Brown Butter Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

They’re nutty from the brown butter, soft and chewy from the chill, and the caramel surprise in the middle is the part people freak out about. Bring them to a bake sale or a holiday cookie exchange (you won’t regret it!).

If you need another cookie recipe, you’ll love these caramel cheesecake cookies, brown butter toffee cookies, or salted caramel ginger cookies.

I started making these on a brown-butter kick a few years ago. I was already doing brown butter banana bread, brown butter pistachio cookies, and classic brown butter chocolate chip cookies, and I figured a stuffed cookie was the next logical step.

Salted caramel inside, chocolate chunks throughout, fleur de sel on top. The rich and nutty flavors of brown butter make every baked good better.

When I was brainstorming a brown butter cookie I thought of all of the flavors I would love to go with a buttery and chewy cookie base. Naturally, salted caramel and chocolate chunks came to mind. I’ve seen other bakers/bloggers stuff cookies with caramel, Reese’s cups and more, but I’ve never seen a recipe with caramel, chocolate chunks AND brown butter. 

I was a little nervous about how they would turn out to be honest because I’m typically one to use softened butter in my cookie recipes.

I’m very particular about the temperature of my butter when I make my chocolate chip pudding cookies, so I’m always hesitant to make a cookie recipe that involves melted butter. But brown butter is too good and chilling the dough does the work for you.

The key with melted butter is this: chill the dough overnight. I know that’s annoying when you want a cookie tonight. It’s worth it. The cold dough holds its shape in the oven, gives the flavors time to deepen, and gives you that bakery-bend in the middle when you break one open.

Not only does chilling the dough allow you to have that perfect chewy texture, but it also gives the dough enough time to sit and allow all of the flavors meld together.

Three Tricks That Make These Cookies Work

Most of the comments I see on stuffed cookies online are some version of “my cookies leaked” or “they spread flat.” Three small things keep that from happening here.

• Brown the butter by smell, not by timer. Every stove is different. You’re looking for nutty, deep amber, and a slowdown in the popping. That’s when you pull it off the heat.
• Chill the dough overnight. 3 hours is the minimum. Overnight is better. The flavors deepen and the cookies bake taller.
• Shape them tall, not round. When you stuff the caramel inside, roll the cookie into a cone shape, slightly taller than it is wide. As it bakes, it falls into itself and you get that thick, chewy middle with the caramel pocket intact.

How to Make Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here are the basic steps, with images, for these this caramel cookies recipe. Skip down to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe.

Step 1. Brown the Butter. Add the butter to a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally for 3 to 5 minutes until the butter bubbles, foams, and the milk solids start to separate. You’re looking for three signals: nutty smell, deep amber color, and a slowdown in the popping. When all three happen, pull the pan off the heat immediately and pour the brown butter into a medium bowl.

Success tip: scrape every brown bit off the bottom of the pan. That’s where the flavor lives.

Step 2. Wet Ingredients. Let the brown butter cool slightly, then transfer to a large mixing bowl. Beat with the brown sugar and granulated sugar until combined. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.

Step 3. Finish the Dough. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until a dough forms. Stir in the chocolate chips and chocolate chunks.

Step 4. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight. This is non-negotiable. If you skip this, the cookies spread and the caramel leaks. Make the dough the night before you want cookies.

Alternate chilling option: you can scoop the dough out with a large cookie scoop and chill them on a sheet pan. However, the dough is more prone to drying out this way. 

Step 5. Stuff and Shape. Use a large cookie scoop to scoop the dough out onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Unwrap the chewy caramels and place one inside a cookie scoop. Place another on top and pinch the edges and roll the cookies into a taller cone-shape (see image below). 

Success tips: rolling the dough into a taller cone, rather than a round ball, helps the cookie bake on top of itself. 

Step 6. Bake. Arrange on a parchment-lined cookie sheet a few inches apart. Bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are set and slightly golden. Press a few more chocolate chunks into the tops right out of the oven (this is the photo move), then sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Success tip: Every oven is different. Pull them when the edges are set and the centers still look slightly underbaked. They finish on the sheet.

I just made a batch of these and baked them and put them in the freezer. I’m heading to a lake house with my family this weekend and wanted to share the delicous-ness with them. They’re the perfect cookie for family gathers, special occasions or a holiday cookie exchange. 

Although I think this may become your new favorite cookie recipe, we have more holidays cookies on WMM! Try these ginger cookies, melting moments cookies, or peanut butter cup cookies.

Storage Tips

Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Bring frozen cookies to room temperature before serving so the caramel softens back up. The caramel will be hard if you eat them cold.

To freeze the dough, shape the stuffed cookies into balls, flash-freeze on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag. Bake from frozen, adding 2 to 3 minutes to the bake time.

If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a star rating below. You can also tag me on Instagram so I can see it!

FAQ

More Delicious Cookies

• Brown Butter Maple Pecan Cookies
• Chewy Ginger Cookies
• Brown butter chocolate chip cookies
• Chocolate pudding cookies
• Triple chocolate cookies
• White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies