This is an easy, one-bowl recipe for Small Batch Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies. 6 bakery-style cookies that are soft, full of chocolate chips, and chewy caramel centers. The cookies are finished with a little sprinkle of sea salt for a perfectly salty and sweet treat!
Caramel Stuffed Cookies
Just looking at that heading makes my mouth water! And it is such a simple concept – shoving some little caramel bits into your favorite cookie and voila! You have your new favorite cookie!
For these Small Batch Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies, I started with my delicious Small Batch Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies then stuffed them with Caramel Bits from Kraft. Then I ate the rest of the bag . 🙂
You only need a few to stuff in the center of the cookie dough – but please take liberty in how many you actually add. I started with about a teaspoon in each cookie and the result was a perfectly chewy caramel center.
Bakery Style Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you have made my Small Batch Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies then you know how perfectly soft and chewy they are. The secret: bread flour. Which makes sense. If you want a chewy cookie, bread flour has a higher percentage of gluten, which results in a chewier cookie.
The other great thing about these little cookies is that they are easy. I’m talking one-bowl easy. And yes – be warned – I do recommend chilling the dough.
I’ve seen a lot of recipes that say not having to chill your cookie dough makes them so much easier to make. And while that may be true, I am a believer that chilling your cookie dough lessens the chance of the cookies spreading too much.
And I don’t know about you, but I like my cookies to be thick and have some substance when I bite into them.
Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
A small batch of cookies is the best. Of course, I am biased because that is my niche. However, I love a cookie that is fresh and still tastes like it just came out of the oven. With a small batch of cookies, you get just that. Meaning there are not a bunch of leftovers that are at risk of getting stale.
Another wonderful thing about a small batch of cookies is that they are easy to make. Whenever I can use just one bowl, I’m pretty excited. And with most of my small batch recipes, I do just that.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my Kitchen Aid mixer (who doesn’t! 🙂 ). But I reserve that beautiful piece of equipment for special occasions or recipes (translation – when I am baking a ton at Christmas).
Enough about how good these cookies are. Just go make a batch!
More Cookie Recipes
- Oatmeal Nutella Cream Sandwich Cookies
- Small Batch Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Small Batch Flourless Chocolate Cookies
- Soft Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft and Chewy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Small Batch Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup, + 1 tablespoon bread flour
- scant 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (just barely 1/4 teaspoon)
- Pinch kosher salt
- 3 and 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2-3 tablespoons caramel bits (I used Caramel Bits from Kraft)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375o degrees and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter and both sugars. Using a spoon, mix together until light and fluffy. You can also use a hand-held mixer, though it may be easier to just mix with a spoon.
- Add in the egg yolk and vanilla extract – one at a time – and mix until combined. Move the mix to one side of the bowl with the spoon.
- In the same bowl, add the flour, baking soda, and salt to the other side of the bowl. Stir the dry mix together first, then start to incorporate with the wet ingredients. Mix the cookie dough until thoroughly combined. Add in the chocolate chips and stir until just mixed in.
- Transfer the bowl to the freezer to quick chill the dough for 10 minutes. Do not chill too long because you don't want the dough to freeze.
- Using a small cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop 2 tablespoons of dough, and stuff the center with a few pieces of the caramel bits (about 1 teaspoon). Form into an oblong ball and place on the prepared baking sheet, standing up. This will help the cookies from spreading too much when baked. You will have enough dough to make 6 cookies. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. If the dough got too warm while forming it into the oblong balls, stick the baking sheet in the fridge to cool down for about 10 minutes before going into the oven.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.