Caramel Stuffed Cookies
If you're craving something sweet and indulgent, these Caramel Stuffed Cookies are the ultimate treat! Soft, chewy cookies filled with gooey caramel and chocolate chips make for an irresistible dessert. Perfect for sharing with friends or enjoying at home, make them tonight!
Equipment
- Sheet pan (15" x 10")
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons Unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup Light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup Granulated sugar
- 1 large Egg
- 1 large Egg yolk see note 1
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 3/4 teaspoon Baking soda
- 2-1/4 cups Flour see note 2
- 3/4 cup Milk chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup M&M’s of choice
- 14 regular-sized Chewy caramels halved, see note 3
- Flaky sea salt optional
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a very large, microwave-safe bowl. Once melted, set aside for 5–10 minutes to cool to room temperature. Hot or warm butter will melt the sugars and make greasy cookies. Once butter is completely cooled to room temperature, stir in both sugars. Whisk until smooth and fully incorporated, about 1–2 minutes. This takes time, but keep mixing until completely integrated. Add in 1 egg and mix to fully integrate. Add in the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Mix until completely combined. Add in the salt, baking soda, and flour. Mix until just combined, don’t overmix the dough. Once you’ve got a thick dough, add in chocolate chips and M&M’s. Stir together and cover the bowl tightly. Place in the fridge and chill for 30 minutes up to 2 hours. Unwrap the caramels and cut in half. Measure out 1-1/2 tablespoon balls of dough. Roll into tall cylindrical balls, fully encasing one caramel half in each dough ball. Place rolled cookie dough balls on a parchment-paper-lined plate and place in the fridge for another 30 minutes. Roll out all the dough; you should get around 28 cookies from this dough. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silicone baking mat. Remove 6 cookie balls from the fridge and place them on the pan, giving the cookies plenty of room to spread. Bake for 8–12 minutes, erring on the side of underbaking to keep them soft and chewy. Remember, the cookies will bake a little more out of the oven, so take them out as soon as the edges start to lightly brown or the tops no longer look wet. Remove from the oven and immediately press any edges that have strayed out a bit inward with the back of a metal spatula. If desired, press a few additional chocolate chips or M&M’s onto the tops of the cookies. If desired, add a tiny sprinkle of sea salt flakes on top of the cookies while the chocolate is still melty. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining dough until all the cookies are baked or check the storage notes for freezing instructions.
Notes
- Tip 1: Discard or save the white for another recipe, these cookies won’t work with that extra liquid!
- Tip 2: If you press a measuring cup into a bag of flour and scoop, you will pack in way too much flour. To accurately measure the flour, spoon it into the measuring cup until its overfilled, then use the back of a table knife to level off the extra flour.
- Tip 3: My favorite caramels in these Caramel Stuffed Cookies are Werther’s® Soft caramels. Whatever caramels you use, make sure they are not old, stale, or hard; they won’t melt nicely in the cookies. Form the dough to fully encapsulate the caramel so it doesn’t leak out.
- Tip 4: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days; caramel firms up as they cool, so I like to warm them before serving.
- Tip 5: To freeze, freeze dough balls until solid, then transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding a few extra minutes as needed.