Salted Caramel Cookies

Salted caramel cookies are pure magic in cookie form – soft, chewy centers packed with rich caramel flavor and finished with a delicate sprinkle of flaky sea salt! These cookies combine everything we love about classic chocolate chip cookies with that irresistible sweet-salty combination that makes your taste buds sing.

Love More Cookies? Try My Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies or this Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

They’re incredibly soft and chewy (never dry or crumbly), packed with real caramel flavor that’s not overpowering, and that finishing touch of sea salt takes them from delicious to absolutely divine. Plus, they use simple pantry ingredients and come together in just 20 minutes – perfect for when you need a sweet treat ASAP!

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Ingredient List

Cookie stuff:

• 1 cup butter, soft (leave it on the counter for a couple hours)
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• ½ cup regular white sugar
• 1 big egg
• 1 egg yolk (save the white for scrambled eggs tomorrow)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ cup thick caramel sauce (plus more for drizzling later)
• 2½ cups flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt (use ½ teaspoon if you’re doing sea salt on top)

For the fancy finish:

• More caramel sauce
• Sea salt flakes (the chunky kind, not regular salt)

Why These Ingredients Work

Okay, here’s where I get a little nerdy about baking stuff! The brown sugar has molasses that keeps these super moist and gives them that deep flavor. White sugar helps them spread without going flat.

That extra egg yolk? My grandma’s secret. Makes them rich and tender, like eating the best cookie dough ever. Learned the hard way that thin caramel makes soggy cookies, so get the thick stuff that doesn’t run everywhere.

Essential Tools and Equipment

You probably have most of this:

• Big bowl (I use my grandma’s old ceramic one)
• Mixer – hand mixer works fine
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Two cookie sheets
• Parchment paper (get the good stuff)
• Cookie scoop or just a spoon
• Racks for cooling

How To Make Salted Caramel Cookies

Step 1: Prep Your Kitchen

Heat oven to 390°F and get your parchment paper. Don’t skip this! Caramel glued to my pan once and it was a nightmare to clean.

Step 2: Cream the Butter and Sugars

Beat butter and both sugars for 4 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl. Should look fluffy and almost white when done.

Step 3: Add the Wet Ingredients

Mix in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until smooth. Pour in caramel sauce and watch it turn golden!

Step 4: Mix in the Dry Ingredients

Dump in all dry stuff at once and mix just until flour disappears. Stop there – nobody wants tough cookies.

Step 5: Chill the Dough

30 minutes in the fridge makes them thicker and chewier. Worth waiting for!

Step 6: Shape and Bake

Roll into golf balls, space them out good. Bake 8-11 minutes until edges are set but middles look underdone.

Step 7: Cool and Finish

Let sit on hot pan 5 minutes, then move to racks. Drizzle caramel while warm so it soaks in.

You Must Know

Butter should be soft enough to press your finger into but not melty. I leave mine out 2 hours or cut it small to speed things up.

Personal Secret: Cookies are done when they look slightly underdone in the middle. They finish cooking on the hot pan and stay soft.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Dark pans brown the bottoms too fast. Use light ones if you got them.

Don’t flatten the dough balls! I used to do this but it makes them too thin. Let them spread naturally.

Keep caramel in fridge, warm it up before drizzling. Way easier to work with. Dough too sticky? Add more flour till it behaves.

Cold eggs from fridge? Drop them in warm water for 5 minutes first. They mix better that way.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

Jake throws in mini chocolate chips and thinks he’s a genius. Half cup works great.

Fall version: chopped pecans and cinnamon. Tastes like those expensive bakery ones. My neighbor does instant coffee powder – says it makes caramel taste better.

Tried bourbon caramel last month after a rough day. Made them twice that weekend if you know what I mean.

Make-Ahead Options

Double batches every Sunday because my family demolishes these. Dough sits in fridge for days, or I freeze balls.

Frozen ones bake perfect – just add 2 minutes. Got bags in my freezer that taste same after months. Warm them up and add fresh caramel.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Caramel thickness makes or breaks these. Learned hard way with thin stuff that turned dough to mush. Get thick kind that coats spoon.

Sea salt flakes aren’t optional. Regular salt vanishes. Those chunky crystals give perfect crunch and salt pop that makes people’s eyes roll back.

Serving Suggestions

These are trouble by themselves. With warm vanilla ice cream? Game over.

At parties I use my good platter with little dishes of caramel and salt. Watching people’s faces when they take that first bite never gets old!

How to Store Your Salted Caramel Cookies

Cookie jar keeps these soft about a week. Mom’s bread slice trick actually works – who knew?

Freezer bags full in my freezer right now, been there months. Thaw perfect, taste like fresh. Warm oven few minutes for that just-baked thing.

Allergy Information

Heads up: Wheat, eggs, dairy No gluten? Use that 1-to-1 flour stuff No dairy? Vegan butter and dairy-free caramel work No eggs? Mix 2 tablespoons ground flax with 5 tablespoons water, wait 5 minutes

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can I use homemade caramel instead of store-bought?

Yeah! Just make sure it’s thick enough to coat a spoon. Too runny? Cook longer.

Why do my cookies spread everywhere?

Butter too warm or you didn’t chill dough. Soft butter good, melty butter bad. Fridge time helps.

Can I skip the sea salt?

Could, but why? That’s what makes them special. Must skip? Add more vanilla.

My cookies are hard as rocks – what happened?

Baked too long or mixed too much. Should look underdone when you pull them. They finish on hot pan.

How do I know when they’re done?

Edges set and golden, centers still soft and shiny. Don’t wait for them to look totally done.

💬 Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating below! I love hearing about your baking adventures and seeing photos of your gorgeous salted caramel cookies.