Chocolate and caramel makes for the perfect combo in these incredible dark chocolate caramel cookies. They’re rich, fudgy, extra chocolatey, filled with salted caramel chips and a touch of sea salt. 
**This post was updated July 4th, 2022 with new photos and recipe tips**
You can never have too many chocolate cookies – and today I’m sharing this easy recipe for dark chocolate caramel cookies. The chocolate flavor tastes like your favorite brownies, and the salted caramel bits add a delicious sweetness and saltiness that balances perfectly with the rich chocolate perfectly. They’re chewy, fudgy and taste gourmet despite being simple to make.
What Kind of Caramel Chips to Use?
There are a variety of brands that make salted caramel baking chips. For the photos I used Hershey’s Sea Salt Caramel Baking Chips. Ghiradelli and Trader Joe’s also make a variety. For my readers in Australia, I think the closest thing would be Cadbury Caramilk baking chips. You could also use caramel baking bits or even butterscotch chips.
Baking Tips & Tricks
The recipe is super easy too – my only “warning” is that the dough is very sticky and thick. But that’s how it’s supposed to be.
- The butter should be softened but not melted. Melted butter performs differently in baking than softened butter, and since this recipe was developed using softened butter, it’s important not to use melted.
- Carefully measure your flour – too much and the cookies can get dry.
- Use Dutch process cocoa for a richer chocolate flavor – that’s where the dark chocolate part comes from. If you only have natural cocoa, the recipe will still work but the cookies just won’t be as dark in color or have quite as rich of a chocolate flavor.
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes before forming it into balls. If you plan on making large cookies (3-4 tablespoons in size, I’d recommend chilling the dough for longer).
- Use a cookie scoop – otherwise your hands can get pretty sticky.
- After the cookies come out of the oven, place a few extra caramel chips on top of each cookie for the perfect bakery style look.
These chocolate caramel cookies are soft, fudgy, extra chewy, and have just about everything you could want in a cookie. The hint of sea salt balances out the rich chocolate and sweet caramel perfectly, and they’re just a little different than your regular chocolate chip cookies which makes them extra special.
Love chocolate & caramel? Try these other favorites:
Dark Chocolate Caramel Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie Sheets
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (112 grams) softened but not melted
- ¾ cup brown sugar (150 grams)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 oz dark chocolate (57 grams) melted & cooled
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (112 grams)
- ½ cup cocoa powder (140 grams)
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup caramel chips (180 grams) divided
- sea salt for sprinkling on top of each cookei
Instructions
- In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until fluffy (about 2 minutes).
- Beat in the vanilla extract and melted chocolate. Once fully combined, beat in the egg.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda & salt.
- With the mixer on low speed, mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture about ½ at a time.
- Turn off the mixer and stir in ¾ cup caramel chips.
- Cover the bowl and place the bowl in the fridge for about 30 minutes or up to 48 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F (180C) degrees and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or baking mats.
- Using a cookie scoop, form the dough into balls about 1 tablespoon in size and roll between your palms. If the dough is too hard to work with (this can happen if it's been in the fridge overnight), let the bowl sit on the counter for 15 minutes first.
- Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the lined sheets and bake 1 sheet at a time for 8-10 minutes or until the tops look just set.
- Remove from the oven and add a few extra chips on top of each cookie along with a light sprinkle of sea salt.
Notes
- Dark Chocolate: Use 50-70% dark chocolate, or semi-sweet chocolate for a less rich flavor. Do not use bittersweet chocolate
- Make Ahead Tips: Cookie dough can be kept for up to 48 hours in the fridge. Make the dough up to step 5, cover the bowl and place in the fridge. When ready to bake, let the dough warm up for 15 minutes at room temperature then continue through steps 6. To freeze cookie dough, make the dough through step 5. Then form into balls. Place the balls in a ziploc freezer bag, seal tightly, and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake the cookies from frozen - it'll likely take 1 minute longer.
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only based on 1 cookie, assuming the recipe yields 24 equal-sized cookies.
These cookies turned out great! Very soft and chewy. I would like to try with peanut butter chips!
I use Ghieridelli 60% cocao dark chocolate chips and Hershey’s sea salt caramel chips