Twelve Days of Cookies - Day 9

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love baked for me…

….a cookie that was salty and a tad bit sticky…

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

My son loves salted caramel anything…ice cream, hot chocolate, you name it. Ok, I won’t lie, so do I - salted caramel latte anyone? So when I went on the hunt for a good salted caramel cookie recipe, I found this one from Valerie Bertinelli’s show Valerie’s Home Cooking. I changed it up a bit and the results were a cookie that was soft, chocolatey (but not overly sweet), with chewy bits and a just the right amount of salt to balance it all out. A word of caution: use soft caramels and do chop them into small pieces, or you may lose a filling!

Ingredients

1 cup salted butter

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup coconut palm sugar (or brown sugar)

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1-1/2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup chocolate chips

1 cup soft caramels chopped into small bits

Maldon salt for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375F. Line four baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside (yes this recipe makes that many cookies).

In a bowl mix flour, baking powder and baking soda and set aside.

Beat butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. (Note: I opted in the ingredients to use salted butter and not add any extra salt. If you prefer to use unsalted butter, then add 1/4 tsp salt.) Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Slowly add flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in caramel pieces and chocolate chips.

Drop teaspoon size portions onto baking sheets spaced 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with Maldon salt. Bake for 13-15 minutes in top and bottom third of oven, rotating baking sheets halfway through. Allow to cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to cool on wire racks.