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Perhaps it’s the memories of my childhood milk and cookie snack time, or my never-ending love for the classic chocolate chip cookie. Maybe it’s the unparalleled and addictive smell wafting from the kitchen as they bake, or the endless add-ins you can throw into a cookie dough.
I’m sort of in love with baking cookies, especially this time of year.
I added a little something salty to my sweet chocolate chip cookie the other day. A dash of sea salt, a little bit of caramel, salty pecans—put all this into one soft and thick chocolate chip cookie, and you’ve got yourself one fine treat this holiday season.
The dough for today’s cookies is the same dough I used for my Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies. Cornstarch, my little secret weapon in cookie recipes, makes a silent appearance yet again. I’ve told you before and I’ll tell you again, I swear by cornstarch in my cookies these days! Adding a mere 2 teaspoons of cornstarch to your cookie dough will produce softer-than-ever cookies, without impacting the taste at all. One bite of your tender cookie and you’ll wonder why you didn’t add the stuff to your cookie dough sooner.
Not only that, but just look how thick cornstarch will make your cookies! More often than not, I bake up what I think will be a thick cookie, only to see it deflate and flatten out in the cooling process. What a let-down!
Not with these. Nope. Your cookies remain puffy, and soft—even the next day.
Let’s talk about all those little add-ins that make today’s cookies so special.
Caramel, pecans, and chocolate make up one of my favorite chocolate candies: chocolate turtles. Their mini gobs of nuts are held together with sticky caramel and covered in milk chocolate. My mom and I often shared a small bag of chocolate turtles she hid in our cupboards around the holidays. Biting into one always brings me back home, and I wanted to capture that same nostalgia in today’s cookie. 
I overloaded the cookies, super-chunk style. Into the dough went 3/4 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup chopped salty pecans. (Feel free to substitute another nut, or leave the nuts out altogether if you or the kiddies aren’t particular to them.)
An important item to note before baking these cookies is that the caramels are not added to the dough with your other mix-ins. Rather, you will stick a few small cut-up pieces of soft caramel candies onto the tops of your cookie dough balls as you drop them onto the baking sheet. Doing so will prevent caramel from melting and creating a burnt river of caramel underneath your cookies as they bake.
The caramel melts on top of the cookies while in the oven, creating little pools of goo between the chunks and chips all around. I was worried the caramel would turn hard as the cookies cooled, but it remains soft and melty, even after a day or two.
Soft and chewy caramel sitting atop a soft and chewy cookie. Double the good stuff here.
For an extra twist, along with the pecans, gooey caramel, and chocolate, I added a touch of salty sparkle to the cookies. Before putting them in the oven, I sprinkled the balls of dough with a touch of crushed sea salt. It was a last-minute, but very necessary addition. The salt brings out all of the cookie’s sweet medley of flavors, especially the caramel. I simply adore salted caramel in any which way. I know I’m not alone here.
Sure enough to be one of your favorite cookies this holiday season, these overstuffed, super-chunky, double-chewy, soft-baked cookies will please just about any crowd. I mean, who can pass up a cookie? Especially a cookie lookin’ this good?!
Not this girl.
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makes 3 dozen cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 16 wrapped caramels, cut into 4 or 5 pieces each
- sea salt
Instructions
- Line an ungreased cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Mix in egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. On low speed, slowly mix it into the wet ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Dough will be thick and sticky. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Drop 1 Tbsp balls of dough onto cookie sheet OR used a standard-sized cookie scoop. If the dough is too crumbly, use your hands to roll the balls of dough. Press a few pieces of caramel onto the tops of the cookies and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges. Do NOT cook them longer than 10 minutes. Remove and let cool for 3 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack.
Notes
*Make sure to keep dough cold at all times while the batches are baking. I kept my dough in the refrigerator in between batches. Do not drop dough onto warm cookie sheets; allow sheets to cool between batches.
Recipe source: sallysbakingaddiction.com
© Sally’s Baking Addiction. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe.
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This post is part of the BlogHer 12 Days of Cookies editorial series. Our advertisers do not produce or review editorial content. This post is made possible by Bank of America and BlogHer.
