Soft-baked and fudgy, with a gooey caramel surprise center, these salted caramel dark chocolate cookies are sure to satisfy more than one craving in a single cookie! They won a Nestlé Toll House award back when I first published the recipe several years ago, and have been a popular favorite since!
I originally published this recipe in 2013 and have since added new photos and success tips.
I have hundreds of cookie recipes on my website (and a whole book full of them in Sally’s Cookie Addiction), but how many can include “award-winning” in their title?
When I originally published my salted caramel dark chocolate cookies in 2013, Nestlé Toll House invited me to participate in their Dark Chocolate Pinspirations Sweepstakes. My salted caramel dark chocolate cookies won 1st place! They were in great company with several other mouthwatering dark chocolate-inspired recipes in the contest. What an honor to be included among such a tasty bunch!
This award-winning dessert recipe comes together with an easy cookie dough and even easier assembly process. Stuffing these salted caramel dark chocolate cookies is as simple as wrapping the chocolatey dough around a Rolo caramel candy. The dough needs to chill for at least 3 hours, but you can make it ahead of time and refrigerate overnight.
One reader, Nicki, commented: “I made these for the first time last night and followed the directions exactly. Hands down one of the best cookies I’ve ever eaten in my life. I’ve made a lot of cookies but nothing like these. Absolutely divine! The sea salt on top and extra chips added after baking were the cherry on top. ★★★★★”
Why You’ll Love These
- Soft-baked and thick, yet dense and fudgy like homemade brownies
- Recipe is easily doubled
- Satisfies the most intense chocolate cravings
- Easy to stack and transport (pro tip: don’t show up to your next gathering without a batch)
- Made from 1 easy, versatile cookie dough
- Stuffed with soft Rolo chocolate caramel candies
Grab your sweet tooth, a few chocolate-loving friends, and your cookie baking tools. Let’s do this!
Start With a Multipurpose Chocolate Cookie Dough
These cookies start with my go-to, dependable chocolate cookie dough. My recipe for double chocolate chip cookies produces an incredibly soft and fudge-like chocolate dough. With a dough that good, you bet I’ve used it to make just about every chocolate cookie combo you can think of, like chocolate crinkle cookies, chocolate frosted cookies, inside-out chocolate chip cookies, and peppermint mocha cookies.
For today’s cookies, and for all of my variations using this same cookie dough, you need very basic kitchen ingredients, including:
- Flour: All-purpose flour makes up the base of these cookies.
- Cocoa Powder: Make sure you use natural cocoa powder here. If you’re interested in learning why, read this post on Dutch-process vs. natural cocoa powder.
- Baking Soda: To give these cookies a lift in the oven.
- Salt: To balance the sweet.
- Butter: Remember that room-temperature butter is not as warm as you think. Let it sit out for only 1 hour before starting. It will be cool to the touch.
- Egg: To bind ingredients together and add richness.
- Sugar: A mix of brown and granulated sugars is key here to achieve the perfect balance of texture.
- Milk: A little liquid is necessary in this dough. You can use any kind of milk, dairy or nondairy.
- Vanilla Extract: Even the most chocolatey cookies need a kiss of vanilla!
- Chocolate Chips: You can use semi-sweet chocolate chips, but I love making these with dark chocolate chips.
Then Add 2 Special Ingredients
The following 2 ingredients turn basic chocolate cookies into fancy-schmancy salted caramel dark chocolate cookies. The “bells and whistles” of today’s recipe, if you will.
- Rolos or Soft Caramels: I prefer to use Rolo caramel candies as the caramel filling here, just like these salted caramel chocolate chip cookies. You could use a regular soft caramel candy instead (like the Kraft caramels you see in these salted caramel pecan chocolate chip cookies), or try using homemade caramel candies.
- Sea Salt: To balance the sweetness, add a pinch of flaky sea salt right before baking. If you love the salty-sweet pairing here, try my salted caramel turtle brownies.
