If you’re a fan of that irresistible sweet-and-salty combination, these chocolate caramel cookies are going to be right up your alley. They’re soft and buttery with a rich brown butter flavor, chunks of milk chocolate caramel, and just a sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top.
The secret here is the browned butter. It adds a warm, nutty flavor that makes an already delicious cookie taste extra special. Then you get pockets of chocolate and caramel in every bite, followed by a little salty crunch from the flaky sea salt.
These are perfect for cookie swaps, holiday baking, bake sales, or simply keeping a batch around when your sweet tooth strikes.
If you love rich, buttery recipes like this, be sure to try my brown butter chocolate chip cookies and brown butter chocolate chip toffee cookies next!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Rich, nutty brown butter flavor
- Soft centers with lightly crisp edges
- Chunks of milk chocolate caramel throughout
- Sweet-and-salty flavor combination
- Easy to make with simple ingredients
- No chilling of the finished dough required
- Great for holidays, parties, or everyday treats
Key Ingredients
You’ll find a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Brown Butter: Browning the butter gives the cookies a rich, nutty flavor that makes them much more interesting than a standard chocolate chip cookie.
- Tony’s Chocolonely Milk Chocolate Caramel Sea Salt Bar: The star ingredient! The milk chocolate adds sweetness, while the caramel and sea salt add those little pockets of rich, salty-sweet flavor throughout the cookies.
- Egg & Egg Yolk: The extra yolk adds richness and helps give the cookies that soft, chewy center.
- Flaky Sea Salt: A little sprinkle on top balances the sweetness and makes the chocolate and caramel flavors pop.
Variations
- Use Dark Chocolate: Swap the milk chocolate caramel bar for a dark chocolate caramel bar for a richer, slightly less-sweet cookie.
- Add Pecans: Fold chopped pecans into the dough for a little crunch. Chocolate, caramel, and pecans are always a winning combination.
- Add More Caramel: If you really love caramel, stir in a few caramel baking bits along with the chopped chocolate caramel bar.
- Try White Chocolate: For a sweeter variation, replace some of the milk chocolate with white chocolate pieces.
- Make Them Extra Salty: If you’re a serious sweet-and-salty fan, add a generous pinch of flaky sea salt to each warm cookie.
How to Make Chocolate Caramel Cookies
1: Cook the butter over medium heat, stirring constantly until the butter turns light amber, has a nutty aroma, and brown bits are at the bottom of the pan.
2: Transfer to a large mixing bowl, cover, and refrigerate until the butter reaches the consistency of softened butter. Beat the brown butter and sugars until creamy.
3: Next, beat in the remaining wet ingredients.
4: Whisk the dry ingredients in another bowl. Then, mix them into the wet ingredients until just combined. Fold the chopped candy bar into the dough.
5: Use a 1-inch cookie scoop to place dough rounds on a prepared cookie sheet, leaving room for the cookies to spread.
6: Bake until the edges are slightly brown.
7: Immediately sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 4 to 5 minutes.
8: Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Let the Butter Cool and Set: Don’t mix the sugars into piping-hot butter. The browned butter needs to cool and firm up to about the consistency of softened butter first.
- Use Room-Temperature Eggs: Room-temperature eggs blend more easily into the butter mixture and help create a smooth cookie dough.
- Don’t Overbake: For soft, chewy cookies, take them out when the edges are lightly browned, and the centers still look slightly soft.
- Add the Sea Salt While They’re Warm: The flaky salt sticks much better when sprinkled over the cookies immediately after they come out of the oven.
- Leave Space Between the Cookies: The dough will spread as it bakes, so don’t crowd the baking sheet.
Chocolate Caramel Cookies FAQs
Chocolate caramel cookies are soft, buttery cookies made with browned butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, and chocolate caramel chunks. They are finished with flaky sea salt for a delicious sweet-and-salty flavor combination.
You can use regular softened butter, but browning the butter is recommended because it adds a deeper, nuttier flavor. If you skip this step, the cookies will still work, but they won’t have the same browned-butter flavor.
Cook the butter over medium heat while stirring constantly. It’s ready when brown bits form on the bottom of the saucepan and the butter turns a light amber color. Watch it closely because it can quickly go from browned to burnt.
Yes. Chocolate chips will work, although chopped chocolate creates larger, irregular pieces that melt into bigger pockets throughout the cookies.
No. The finished dough does not need to be chilled before baking. However, the browned butter does need to be refrigerated until it firms up to a softened-butter consistency before you mix the dough.
Yes. Prepare the dough and refrigerate it in an airtight container. Let it soften enough to scoop before baking.
Avoid overbaking. Bake the cookies for about 10 to 12 minutes at 375°F, removing them when the edges are lightly browned and the centers still look slightly soft. The cookies will continue to set as they cool.
Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They should stay soft for several days.
Yes. Place the baked cookies in an airtight, freezer-safe container and freeze them. Let them thaw at room temperature before serving.
Delicious Pairings for Chocolate Caramel Cookies
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Chocolate Caramel Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 6.35 ounce Tony's Chocolonely Milk Chocolate Caramel Sea Salt Bar, chopped
- Flaky sea salt, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium sized saucepan, brown butter over medium heat. Stir constantly and cook until butter starts to turn a slight amber color.
- Remove from heat and pour browned butter and all the brown bits into a large mixing bowl, cover, and let cool in the refrigerator until butter starts to set and gets to the consistency of softened butter.
- Once butter has set up a bit, add the sugars and beat until creamy.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Beat until fully combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and beat until combined.
- Stir in chopped chocolate pieces.
- Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, place cookie dough balls on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges get slightly browned.
- Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle sea salt on top of the cookies.
- Let cool on the cookie sheet for 4-5 minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack.
Notes
- Let the Butter Cool and Set: Don’t mix the sugars into piping-hot butter. The browned butter needs to cool and firm up to about the consistency of softened butter first.
- Use Room-Temperature Eggs: Room-temperature eggs blend more easily into the butter mixture and help create a smooth cookie dough.
- Don’t Overbake: For soft, chewy cookies, take them out when the edges are lightly browned, and the centers still look slightly soft.
- Add the Sea Salt While They’re Warm: The flaky salt sticks much better when sprinkled over the cookies immediately after they come out of the oven.
- Leave Space Between the Cookies: The dough will spread as it bakes, so don’t crowd the baking sheet.
Nutrition
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