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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.
Guys, I have an issue. If you keep up with My Baking Addiction on a regular basis, you may already know what I am talking about.
I have become addicted to all things salted caramel. It’s pretty much the only flavor combination that I want to bake right now. From Salted Caramel Brownies and Salted Caramel Blondies to these Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies – I’m obsessed.
My recent infatuation with this sweet and salty flavor came about after a trip to Whole Foods when, against my better judgement, I picked up a container of their Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels. Have you tried these little bites of caramel bliss? They’re incredible – like can’t keep my fingers out of the container incredible.
Trust me, you should buy them and then have your significant other hide them from you – not that I had Eric do that or anything. We also picked up an amazing watermelon – which we happily noshed on for days. It’s all about balance, my friends – at least that’s what I am telling myself.
Whole Foods Market is honestly one of our favorite places on the planet – we actually make the 40 minute drive about twice a month. Eric has a serious thing for their cheese pizza (which he typically eats in the car before we even leave the parking lot) and I’m a sucker for their mini milk chocolate covered graham crackers. We actually mapped the nearest Whole Foods to our potential vacation rentals before we made our final decision. Ridiculous? Maybe, but priorities!
Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies start with my absolute favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe, but they get kicked up a notch with the addition of caramel bits and a sprinkling of sea salt. These cookies are my new go-to recipe for summer barbecues, family get togethers and just overall cookie eating. Make them, make them, MAKE THEM – you can thank me later.
Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
- 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
- 1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter (I used Challenge Butter)
- 1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 pound dark chocolate chips
- 1 cup Kraft Caramel Bits
- Sea salt
Directions:
- 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 bits 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, preheat oven to 350 degrees. 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, 13-15 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.
Notes:
- For regular sized cookies, use a heaping tablespoon and bake for approximately 8-10 minutes.
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Hi!
First time commenting on your site but I’ve visited many times! :). This time got here due to an email via Blogoven “I think”. Lol. I’ve been adding these little bits of flavor explosions ever since I found them at Aldi’s several months ago! I started like you adding them to my chocolate chip recipe with a dusting of the sea salt on top just divine. I usually put my KitchenAid mixing bowl to get it cold then proceed to make and chill for a couple hours. But…I’m curious to see how a 24 hour chill will be! Thank you for the “cake flour” tip too. Old dogs can learn new tricks I I never knew that you could make your own just have always bought it. Do you prefer making your own or the store bought? Didn’t know if you could see/taste a difference or had a preference?
Thanks so much
Tracey
Hi, Tracey! Thank you so much for your kind words. I like having store bought cake flour on hand but making my own comes in handy in a pinch. Take care! It was great hearing from you.
Hi Jamie.
I LOVE your salted caramel chocolate chip cookie recipe. Sounds absolutely delicious. I am curious however. Your ingredients calls for 1 and 1/2 tsp of “coarse salt” and sea salt. Are they the same. For the coarse salt are you referring to the kosher salt, a finer sea salt or will the regular crystals of sea salt suffice on both parts required in the recipe?
Thank-You kindly for your help! Can’t wait to try :)
Aminah
Aminah-
Kosher salt will work for the coarse salt and sea salt will work for both as well. I hope this helps.
-Jamie
May I ask if these cookies are suitable for mailing? Thanks!
Judy-
Yes, I think they would be fine to mail as long as they’ll be arriving in 2-3 days. I hope this helps. Thanks for stopping by!
-Jamie
What is bread flour?
Jan-
Bread flour has more protein content than all-purpose and it helps to develop the gluten for a better bread texture. It is usually found near the all-purpose flour in the grocery store. I hope this is helpful.
-Jamie
Just made a batch. They’re divine. I don’t know if anyone got their answers to the question of chilling time. I put my batch in the fridge for the requisite 24 hours. The dough was hard as a rock and difficult as heck to scoop into. So, to that end, I will say that the really cold dough does not flatten out as much in baking as the softened dough — the softened dough spreads out a bit. Also, I took the experiment a little bit further and baked off some batches early (little scoops around 9 minutes) and some other larger, softer ones later (larger scoops baked a bit longer — maybe 12 minutes). Both are quite good — the difference is a soft, tall, gooey, smaller cookie vs. a flatter, crispier, larger, browner cookie — both taste good and are equally pretty. My pro-tip would be: sprinkle a little extra sea salt on at the very end, just when you take the cookies out of the oven when they’re still moist on the pan. Makes a huge difference. You really get the saltiness of the experience this way.
Making the dough for these tonight! Can’t wait to eat them tomorrow! :)
I can’t find the Kraft caramel bits anywhere! Did you find them at a supermarket? Thanks.
They are usually found near the baking chips. I hope you find them.
-Jamie
Glad to know there is another person as determined as myself on finding the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I got so frustrated following the Toll House Recipe to the T only to have flat greasy cookies. I’ve played around with cooking times, amounts of flour, etc. Looks like you have arrived on the perfect recipe!!! I LOVE the look of these cookies as well as the texture and taste! My question is: after the refrigeration, do you allow the dough to come to room temp? It is quite difficult to scoop a hard dough.
Thanks!
Ellen
These cookies sound incredible. Going to Whole Foods is such a nightmare for me. It’s super crowded and so expensive. It makes me happy that someone is able to get some joy out of it. I want to get some joy out of those cookies!
Hello, I’m new to your site…and have just put my first batch of your cookies in the fridge to chill. I don’t have a paddle attachment…I still use a handheld beater. Will this change the cookies?
Sherri-
That will be just fine – I hope you enjoyed the cookies!
Jamie