and chocolate chips. Wait until the cookies have cooled, and just add a very small pinch to each.
• Make them gluten-free: If desired, you can make these cookies with one of the best gluten-free flour blends. Ensure all other packaged goods are certified gluten-free, too.

How to Store Salted Caramel Cookies

Store salted caramel cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three weeks. One of our favorite chocolate chip cookie tips is to store a piece of bread with the cookies. The cookies pull the moisture from the bread, which keeps them nice and chewy.

Can you freeze salted caramel cookies?

Yes, you can freeze salted caramel chocolate chunk cookies, baked or unbaked. To freeze cookie dough, portion the cookie dough and place them right beside each other on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Wrap the tray tightly in storage wrap, place it in the freezer and freeze the cookie dough balls until they’re hard, about 60 minutes. Transfer the frozen cookie dough balls to a zip-top bag and keep in the freezer for up to three months. When you’re ready to bake, no need to thaw! Just follow the baking directions from the recipe, adding time as needed.

To freeze cookies that have already been baked, first let them cool to room temperature, then stack them in an airtight container with pieces of parchment paper in between. Freeze the cookies for 8 to 12 months, and thaw them on the counter whenever you’re ready to enjoy them.

Salted Caramel Cookies Tips

Do you have to chill the cookie dough?

You don’t have to chill the cookie dough, but I highly recommend you do. Chilling cookie dough resolidifies the butter for a chewier cookie, plus it hydrates the dough, concentrating the flavors and making it so much more flavorful. Honestly, even though we suggest 30 minutes, I always chill my cookie dough for 24 hours to maximize all these benefits.

Why did my caramel crystallize?

Your caramel most likely crystallized if you stirred the sugar while cooking. Instead, gently swirl the pan, and if any sugar sticks to the sides, use a wet pastry brush to brush it down so it doesn’t burn.

Why can’t I get my caramel off the pan?

If you didn’t line the pan with non-stick aluminum foil, then the caramel probably solidified to the pan. The caramel is unusable now, and the only way to get the caramel off is by running the hot water over it to melt off the caramel.