Why We Love This Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars Recipe
There are treats you make on rare special occasions. Then some treats are so comforting they end up being family favorites that are replicated month after month, and year after year. Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are the latter treat variety. Sticky chocolate chip bars oozing with thick buttery caramel filling… These cookie bars scream family game night, movie night, or any other kind of cozy night you want to share with people you love. Caramel chocolate chip cookie bars have layers of chewy chocolate chip cookie dough with a gooey, creamy caramel in the middle that is so easy to whip up! This recipe came from a cookbook my friend Shelly Jaronsky wrote called The Cookies & Cups Cookbook, named after her wildly popular dessert blog.
Ingredients You Need
Butter – unsalted and softened to room temperature Brown Sugar – packed Sugar – granulated sugar Eggs – large and room temperature Vanilla – adds extra flavor Salt – balances out the flavors Baking Soda – to help them lift in the oven All-Purpose Flour – or a gluten-free replacement flour Chocolate Chips – semi-sweet chocolate chips Sweetened Condensed Milk – to make the caramel creamier Soft Caramels – an easy way to add caramel to cookies Flaked Sea Salt – for added flavor and texture
How to Make Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with foil and liberally coat it with nonstick cooking spray. In the bowl of an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter with both sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Mix well, then scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Turn the speed to low and add the flour. Beat to combine, then mix in the chocolate chips. Press half of the cookie dough into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. In a medium saucepan, add the sweetened condensed milk and unwrapped caramels. Set over medium-low heat and stir until the caramels melt, making a smooth caramel filling. Pour the caramel layer over the cookie dough base. Drop the remaining dough over the caramel filling in small teaspoon-sized clumps. Bake the bars for 25-30 minutes, until the center is just set and the edges are golden brown. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and allow the cookie bars to cool completely. Then lift the bars out of the pan by the edges of the foil and cut. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Tips & Tricks
Don’t over mix the batter! Once the cookie batter has flour in it, it will start to build gluten. You don’t want the batter to build too much gluten or else the cookies will end up tough instead of chewy and moist! To most efficiently press the chocolate chip cookie dough into the baking dish, try coating your fingers in flour! This will help prevent the cookie dough from sticking to your hands. Don’t sprinkle the top with table salt! The top should be sprinkled with a flaky, coarse salt like sea salt or kosher salt. If you don’t have flaky salt, simply skip the salt on the top. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream on top!
Looking for more cookie & bar recipes? Try out some of your favorites:
Blueberry White Chocolate Blondies Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars Bailey’s Irish Cream Coffee Bars Oatmeal Fudge Bars Gooey Blueberry Cookie Bars Potato Chip Cookie Bars
Recipe from The Cookies & Cups Cookbook by Cookies and Cups. Share This Recipe With Friends!
