Chocolate Caramel Cookies
Fudgy Chocolate Caramel Cookies have rich, chocolatey flavor and a chewy texture that gives way to a gooey center. Topped with a sprinkle of sea salt, these caramel stuffed cookies will melt in your mouth.
I am a confectionary combatant battling chocolate cookie batter. And let me tell you, it fights dirty. Today’s batch comes with 12 ounces of dark chocolate chips and a declaration of war. Spoiler alert: I’m losing. Armed with nothing but an insatiable sweet tooth, I started eating this fudgy dough by the heaping spoonsfull and now I can’t stop.
It’s not the first time I’ve faced off against this addictively delicious dough, I have the scars to prove it. (Stretchmarks count as scars, right?) My problem is that I refuse to wave the white flag–mostly because my hand is busy waving a batter-coated spoon across my tongue. Sure, consuming raw cookie dough is a calculated risk but so was the American Revolution and look how that turned out. If I manage to avoid salmonella, my victory will be sweeter than George Washington’s.
So far, the only casualty of my cookie war has been the cookies themselves. Evidently, when one eats all the dough, there is no dough left to bake. Lesson learned. Again. Fortunately, my second batch of cookie dough actually made it into the oven. Stuffed with Kraft caramels and sprinkled with sea salt, these fudgy chocolate cookies turned out gooey and glorious. Dunked into a tall glass of milk or microwaved to melt the caramel-stuffed center, there’s no wrong way to enjoy these cookies. Except as raw dough, that’s wrong (but tastes so right).
Before sharing the Chocolate Caramel Cookies recipe, here are a few tips to help you out:
Ingredient Tips
Instant coffee granules are the secret to enhancing the chocolate flavor in these cookies. This ingredient is optional, but highly recommended. It will not make your cookies taste like coffee.
Egg and butter need to be at room temperature before beginning. Having all ingredients at the same temperature before baking is the key to cookie success.
When shopping for caramels, be sure to choose soft, chewy ones. I used Kraft brand caramels.
Top cookies with coarse sea salt after baking. Sea salt flakes can be substituted but do not use table salt. If you do not have sea salt, omit this ingredient from the recipe.
Preparation Tips
Always use the spoon and level method to measure flour. Scooping flour is a no-no. That technique overpacks flour into the measuring cup which results in dry, dense cookies.
This cookie dough must chill for a minimum of 2 hours before baking. Dough can be made ahead 1 day and chilled overnight before use.
For optimal gooeyness, rewarm cookies in the microwave for 10 seconds before enjoying.
How to Store Chocolate Caramel Cookies
Place cookies in an airtight container and store at room temperature up to 3 days.
To freeze, place cooled cookies in an airtight container and store up to 3 months.
I hope you enjoy these Chocolate Caramel Cookies! Please leave a rating and review below when you try them out. And, while you’re at it, sign up for my weekly Recipe Newsletter so you never miss a tempting reicpe.
Finally, if you’re looking for more caramel dessert recipes check out these Caramel Brownies with Homemade Caramel. This ooey gooey dessert is filled with a luscious layer of homemade caramel sauce that’s swirled into rich, fudgy brownies.
Chocolate Caramel Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour unbleached
- 1 cup cocoa powder unsweetened
- 1 tsp instant coffee granules (optional)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt fine
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract pure
- 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips divided
- 20 soft caramels
- coarse sea salt *do not use table salt
Instructions
Chocolate Caramel Cookies
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, instant coffee granules, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Beat butter and both sugars with an electric mixer until light and creamy (approximately 2 to 3 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed.
- Beat in egg, egg yolk and vanilla until incorporated.
- Reduce mixer speed to low, add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just combined.
- Turn mixer off, add 1 cup of chocolate chips then stir in with a wooden spoon.
- Scoop cookie dough into 3-tablespoon sized balls. Cover tightly with plastic wrap to prevent drying then refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours. *Note, dough can be made a day ahead and chilled overnight before baking.
Assemble
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes to soften a bit.
- To assemble each cookie, start by flattening a chocolate dough ball in the palm of your hand
- Next, place a caramel square in the center of dough then pinch the cookie dough up and around the caramel until it's completely covered.
- Roll the dough ball between the palms of both hands until smooth and round.
- Repeat the assembly process for the remaining cookies then place assembled dough balls onto baking sheets spaced 2 inches apart.
Bake
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until tops of cookies are set. Avoid overbaking.
Cool
- Remove baking pans from oven. Press remaining chocolate chips into the tops of cookies then sprinkle cookies with coarse sea salt.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
- For optimal gooeyness, rewarm cookies in the microwave for 10 seconds before enjoying.
I made these cookies with Werther’s soft caramels and they were wonderful! Bit into one as soon as it came out of the oven and burned my tongue on the hot caramel. Next time I’ll follow directions and let the cookies cool down first.
Ha! I feel your pain, Amanda, that hot caramel is dangerous. Glad to hear that this recipe works well with Werther’s caramels, too.