I have an informal recipe rating scale that goes from “Woah, I can’t stop thinking about that” to “Well, that was inedible.” Most recipes fall somewhere in the middle: they taste good and I’d make them again, but I don’t think about them much in between bakes.

This recipe? 100%, undeniably a “Woah!!!”

What does it take to get a “Woah!” rating? It’s sort of hard to explain, but you know it when you taste it. Certain recipes are just perfectly balanced. The concept is strong to begin with: a good mix of flavors, ingredients that complement each other, etc. The texture is spot on: a perfectly chewy cookie or just the right kind of fudgy brownie. And there’s just some sort of other pizazz that you get when you take a bite. I think that pizazz comes from an optimized recipe: the recipe author clearly spent time getting the details right. Just the right amount of salt. Just the right technique. A clear recommendation for whether to chill the dough or not, whether to use a mixer or a spoon…etc. Details can make all the difference in baking, and you can tell when someone got it right.

These Caramel Stuffed Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies are an all-around winner. As you know, I adore stuffed cookies, and a caramel center is one of my favorite tricks. But what really makes these cookies stand out is the incredibly flavorful, chewy base dough. You don’t even need the caramels or chocolate to eat this cookie. I’d be happy eating the dough on its own. And that, my friends, is the sign of a WOAH!

I’ve tried this dough a couple of ways so far. First, I stuffed the cookies with Kraft caramels so there’d be a ooey gooey caramel center. The second time, I didn’t have any of those caramel candies sitting around… but I did have three bags of caramel bits (Sigh… such a pantry loader). So I decided to just make Chocolate Chip Caramel Bit Cookies instead of stuffing them. The Caramel Bit Cookies are actually a bit more balanced, since caramel is scattered throughout rather than concentrated in the middle. But whichever caramel iteration you choose…you’re definitely in for a treat!

Caramel-Stuffed Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Original recipe: Grandbaby Cakes. I’ve rewritten things a bit and added commentary.

Yield: ~20 large cookies

Suggested equipment: Mixer

Total Time: ~3 hours, including 2 hours of chill time for the dough

Cook Time: ~13 minutes

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp cornstarch
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar (I used light brown sugar here)
1 large egg
2 additional egg yolks, at room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
For caramel-stuffed cookies: 20 caramel candies. Make sure they’re the soft kind! I cut mine in half before stuffing the cookies
For caramel bit cookies: 1.5 cups of caramel bits
Sea salt for sprinkling

Directions

Make your dough

In a medium bowl, whisk together your flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder and baking soda
Using your mixer, cream your butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar. You should cream it for about 3-4 minutes on high, until the mixture is light and fluffy
Add in your egg, and beat the mixture. Then add your egg yolks, one at a time, and beating in between each addition
Add your vanilla, and beat the mixture until it’s smooth
Turn the mixer to low. Add your bowl of dry ingredients in three intervals, beating after each addition until it’s all well-combined
Stir in your chocolate chips with a wooden spoon. This is also when you should stir in caramel bits if you’re using them!
Chill your dough for at least two hours. I chilled mine overnight to break up prep

Bake your cookies

Preheat your oven to 350F
If you’re making caramel bit cookies: Scoop your dough and place it on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Proceed to step #4!
If you’re making stuffed cookies: I like to cut my caramel candies in half so the centers are a little smaller. Scoop a tablespoon-sized ball of dough, and place a caramel candy on top of it. Then, cover up the caramel with another scoop of dough. You’ll want to pinch your dough around the edges so the dough covers the caramel entirely. I usually end up rerolling the cookie a little too, to get it more round. Place all of your dough balls onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet, at least 1 1/2 inches apart so they have room to expand
Bake the cookies 11-14 minutes. Mine took 13! They might look a little underbaked when you take them out of the oven, but they’ll firm up as they cool
Place your cookie sheet on a cooling rack, and sprinkle your cookies with sea salt

Enjoy!