Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Feb 14, 2025 
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!
Why We Love This Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars Recipe
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.
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
How to Make Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
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.
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.
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.
Tips & Tricks
- Don’t over mix the batter! Once the cookie batter has flour in it, it will start to build gluten. You don’t want the batter to build too much gluten or else the cookies will end up tough instead of chewy and moist!
- 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!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! To make these gluten-free, replace the flour with a gluten-free replacement flour that is a 1 to 1 ratio!
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.
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.
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!
Check the Recipe Card Below for Instructions on How to Make Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars + Video!
Looking for more cookie & bar recipes? Try out some of your favorites:
- Blueberry White Chocolate Blondies
- Lemon Drop Cookies
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
- Cream Cheese Cookies
- Brown Butter Cookies
- Scottish Shortbread Recipe
- Bailey’s Irish Cream Coffee Bars
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Oatmeal Fudge Bars
- Gooey Blueberry Cookie Bars
- Potato Chip Cookie Bars
Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 10 ounces soft caramels, unwrapped
- 1 teaspoon flaked sea salt
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. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe from The Cookies & Cups Cookbook by Cookies and Cups.
Decadent. Moist and good Carmel.
These look really tasty. Must make these for my next get together.
This looks amazing!!
Not to sound lazy, but….could you use refrigerated cookie dough?
Hi Marli,
I have not tried that, but if you give it a go, please report back. :)
These are decadent! I made a batch last week and they didn’t last long with my family. I am sending them in for a class party on Valentine’s day and will add Valentine M&Ms and sprinkles on top to make them festive. I know I will be making these again and again!
Absolutely the best amd most amazing cookie bar recipe. I have lost count on how many times I have made it. I also make it with gluten free flour. Thank you, Thank you!
Do you use the same amount of flour for the gluten free flour
Even my brother who is not a dessert person loved these. Will be making these again
Wow those are amazing !!!! Made them, Love them and will make them again :) Thank you
These came out really good! The cookie and caramel filling was such a yummy combination. 🍪
I used parchment paper instead of foil and they came out of pan perfectly. I had to add 5 mins to cook time and had to let them sit prior to cutting for about an hour. These bars are amazing and were a huge hit with my coworkers. Will make this again and again
Awesome article! I maked this bars and are awesome! :)
Took them to the new neighbors. They loved them. I definitely made a good impression. Yes, they are amazing! You must wait for them to set. I put a sign propped on top that reads “You Touch these, You die!” So my kids will leave them alone to allow the bars to fully rest on the cooling rack. It’s worth the wait.
These bars are amazing! Will make again several times over. Thanks Sommers for sharing.
I’m going to make this recipe very soon! Just wondering how long you can freeze them for. It mentioned they were enjoyed over the course of a month, but would they last longer than that in the freezer? It’s just that they look awfully fattening! lol
Hi Beth!
Yes, if wrapped well, these will last in the freezer for 3-6 months.