These Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies are pure joy to eat. Just the right combination of flavors and textures, the perfect way to end any meal or great snacks for the afternoon.
I love having fresh cookies in the house. They smell wonderful while they are baking and fill the house with delectable aromas long after. Nothing is better!
Raw cookie dough ready for portioning and baking
And the ultimate favorite cookie in the U.S. is the chocolate chip cookie – always so satisfying! But what if I make a small addition and came up with a whole new cookie? Wow!
One of my favorite flavor combinations is chocolate and caramel and these cookies fill that craving beautifully. Just the right balance of chocolate, caramel, and cookie dough. Watch out, you’ll find yourself eating cookie after cookie without realizing it!
Invaluable cookie scoop
You can find the caramel bits (from Kraft) in most larger grocery stores. They taste the same as the Kraft caramel squares but aren’t wrapped so they are even easier to use in baking!
Mini chocolate chips can be found by the regular chocolate chips in the baking aisle of your grocery stores. If you have trouble finding them, the Whole Foods shops in my area carry them regularly.
If you love chocolate turtles, just add some chopped pecans to these cookies and you’ll have all the components in a different format. Yum!
The caramel notes in the bourbon really complement the cookies. If you are gluten-free and worried about the bourbon, distilled liquors are safe because of the distilling process. If you are still concerned you can substitute a tsp of GF vodka and an extra 1/2 tsp brown sugar to approximate the flavor. Or just use water. There is more information in the notes below.
With only 11 ingredients you probably have most of the ingredients already in your kitchen! These are easy to make and would be a great project to make with your kids or grandkids – so satisfying and fun to make. They will love watching the dough becoming cookies before their eyes – it is magic!
Do you have cookie scoops in your cooking/baking arsenal? They make cookies so much easier and faster to make. I can pan an entire baking sheet of cookies and keep my hands clean, I love that! Today I used a #60 which holds about 2 tsp of dough and made beautiful 2-inch cookies.
Resting the dough in the refrigerator is very important and a step that shouldn’t be skipped. It helps fully hydrate the flours, especially in gluten-free baking. And it helps keep the cookies from spreading too much. Be sure you press the plastic down on top of the dough, covering it completely. This will help keep it from drying on the outside.
This recipe makes about 24 to 30 (2-inch) cookies but can be easily doubled if you want more to fill your cookie jar or to make larger cookies.
I hope you join The Artist and me and make a batch of these cookies. They won’t last long in our house and I bet they will disappear quickly in your home too. Happy Chocolate Monday!
If you try this recipe, let me know! Please leave a star rating in the recipe card, comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it @theheritagecook on Instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day and I love hearing from you!
Ingredients needed for Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies:
- Gluten-free flour blend* or regular AP flour, baking soda, salt, butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, bourbon** (optional), chocolate chips, caramel bits
PRO Tip:
Kraft brand makes caramel bits that are readily available in many larger grocery store chains. They taste the same as their caramel squares but are unwrapped making it even easier to use them. They are the perfect size to add to your cookies!
How to make Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies:
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- With your mixer, cream the butter and both sugars until soft, then scrape the bowl and beater(s). Add the egg, mixing well. Add the vanilla and bourbon or water, beating on low speed for a minute to combine. Scrape the bowl again.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients until smooth then stir in the chocolate chips and caramel bits. Scrape the bowl to be sure everything is incorporated.
- Cover the dough with plastic pressed onto the surface and chill for 30 to 60 minutes to hydrate and rest the dough. Let sit at room temperature to soften enough to scoop out balls of dough.
- Scoop the dough into walnut-size balls and place on baking sheets lined with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Be sure they are 2-inches apart. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 9 to 11 minutes until golden brown around the edges but the center should be slightly soft. Cool cookies on the baking sheet a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.
PRO Tip:
When the recipe says to spin and swap the baking sheets halfway through the time, it means to turn each pan so the front is facing the back of the oven, and switch locations so the pan that was on the bottom is now on the top. This guarantees the most even baking.
Recommended Tools (affiliate links; no extra cost to you):
- Kitchen scale
- Mixing bowls
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Baking sheet pans
- Parchment sheets or silicone baking mats
- Cookie scoop
Gluten-Free Tips:
* You can adjust any baking recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of flour or regular flour, whisk it, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup until mounded, level off the top with a knife, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial gluten-free blends such as Pamela’s All-Purpose Artisan Blend, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.
** NOTE: The major gluten-free organizations have declared that distilled alcohols are gluten free. But some distillers may use caramel coloring or flavorings which sometimes contain gluten. For some very sensitive people this may cause issues. If you are making this cake for a very reactive person, or if they have Celiac disease, you can use 1 tsp potato vodka mixed with 1/2 tsp brown sugar in place of the bourbon.
You will get the best and most consistent results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking. And use grams, they are much more specific than pounds and ounces.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies (GF)
These Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies are pure joy to eat. Just the right combination of flavors and textures, the perfect way to end any meal or great snacks for after school.
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups + 2 tbsp (195g*) GF flour blend* or all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick; 113g) butter, softened
- 6 tbsp (74g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (107g) firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
- 1 tsp bourbon ** or water
- 1/2 cup (89g) mini semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup (96g) caramel bits
Instructions
1. In a bowl, whisk together the flour blend*, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of your standing mixer, cream together the butter and both white and brown sugars on med speed until soft, about 2 minutes; when ready it will cover the bottom of the bowl as it mixes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and beater.
3. Add the egg, mixing well. Then add the vanilla and bourbon** or water, and beat on low for 1 minute until combined. It may look a bit curdled, but that is OK. It will smooth out in the next step. Scrape the bowl thoroughly.
4. Gradually beat in the dry ingredients, mixing until fully incorporated before adding more. When the dough is smooth, stir in the chocolate chips and caramel bits. Scrape the bowl again making sure there is no extra flour hiding in the bottom.
5. Cover with plastic wrap pressed against the surface of the dough and chill it for 30 to 60 minutes. This resting gives the flours more time to fully absorb the liquids. If you are using gluten-free flour this is especially important to help reduce the grittiness often found in GF baked goods. Bring out of the refrigerator and let the dough soften a bit before scooping and baking the cookies.
6. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment sheets or silicone baking mats.
7. Use a cookie scoop to form the dough into balls about the size of a walnut. Place on the prepared baking sheets 2-inches apart. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown around the edges but still slightly soft in the middle. For best results bake one sheet at a time. If baking more than one pan, spin and swap the baking sheets halfway through for the most even baking (see Pro Tip above).
8. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for a minute or two before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. They are lovely two-bite cookies, crunchy at the edges and slightly chewy in the center. Enjoy!
Recipe found at www.theheritagecook.com
Notes
* You can adjust any recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup without a spout until mounded, level off the top with the back of a knife, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial blends such as Pamela's, Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.
** The major gluten-free organizations have declared that distilled alcohols are gluten free. But some distillers may use caramel coloring or flavorings which sometimes contain gluten. For some very sensitive people this may cause issues. If you are making this recipe for a very reactive person or if they have Celiac disease, you can use potato vodka plus a little brown sugar in place of the bourbon or just use water.
You will get the best results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
30Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 62Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 56mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 0gSugar: 3gProtein: 2g
The nutritional information for recipes on this site is calculated by online tools and is merely an estimate. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.
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