Bakery-style, soft and chewy, sweet Chocolate Caramel Cookies are baked with a chocolate-covered caramel candy in the center and Maldon sea salt flakes on top!
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword caramel chocolate cookies, Chocolate Caramel Cookies
1/2cup (8 tbsp; 113g)unsalted butter,at room temperature
3/4cup (160g)white granulated sugar
1/2cup (105g)packed light brown sugar
1large egg,at room temperature
1/2cup (118g)FULL-FAT sour cream,at room temperature
1/8teaspoonalmond extract,optional
1teaspoonvanilla extract
1-3/4cups (225g)all-purpose flour
1/4cup (20g)unsweetened cocoa powderNote 1
1/4cup (20g)Dutch-process cocoa powder
1teaspoonbaking powder
1/2teaspoonbaking soda
1/4teaspoonfine sea salt
1/4cup (47g)miniature chocolate chips
3/4cup (138g)milk chocolate chips
32-34regular-sized Rolo candies,unwrapped
Optional: sprinkle of Maldon sea salt flakes
Instructions
CREAM BUTTER AND SUGARS: In a large bowl, with a hand mixer (or use a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment), cream room temperature (not softened or melted) butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy (the mixture should resemble peanut butter). Beat in egg, sour cream, almond extract, and vanilla extract.
DRY INGREDIENTS: In a separate bowl combine the flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch-process cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine. Add in both kinds of chocolate chips and stir once more.
COMBINE: Combine wet and dry and mix until JUST combined, being careful to not overmix the dough. The dough is VERY thick and moist. Cover the dough and chill for at least 1 hour up to 4 hours.
STUFF DOUGH WITH ROLOS: Line a large tray with parchment paper or a silpat liner. Measure 1-1/2 tablespoonfuls (26g) for each cookie and then roll an unwrapped rolo into the dough. Make sure the rolo is completely encapsulated by the dough. The dough is very wet and sticky so this party is tricky and messy! If the dough is too wet, put it back in the fridge for 20-30 minutes and try again. Place the cookies 2-3 inches apart. (I only bake 6 cookies at a time -- they spread a lot!) Chill dough balls on sheet pan for 20 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (or 325 degrees for convection baking).
BAKE: Bake for 8-14 minutes or until set (just until the top is no longer glossy). Be careful not to over bake. A soft, very slightly underbaked cookie is the best for a delicious fudgy texture! Remove from the oven and let cookies stand on sheet pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack.
MAKE 'EM PRETTY: While the cookies are just out of the oven and still on the sheet pan, press a few more chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies. Let stand for a few minutes and then sprinkle some salt onto the melty chocolate chips on top of the cookies. Let cool for 15-20 minutes before enjoying. Repeat to bake the rest of the cookies or freeze some of the dough (see step 8).
STORAGE: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They're best enjoyed within 3-4 days. Freeze cookie dough as opposed to baked cookies (see next step).
FREEZING DOUGH: Instead of freezing already-baked cookies, freeze the dough! Drop the cookie dough balls on a large sheet pan and freeze until solid. Once solid, transfer the frozen cookie dough balls to an airtight container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months. To bake: You can bake these cookies straight from the freezer. There is no need to thaw, but you may need to add a few extra minutes to the baking time. Bake until the top is no longer glossy, and the center is still soft.
Video
Notes
Note 1: For this recipe, we use two types of cocoa powder -- regular unsweetened cocoa powder and special dark or Dutch-process cocoa powder. While it may not seem like a big deal to change out or use only one type of cocoa powder in these chocolate caramel cookies, the two aren't the same, and interchanging the two won't give you the same end result. (Dutch-process cocoa powder has the acid stripped out, so you'll need some sort of acid to be added to the recipe for results to be the same. And using all unsweetened (natural) cocoa powder leaves the cookies lacking in flavor and richness.)