Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars combine the rich flavors of caramel and chocolate into a convenient cookie bar form! Featuring luscious chocolate chips and a homemade caramel sauce that is a total dream!

Caramel chocolate chip cookies bars stacked on top of each other.

There are treats you make on rare special occasions. Then some treats are so comforting they end up being family favorites that are replicated month after month, and year after year.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are the latter treat variety.

Sticky chocolate chip bars oozing with thick buttery caramel filling… These cookie bars scream family game night, movie night, or any other kind of cozy night you want to share with people you love.

Caramel chocolate chip cookie bars have layers of chewy chocolate chip cookie dough with a gooey, creamy caramel in the middle that is so easy to whip up!

This recipe came from a cookbook my friend Shelly Jaronsky wrote called The Cookies & Cups Cookbook, named after her wildly popular dessert blog.

Overhead shot of cookie bars with flaky sea salt on top.

Ingredients You Need

  • Butter – unsalted and softened to room temperature
  • Brown Sugar – packed
  • Sugar – granulated sugar
  • Eggs – large and room temperature
  • Vanilla – adds extra flavor
  • Salt – balances out the flavors
  • Baking Soda – to help them lift in the oven
  • All-Purpose Flour – or a gluten-free replacement flour
  • Chocolate Chips – semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Sweetened Condensed Milk – to make the caramel creamier
  • Soft Caramels – an easy way to add caramel to cookies
  • Flaked Sea Salt – for added flavor and texture
Stack of cookie bars with one in front with a bite taken from it.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with foil and liberally coat it with nonstick cooking spray.

In the bowl of an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter with both sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Mix well, then scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

Turn the speed to low and add the flour. Beat to combine, then mix in the chocolate chips.

Caramel sauce being poured onto a layer of cookie dough in a baking dish.

Press half of the cookie dough into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

In a medium saucepan, add the sweetened condensed milk and unwrapped caramels. Set over medium-low heat and stir until the caramels melt, making a smooth caramel filling. Pour the caramel layer over the cookie dough base.

Drop the remaining dough over the caramel filling in small teaspoon-sized clumps. Bake the bars for 25-30 minutes, until the center is just set and the edges are golden brown.

Cookie dough pieces on top of caramel in a baking dish lined with foil.

Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and allow the cookie bars to cool completely. Then lift the bars out of the pan by the edges of the foil and cut. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Salted Caramel chocolate chip cookie bars after being baked but before being cut into bars.

Tips & Tricks

  • To most efficiently press the chocolate chip cookie dough into the baking dish, try coating your fingers in flour! This will help prevent the cookie dough from sticking to your hands.
  • Don’t sprinkle the top with table salt! The top should be sprinkled with a flaky, coarse salt like sea salt or kosher salt. If you don’t have flaky salt, simply skip the salt on the top.
  • Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream on top!
Cookie bar with more bars in the background.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make gluten-free caramel chocolate chip cookies bars?

Yes! To make these gluten-free, replace the flour with a gluten-free replacement flour that is a 1 to 1 ratio!

Can you freeze these?

Definitely. Allow the salted caramel chocolate chip cookie bars to cool to room temperature, then freeze in an airtight freezer container or a zip freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw before eating.

Why did the center of my cookie bars sink?

Since we want the edges to be set, but the center to be slightly soft and chewy, the bars will naturally sink in the middle a little bit! It is totally normal.

How should I store leftover caramel cookie bars?

Store any leftover caramel cookie bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days! If you have lots of them, feel free to freeze them!

Three cookie bars stacked on top of each othexr.
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Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars combines the rich flavors of caramel and chocolate into a convenient cookie bar form! Featuring luscious chocolate chips and a homemade caramel sauce that is a total dream!
Servings: 30 bars

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with foil and liberally coat with nonstick cooking spray.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the softened butter with both sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Mix well, then scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
  • Turn the speed to low and add the flour. Beat to combine, then mix in the chocolate chips.
  • Press half of the cookie dough into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
  • In a medium sauce pot, add the sweetened condensed milk and unwrapped caramels. Set over medium-low heat and stir until the caramels melt, making a smooth caramel filling. Pour the filling over the cookie dough base.
  • Drop the remaining cookie dough over the caramel filling in small teaspoons-sized clumps. Bake the bars for 25-30 minutes, until the center is just set.
  • Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and allow the bars to cool completely. Then lift the bars out of the pan by the edges of the foil and cut. StoreĀ in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Video

Notes

These bars freeze really well! We pulled 2-4 bars out of the freezer at a time and enjoyed them over the course of a month. Once thawed they taste just as good as freshly-baked.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar, Calories: 285kcal, Carbohydrates: 39g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 33mg, Sodium: 239mg, Potassium: 164mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 28g, Vitamin A: 250IU, Vitamin C: 0.4mg, Calcium: 69mg, Iron: 1.4mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Sommer Collier
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Recipe from The Cookies & Cups Cookbook by Cookies and Cups.

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