Caramel-ly, salty or sweet, here are a few recipes you’ll find extra tasty! ;)
Cookies n’ Cream Peanut Butter Bark
Butterscotch Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Apple Spice Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting
Chocolate Covered Pretzel Cookies
Rolo-Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies
Brown Butter Milky Way Oatmeal Cookies
Buttery Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake
{ 88 comments… read them below or add one }
You really are the cookie queen! And you know I like my cookies, super-chunk style, especially when ooey gooey caramel candies are involved!
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious recently posted..Cranberry Sauce Cheesecake Brownies
aww why thank you miss chung-ah! your comments always make me smile!
Holy yummy!
I feel like I can use the word heavenly to describe ALL your goodies! Yet another heavenly creation, Sally! Fabulous.
And I love that cornstarch trick!
Colleen @ What’s Baking in the Barbershop?! recently posted..Creamy Carrot Potato Soup
yes! add cornstarch to your next cookie recipe
Things I love about this post:
1) The fact that these cookies are STUFFED with goodness. Always the best.
2) The second picture. It has me drooling. You are the queen of perfect silpat pictures. I always have a hard time with them. And the salt crystals are so sharp, and practically jumping off the screen!
3) Just an other one of your perfect looking flavor combinations!
4) You. In general
Ari @ Ari’s Menu recently posted..PF Chang’s Marathon Training Week 3
Ari! you are so sweet and so funny – and you are making me blush!! i appreciate it and glad you like my super up-close cookie shot! i thought it was toooooo close but whatever
There is no strong will to resist these cookies! Talk about packed with goodies! Love these, Sally!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet recently posted..Soft Ginger Cookies
thank you Anna! After my first bite – I literally said out loud, “these are dangerous!” No strong will, indeed!
hmmmm…Caramel in chocolate chip cookes….
Must try!
The Witch’s Kitchen recently posted..Colorflow~
Turtle cookies! Be still my heart
look at those scrumptious puddles of sweet and salty caramel. Sometimes, I wish I could morph to the size of a Polly Pocket if only for the fact that I’d be small enough to swim in one of those luscious caramel puddles. Don’t you? Anyway, these cookies rock!
Hayley @ The Domestic Rebel recently posted..Peppermint Seven-Layer Bars
i love chocolate turtles.
and I love polly pockets!! my favorite toys when i was a litle girl lol
I can practically smell how wonderful and delicious these cookies are!! They look spectacular!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) recently posted..Crock-Pot Chicken and Dumplings
thank you miss kayle! being in the kitchen as they baked – i couldn’t even WAIT for them to get out of the oven. the smell of baking cookies is almsot as good as how they taste… *almost*
Love love love this combination! Although you are killing me with all these creations! I keep adding things to my ever-growing must bake list for this Christmas haha not enough hours in the day!!
Ashley recently posted..Pomegranate Cranberry Sangria
i’ve been on cookie-posting overload lately! trust me, my christmas to-bake list keeps growing too!
Thanks for relinking all the recipes you did, espi the Buttery Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake and the Brown Butter Milky Way Oatmeal Cookies and okay, the last three. Well the whole thing. I want all of them and had forgotten about a few!
These cookies are awesome looking. Glad you were able to participate in the 12 Days series – can’t wait to see what other tricks you have up your sleeve! And yes, the cornstarch in cookies makes such a huge difference! And I love caramel, in any form. Great cookies, Sally!
Averie @ Averie Cooks recently posted..Quintuple Chocolate Fudgy Brownie Cookies
Thanks Averie! I know you love caramel and putting together this post reminded me how many recipes with caramel I need to make again!
The ONE thing I cannot resist this season is salted caramel. How did you know??!?
I am actually considering making these tonight and sharing them with my coworkers tomorrow. YUM.
Becky @ Olives n Wine recently posted..Butternut Squash and Lentil Curry Stew
i adore salted caramel!! ahh if you make these tonight, let me know how they turn out.
I am late on the salted-caramel bandwagon, but just made some cookies this week-end with it…it is HEAVEN! I am officially hooked.