How to Shape & Fill These Cookies
What kind of hoops must we jump through to create these caramel surprise cookies? Great news: assembling these couldn’t be easier.
Add caramel centers: Take 2 Tablespoons of chilled cookie dough and divide in half. Roll each ball with your hands. Place the Rolo or caramel candy into the center of one ball (similar to a cradle). Top the candy with the other ball of dough and seal the sides together so that the candy is securely stuffed inside. The process is very similar to these caramel snickerdoodles and these Nutella crinkle cookies.
Then bake!
Be sure to try a baked cookie once it’s cool enough to handle. You need to experience the “caramel pull” for yourself. Just wait until you see your taste testers’ faces when they realize there’s a creamy, sweet caramel hiding inside the salted dark chocolate cookie. A look of surprise, followed by pure bliss!!
The cookies are still wonderfully soft on day 2… if they make it that long!
Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Cookies
- Prep Time: 3 hours, 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes
- Yield: 18 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This award-winning recipe comes together with an easy cookie dough and even easier assembly process. Stuffing these salted caramel dark chocolate cookies is as simple as wrapping the chocolatey dough around a Rolo caramel candy! The dough needs to chill for at least 3 hours, but you can make it ahead of time and refrigerate overnight.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2/3 cup (55g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk
- 1 and 1/2 cups (270g) semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
- 18 chocolate-coated caramels, such as Rolos (or use regular caramels)*
- flaky sea salt or coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preliminary note: This cookie dough requires at least 3 hours of chilling, but I prefer to chill the dough overnight. The colder the dough, the easier it is to handle and shape.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium high speed until fluffy and light in color, about 2–3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, and then beat on high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly pour the dry into the wet ingredients. Beat on low until combined. The cookie dough will be thick. Switch to medium-high speed and beat in the milk, then the chocolate chips. The cookie dough will be sticky. Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory for this sticky cookie dough.
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Scoop 2 Tablespoons (40g) of dough and divide in half. Roll each half into a ball. Make a thumb indent into 1 ball and place a caramel candy in the center. Top with other ball of dough and seal down the sides, enclosing the candy inside. Repeat with remaining dough and caramel candies. Tip: The cookie dough is certainly sticky, so wipe your hands clean after every few balls of dough you shape.
- Arrange stuffed cookie dough balls 2–3 inches apart on the baking sheets and sprinkle each lightly with sea salt.
- Bake the cookies for 12–13 minutes or until the edges appear set and the centers still look soft. Tip: If they aren’t really spreading by minute 9, remove them from the oven and lightly bang the baking sheet on the counter 2–3x. This helps initiate that spread. Return to the oven to continue baking.
- Cool cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. During this time, I like to press a few more chocolate chips into the tops of the warm cookies. (This is optional and only for looks.) Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies will slightly deflate as they cool.
- Cover leftover cookies tightly and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days (step 3). Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls (with caramel candy center) also freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Check out my tips + tricks for how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack | Flaky Sea Salt
- Caramel Candies to Use: I usually use Rolo candies, but you can use square caramel candies, such as Kraft caramels. If using the square caramels, cut them in half and use half in each cookie. Make sure the caramels are recently purchased and still soft; if they are hard, they will not soften in the oven. You can also use homemade caramels. Cut them so they are roughly the size of a Rolo candy.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
These cookies were AMAZING! Everyone raved about them!
The key is to not over bake them. This is a keeper! Thank you Sally!
These are by far my favorite cookies! Even better than inside out’s and better than the regular chocolate chip cookies! It was easy and fun to make! I absolutely love the taste and I wouldn’t improve or change a thing, beautiful recipe!
Hi Sally,
Can I use milk duds? I can’t find rolos in my location
Hi Joyce, you can, but they won’t have a gooey caramel center like Rolo candies. They may turn pretty hard after baking inside a cookie, too. Mini snickers bars are a fun alternative if you want to try that!
