Salted caramel chocolate chip cookie bars are the ultimate combination of sweet and salty flavors, and just as easy as a sheet of cookies. A decadent caramel sauce creates a chewy, buttery flavor that combines with a burst of sweet chocolate chips for a treat your family will inhale!
I love chocolate chips cookies and as you know, anything salted caramel. So naturally, when I spotted this idea of a cookie bar combination at a local bakery, I had to try it for myself!
These cookie bars are almost as quick and easy to make as traditional chocolate chip cookies, with the added benefit of caramel sauce for a creamy, decadent twist.
These cookie bars are seriously too good to be true.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
Easy Ingredients – Many of these ingredients are pantry staples!
Quicker than Cookies – All the delicious flavor of a cookie, with the simplicity of just one pan.
Incredibly Decadent – In fact, they are so good, you’re going to have a hard time stopping. Half the pan? I won’t judge you, I promise. Let’s get started!
Ingredients and Substitutions
For the Bars:
- Butter – Salted or unsalted, your choice, I tend to bake with salted butter because we love the salty and sweet layers.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar.
- Brown Sugar – Brown sugar adds a hint of molasses flavor for a classic chocolate chip cookie taste.
- Vanilla – A hint of vanilla adds a lot of flavor.
- Eggs – Large, preferably.
- Baking Soda – The blend of two leavening agents make these chocolate chip cookie bars with salted caramel rise to perfection.
- Baking Powder – Always make sure your baking powder is fresh.
- Salt – Salt enhances the flavor of all the other ingredients in baking, and you have to balance the sweet.
- Flour – All purpose flour, no need to sift.
- Chocolate Chips – Semi-sweet, milk chocolate, dark chocolate – it’s your choice, but I tend to go with semi-sweet!
- Sea Salt – A secret to taking it over the top is adding a few cracks of thick sea salt flakes just before baking.
For the Salted Caramel Sauce:
You’re welcome to purchase a caramel sauce if you’re intimidated by this step. (But don’t be! It’s easier than you think!)
- Sugar – White granulated sugar.
- Water
- Corn Syrup – To help create the sauce.
- Heavy Cream – Heavy whipping cream is imperative for a true caramel sauce.
Tools
- Mixer (You can also mix by hand)
- Baking Spray for a clean release
- 9×13 Baking Pan
Tips
- You can buy jarred caramel sauce for a shortcut. It makes these delicious cookie bars even simpler. There’s nothing quite as good as homemade caramel, but they will still taste incredible, I promise!
- I like to check these bars at around 17 minutes. They have an average bake time of 22 minutes in my oven- yours might be different. You don’t want to over bake and risk losing that chewy, delicious texture!
- Line your dish with parchment for easy cleanup.
- Cut while warm for easy removal.
Serving Suggestions
These cookie bars are best served warm. Bonus points when topped with a scoop of something else incredibly delicious, and you know I’ve got a few ideas!
More Caramel
Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Cookie Bars
Ingredients
COOKIE DOUGH
- 1 cup butter (salted and softened)
- ¾ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs (size large)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chocolate chips semi-sweet (or your favorite)
- sea salt to taste
CARAMEL SAUCE
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 3 Tablespoons light corn syrup
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- First, make the caramel sauce. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the first 3 ingredients {sugar, water, corn syrup}, stirring until sugar dissolves.
- Increase heat and continue to boil without stirring until the mixture becomes amber in color {approximately 10 minutes}.
- Remove from heat, add cream and return sauce to low heat until smooth. Set aside.
- Now, make the dough. Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine butter, vanilla, sugar and brown sugar.
- Gently blend in eggs, careful not to overmix.
- Gradually add in flour mixture.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- In a 9×13 greased pan, spread half of your cookie dough.
- Pour caramel sauce over dough and crack sea salt on top.
- Add the second layer of cookie dough and lightly top with sea salt.
- Bake 17-22 minutes.
Julie’s Tips
- If you’d like a shortcut, replace the homemade caramel sauce in this recipe with your favorite jarred caramel sauce.
- I like to really watch these in the oven starting at the 17 minute mark. Usually mine are perfect at about 22 minutes- every oven is different!
- Don’t overmix!
- Don’t over bake if you want to keep that chewy, soft texture to these bars.
Storage Notes
- At Room Temperature – Store, tightly covered for up to 4-5 days.
- Refrigerator – Store these chocolate chip caramel bars in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.
- Freezer – Yes, you can freeze these salted caramel bars! Simply wrap tightly in an airtight container or plastic wrap, and freeze for up to three months.
Estimated nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed.
If I use my own caramel sauce, how much do I use?
I see in the narrative it mentions baking powered and baking soda, but I don’t see where in the recipe it says baking powder and how much. Can you advise? Thanks.
OK, I made these and. . .YUM! So tasty. I forgot to add the salt on top of the dough near the end of the recipe, but added it when it came out of the oven and it was still delicious. Thanks for the great recipe!
Looks so good! About how many bars did you get out of this recipe?
They are! 18 or so, all depending on how you slice them. Enjoy!
oh yum. i think i will have to test this one out on mike – he is crazy about anything related to a chocolate chip cookie!
Chris requested them for Admin Day at his office. I wish I had made a double batch, they didn’t last long!