I will have to give your cornstarch trick a try. My cookies can tend to deflate sometimes, I always thought the altitude in Calgary had something to do with it, but maybe cornstarch is the answer
Denise recently posted..The 12 Days of Christmas Cookies Day 3: Chai-Almond Cookies
i know, isn’t salted caramel the best? especially in cookies. You must try the cornstarch and if you do – let me know how it goes! Thanks Denise!
Oh yes, I love this combo (but you probably knew that already!) Caramel is a huge weakness!
Cassie | Bake Your Day recently posted..Popcorn Party Mix
salty & sweet everything! i love the fluffy cornstarch addition, it’s always my fav! this looks so pillow soft – can i lay down on it? haha…it might disappear and i don’t know why
Julie @ Table for Two recently posted..Calphalon Cookware {Giveaway}
Ever since you blogged about adding cornstarch to your cookies, I’ve been dying to try it. Chewy cookies are the only way cookies should be, so perfecting the soft, chewy texture is essential. Putting cornstarch on my grocery list right this second!!
And, as always, I’m in love with your pictures. I love how sharp the details are…all the way down to the salt crystals. So beautiful! I’ve been so insanely busy that my pictures are total crap at the moment. It’s really discouraging. BUT as soon as my school project is done and over with I’m going camera shopping!!
Elaine @ Cooking to Perfection recently posted..Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
Hi miss elaine! let me know how the cornstarch cookies go then – i expect a report back!! you will love them. camera shopping! how extremely exciting! email me anytime to talk cameras! sometimes i need to rush through photoshoots as well – and it’s frustrating. i know how you feel! good luck with your school project!
These look so great! I just got some of those little caramel bits; they seem perfect for this! Also, I love your pictures and the way you are able to randomly scatter chocolate chips/pecans around on the table in the shot. I can’t be random to save my life, haha. Too engineer-y.
Caley – your comment made me crack up! I have a lot of friends who are engineers and I think they would LOSE their minds if they were with my during a photoshoot! Thank you for the compliment though! Love those caramel bits – perfect for this recipe!
Hi Sally
How did you crush your sea salt?
hi Jackie! I put a little bit of sea salt into a zipped-top bag and rolled over it with a rolling pin. You may also buy fine sea salt instead of course to avoid having to crush it yourself!
Your cookies always seem to have more add-ins than dough. I adore that about them…
Loretta | A Finn In The Kitchen recently posted..Cauliflower Pasta (For Ev, Part II)
i’m kind of obsessed with chunky cookies – over chunky! i’m glad you like that too
You amaze me with the cookies you create! Amazing!!
Kristy @Sweet Treats & More recently posted..Cinnamon Rock Candy
thanks Kristy! that means a lot.
These look absolutely amazing! I cannot imagine you topping them with the other 11 days. I will be sure to check them out.
Emily @ Life on Food recently posted..Creamy Butternut, Blue Cheese, and Walnut Penne Pasta
aww thanks Emily! the 12 days of cookies is actually a series of posts i am apart of with my network – i won’t be posting 12 in a row! sorry about the confusion.
You’re after my sweet and salty cookie-loving heart with these dreamy cookies Sally! You have so many good tricks and tips for cookie baking. I hope you write a cookie cookbook someday! I’ll be first in line to buy it. I see someone else has nicknamed you the cookie queen! Love it.
Reeni recently posted..White Chocolate Cranberry Pretzel Cookies (Jumbles)
That means so much to me, Reeni – all of your sweet comments do! Your support is amazing, I hope to write a cookie cookbook one day!!! My dream.
Rivers of caramel sound glorious, but not burnt ones
Good tip on putting the caramel pieces in afterward! I love the idea of caramel AND pecans in regular chocolate chip cookies.
Liz (Little Bitty Bakes) recently posted..Cinnamon Chip Caramel Molasses Cookies
I learned the hard way about mixing the caramels into the dough. HUGE mess! Ahh.
My mom and I both have a “thing” for chocolate turtles too! I love that there’s caramel literally oozing out of these cookies – fabulous!
