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Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups (160g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100 g) light brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups (250 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for topping (optional)
• 12 Werther's Sugar Free Soft Caramels
• Flaky sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, whisk to combine and set aside.
3. In a large bowl of a stand mixer or using a handheld mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and continue to beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture in 2 to 3 additions, beating until combined.
5. Add the chocolate chips to the batter and mix in.
6. Scoop 1 tablespoon size balls and place onto your prepared cookie sheet, leaving lots of room in between each cookie, approx. 6 cookies on a cookie sheet. Make a divot in the center of each cookie with your thumb (making sure you don't press all the way through).
7. Cut a caramel in half and place one half in the center of the cookie. Continue until all 6 cookies have a caramel (do not cut more caramel until ready to use, as they will become sticky and difficult to work with).
8. Add a few extra chocolate chips to the tops of the cookie balls (optional).
9. Bake in the bottom third of the oven for 8-10 minutes. It's okay if the tops of the cookies look slightly underbaked. You don't want to overbake the cookies. Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet until completely cool before removing to a wire rack.
10. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with flaky sea salt and enjoy.

NOTES

• Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze cookies for up to 1 month. Let cookies come to room temperature before enjoying.
• Different Types of Caramel
• Using different types of caramels in your chocolate chip cookies will affect the texture, flavour, and overall experience.
• Here's a breakdown of how each type of caramel might impact your cookies:
• Soft Caramel - Because Werther's soft caramels are quite soft, they melt more readily and spread out in the cookie. This makes for a fun, messy cookie with a large pocket of gooey caramel in the center. The texture of the cookie and caramel perfectly match each other!
• Firmer Caramel - Firmer caramels, like vanilla caramels will hold their shape during baking and provide a chewy but firmer caramel. They will soften, but not as much as the soft caramels, maintaining a bit more structure. The caramel texture will be firmer than the cookie texture. If using a slightly firmer caramel, cut the caramel in 4 and place them on the tops to break up the texture.
• Hard Caramel - Hard caramel, such as classic hard caramel candies, will maintain their structure during baking and provide a crunchy, toffee-like texture within the cookies. It won't melt when baked resulting in distinct crunchy bits.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 24

Thank you Alie Romano for the recipe. Discover expert tips and techniques for Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies at Baking For Friends.