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These caramel chocolate chip cookies are soft, chewy and stuffed with a caramel surprise in the center!! Sprinkle them with sea salt for a sweet and salty treat!
The only thing better than an amazing chocolate chip cookie is a batch of caramel filled chocolate chip cookies fresh outta the oven!!! Seriously though, these are my new favorite cookies….give them a try and I think you’ll see why!!!
Why I Love These Cookies
- Fun element of surprise when you bite into a cookie and have yummy caramel oozing out the center!!
- Double the caramel! There are caramel pieces mixed into the cookie dough and the caramel candy in the middle.
- No need to chill the dough!
- Sweet and salty flavor combination. Though the flaky sea salt is optional, it gives a perfect balance of sweet and salty!
- They’re impressive!! Though there’s an extra step of covering the candy surprise, it’s SO worth it and next level!
- They’re the perfect cookie served up with a cold glass of milk!
Cookie Ingredients (Amounts in Recipe Card Below)
- Butter – I use salted butter for this recipe; make sure it’s at room temperature. If you just have unsalted butter, that’s fine, I’d just recommend adding an additional 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the dough.
- Sugars – Regular white sugar and brown sugar (light or dark brown sugar is great).
- Eggs – I use large eggs when baking.
- Vanilla Extract
- Dry Ingredients – All purpose flour, baking soda and salt.
- Chocolate Chips – I recommend using semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips in this recipe. You can use milk chocolate chips, but I find it to be too sweet.
- Caramel Bits – Though you could replace these with caramel chips, I totally prefer the chewy texture of the caramel bits.
- Caramel-Filled Chocolates – I use the Dove caramel chocolates, but you can use any brand that has a soft caramel center.
How to Make Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prepare the Oven & Baking Sheets
First, prepare your baking sheet by lining with parchment paper and preheating the oven. You always want to put a cookie sheet into a hot oven so the cookies have a crisp exterior and soft, chewy center.
Make the Cookie Dough
Time to make the dough. Like most cookies, you’ll cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Then add the wet ingredients. I find this easiest to do with a stand mixer or a large bowl with an electric mixer.
Then you’ll add the dry ingredients followed by the chocolate chips and caramel bits.
Form the Caramel-Filled Cookies
Using a small cookie scoop, you’ll create cookie dough balls on your prepared baking sheet.
Press a caramel-filled chocolate into the center of each. Use additional dough to cover the chocolate.
Bake until Golden Brown
Bake one cookie sheet at a time until the cookies are golden brown around the edges and still soft in the center.
As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, give them a sprinkle of sea salt (if you’d like) and press additional chocolate chips into the cookies.
PRO TIP: Use a glass or round biscuit cutter to give your cookies perfectly round edges!
Let them cool for several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Other Variations
- Use salted caramel filled chocolates and add a small sprinkle of sea salt for Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies!
- Use peanut butter chips (in place of the caramel bits) and peanut butter filled chocolates in the center for the peanut butter lover!
- Use one cup of cooled browned butter in place of the softened butter for browned butter chocolate chip cookies stuffed with caramel!
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely. Freeze them in the cookie dough balls (exactly how they’d go into the oven). You can bake from frozen (adding a minute or two to the baking time) or let them thaw first.
Place them in an airtight container and keep on the counter for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the baked cookies for a couple months.
Most of the time they’re in the baking aisle next to the chocolate chips and nuts. You can also check the candy aisle.
Other Cookies I Love
- Chocolate Peppermint Cookies – if you love a tasty surprise filling, you’ll love these!!
- Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies – Crunchy toffee bits are a yummy addition!
- White Chocolate Biscoff Cookies – Deliciously unique soft & chewy cookies!
- Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies – A delicious twist on a classic cookie!
- Browned Butter Toffee Cookies – Browned butter makes the BEST cookies!….need I say more?!
- Get all of my cookie recipes HERE!
Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Baking Sheets
- Cookie Scoop
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter softened
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips plus additional for topping
- 1 cup caramel bits
- 24 caramel-filled chocolate candies unwrapped
- flaky sea salt for topping optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, brown sugar and sugar. Mix until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until well-combined, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula halfway through mixing.
- Add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix just until incorporated.
- Add the chocolate chips and caramel bits and stir until well-dispersed throughout.
- **Optional** Cover the dough and refrigerate for up to 36 hours.
- Use a small cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets (save some dough to cover the candies).
- Press a caramel-filled candy into the center of each cookie and top with a little extra cookie dough to cover the candy.
- Bake one sheet at a time for 10-12 minutes or until a light golden brown around the edges (the center might still look a bit doughy). Do NOT overbake!
- Press a few additional chocolate chips onto the cookies and sprinkle with flaky sea salt (if desired) while they're still hot!
- Let the cookies cool for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack.
- Repeat until the pans of cookies have all been baked and enjoy!