Jess recently posted..Bite-Sized Chocolate Brownie Cookies with Candy Cane Topping
Hi Jess! chocolate turtles are still one of my favorite candies! Soooo simple and yet, so good.
Sally these look great! I’m participating in the series too!! How fun is that?! You definitely make me want to grab a bag and caramel and eat it. Seriously, the cookie with the caramel drizzling out…OMG.
Aimee @ ShugarySweets recently posted..Peppermint Pretzel Gift Idea
That is AWESOME Aimee! I jumped at the opportunity to be apart of it! the caramel drizzling out – that was the best cookie of the batch.
Just when I think you’ve posted the best cookie recipe there is…then you post another one!
I’m dying to try that cornstarch trick. I think I’ll bake some cookies this weekend, for “research” purposes!
Ashley @ Kitchen Meets Girl recently posted..Oatmeal Brulee {with Ginger Cream}
“research!” Yes, I love it Ashley haha!! Whenever Kevin wants to order dessert and i’m super full, he entices me by saying “but Sally.. it’s research…” lol
Sally, you continue to amaze me. I want rivers of caramel for dessert tonight thankyouverymuch!
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust recently posted..Crazy Sweet Tuesday
I love how creative you are with your cookies!
Jen @ Savory Simple recently posted..Spiced Candied Orange Peel
Those cookies look awesome, Sally! Love all the gooey caramel.
Laura Dembowski recently posted..Andes Peppermint Bark
I am dying over these!! Holy smokes!!!!!!!!
Katrina @ In Katrina’s Kitchen recently posted..Gingerbread Cookie Rings
Katrina! Thanks for stopping over – that means a lot!
Salted caramel is amazing. I love how it’s oozing out of the cookies. Looks and sounds super yummy!
Live a Sweet Life recently posted..Banana Bread Brownies
I can never get enough salted caramel – especially dripping off the cookies
Oh wow—these look seriously, seriously amazing.
Rachel Cooks recently posted..{a day in the life} Mango & Tomato
Always on the lookout for new cookie recipes to try and these look too delicious not to! Also love your blog, so pleased I stumbled upon it!
http://lyndajanecakes.blogspot.co.uk/
x
Hi Lynda! I’m so glad you found my site as well.
Let me know if you give these cookies a shot!
These cookies looked crammed to the brim with delicious-ness! I’m going to have to try the cornstarch trick with my next batch of cookies.
Herbivore Triathlete recently posted..Make Your Own Pizza Night + Bonus Dough Recipe
Every time I come to your blog my Sweet Tooth kicks into High Gear! As always amazing cookies! I just love them!
Chandra@The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen recently posted..Show Me Your Plaid Monday’s #1
thank you chandra – you are the sweetest.
Those puddle of caramel look like heaven!! Definitely trying these…love the cornstarch addition to make them soft.
Rachel @ Bakerita recently posted..Carmelitas
Hi Rachel! you must try cornstarch in cookies – and melted caramel too of course.
i’m not a nuts-in-baked goods person but i know a few people who are, so this would be a great gift! i love the idea of the caramel.
sarah k @ the pajama chef recently posted..Mushroom Egg Salad
sometimes i like nuts in my baked goods, sometimes i don’t – they work here and i know i wouldn’t miss them anyway with all the salted caramel. thanks sarah
My 13-year-old daughter would LOVE these. She’s a caramel freak! I love how you constantly blend so many different flavors together and they come out perfect!
Laura (Got Chocolate) recently posted..RECIPE: Mexican Hot Chocolate
caramel lover and chocoalte lover – sounds like these cookeis are perfet for both you and your daughter Laura!!
When I go back to the US (I got BlogHer Food tickets! Are you going?!) I’m going to have even a huger list of stuff to bring back, thanks to you.
I need caramels! These look SO good. Long live the cookie queen. 
Erin @ Texanerin Baking recently posted..Grain- and Gluten-Free Fresh Mint Double Chocolate Cookies
i’m not sure i’ll be able to go to BlogHer next year Erin!!! my friend is getting married that weekend.
But yes – put caramels on your list!!!
Why are all the friends of food bloggers getting married that weekend?! Boooo.
Erin @ Texanerin Baking recently posted..Grain- and Gluten-Free Fresh Mint Double Chocolate Cookies
I think I am doing like 25 days of cookies or more….I have to keep adding your cookie recipes to my lists of to make for Christmas!
Angela @ AnotherBitePlease recently posted..creamy green chili chicken enchiladas
Sally, you are the total queen of cookies! These look so chunky-licious. I really need to try your cornstarch trick soon, because I want cookies that turn out like these!
PS. I’m hosting a cookie swap this weekend and I am SO EXCITED I think I’m going to make your chocolate-dipped pretzel peanut butter things…I’ve been wanting to make them for awhile and this will be perfect! (Aka when other people are around to eat them!)
Erika recently posted..Black Bean Chocolate Cherry Cookies
Hi Erika! You are so sweet. You have to try cornstarch in your next cookie batch ok? You will just love the results, I promise. Have fun with those chocolate peanut butter pretzel bites – they have been and still are one of my favorite “recipes” – they are completely ADDICTING… just a warning.
A cookie swap sounds so fun!
These look amazing! Must try!
Trudy recently posted..Christmas Blogging Challenge!
Nice.
Yum! Those big pieces of salt are just awesome! And the puffiness of these is impressive! I’m usually disappointed by my cookies when they come out of the oven and deflate but these look so great
Heidi @ Food Doodles recently posted..Jalapeno Butternut Mac and Cheese
Cookies sinking in after they cool – yes, that it the worst. These stay nice and puffy and are even softer the next day. perfect! Thanks Heidi!
So, so good! Perfect for Christmas gifts too!
Thanks Beth! I adore these cookies and yes, they make wonderful Christmas gifts for sure!
These cookies are absolutely amazingly delicious. Maybe some of the best. I sprinkled coarse kosher salt in mine instead of sea salt, as I am not a sea salt fan. The texture was a little crumbly, though, I will say.
Hi Melissa! I’m so glad to hear that. The texture is supposed to be soft and chewy. Do you live in high altitude? Sorry they were crumbly but regardless, I’m glad you like them!
I can’t get this one to print. Could you look into this for me, please and thank you.
Hi Neil! My Print option has been down for a few weeks. I’ve let Wordpress know about the issue and they say they are working on it. You may copy/paste the recipe into an email or word doc to print is desired. Thank you!
I made these cookies on a Saturday and they were gone Sunday morning! BEST cookie recipe I’ve ever come across, thank you!
Hey Liz! That’s great! I love these cookies too – they are my mom’s very favorite. Caramel, chocolate, pecans – can’t go wrong.
Hi Sally! These cookies look Amazing!! I am making my list and heading to the store to get what I need to make them. What kind of caramels do you use? Do I have to find salted caramels? Not sure which ones to get. Thankss.
Kim
Sally, I tried making these cookies, like these but with pretzel instead of pecan. I changed the dough a little, but the carmel just oozed everywhere and melted all over the pan. How do I get the caramel to not do that? I mixed it in the dough, should I just put it on top of the balls instead of mixing it in? And I used homemade soft caramels, do you think that makes a big difference? Anyway, still seriously delicious!
aimee @ like mother like daughter recently posted..Cream Cheese Danish
Hi Aimee – yep, you can’t mix the caramels into the dough. I noted that in the post: An important item to note before baking these cookies is that the caramels are not added to the dough with your other mix-ins. Rather, you will stick a few small cut-up pieces of soft caramel candies onto the tops of your cookie dough balls as you drop them onto the baking sheet. Doing so will prevent caramel from melting and creating a burnt river of caramel underneath your cookies as they bake.” Let me know if you retry them. Thank you!
Thanks for your help! I guess I wasn’t thinking clearly when I thought I could mix them in. I will definitely be making these again with the caramels just on top and I will let you know how it goes!
aimee @ like mother like daughter recently posted..Cream Cheese Danish
You by far make the best baked goods!
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