Hi Sally, I was wondering if I can reduce the white and brown sugar to this recipe?
Hi Kristiene, we wouldn’t recommend it, because the other ingredients would need to be adjusted as well.
Can I use kraft square caramels?
Sure can! Make sure they are very soft to begin with. If they’re old or on the harder side, they won’t soften in the oven. We like Kraft or Brach’s brand caramel squares.
Hi Sally, I’ve been looking for a double chocolate caramel pecan cookie recipe. This one looks really close. Can I add some chopped pecans? Would I need to alter anything else? I am new to baking! Thanks!
Hi Pern, I recommend replacing half of the dark chocolate chips with chopped pecans for a total of 1 and a half cups of add-ins. Enjoy!
Never left reviews on any of your recipes before so I’m going to do that now. I first started using your recipes in 2011 I want to say, and I have followed religiously since. These cookies are my favorite cookies of all time and I think about them constantly. I have never had every single recipe created by one person come out flawlessly every time but they always do with yours!
These are outstanding!!! I really was expecting the caramel to bust out of the cookie and make a total mess but it didn’t at all, and the cooled the cookies held together marvelously. And they’re SO DELICIOUS.
Oh my gosh. These cookies are amazing!!!!!!!! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Can I use dutch processed cocoa powder in this recipe?
HI Pailin, This recipe uses baking soda, which means we want to stick with natural cocoa powder and NOT dutch processed. You can read all about the science behind why to help you understand the difference in my baking basics post Dutch-process Vs Natural Cocoa Powder.
These are fantastic cookies!!! I made them for a cookie exchange today and my husband didn’t want me to share them (never happens). I loved two things about these cookies—the dark chocolate cookies and caramel taste so amazing, and just as good for me was they looked just like Sally’s picture. I often make cookies but they rarely look just as good as the recipe pictures (even if they taste great). Well, these are sooo good! Thanks, Sally, I can see why these won you a grand prize award! I’ve been waiting to try these since I got your cookbook with them and today was the day!
These turned out amazing. I never write reviews, but these were easy and something different.
Hey Sally! I love these cookies. I was wondering if I could wrap mini Resee’s in the dough instead of the Rolos with success? Not sure why it wouldn’t but wanted to see if you’ve tried it or seen it done. I don’t want it to get all goopy and stuff.
You sure can, Lydia! You can see how I use them in these cookies!
I’m having trouble finding rolos. Could I use regular wrapped caramels?
Absolutely! Make sure the caramels are soft.
Definitely the most requested recipe my friends ask for — absolutely! I love sending friends to your site and knowing they can trust your recipes. You’re the cookie queen!
Can I chill dough overnight?
You sure can! See the Make ahead tip at the end of the recipe!
Have you tried making these as bars in a 9X9 pan?
I haven’t! But a 9×9 inch pan should be the perfect size. Let me know how they turn out!
Hi! I haven’t made this recipe yet but I had a question before I do! Chances are, I will probably want to freeze these cookies after baking them. Does this mess up the cookie/rolo center once the baked cookie has been frozen then thawed? Or will The caramel be soft again? Thanks 🙂
Hi Kasey! The caramel will thaw and soften, but it won’t be as gooey as it is when the cookies are fresh-baked.
Would caramel chews work in place of Rolos, or does the caramel need to be coated?
Chewy caramel candies will work, yes.
I’ve made this recipe several times already, they come out perfect every time!! Everyone LOVES them!! They are so good thanks so much for sharing this awesome recipe!!
Hi Sally. Have you ever made these cookies with dark cocoa powder?
I have, yes! I’ve used Hershey’s Special Dark. They’re wonderful.
Hi Sally,
Can these cookies be made ahead and frozen? They look great!
Yes, absolutely! Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Sally,
Two questions 1. Does this dough freeze well? 2. If I do freeze it should I freeze with the caramels inside or wait until I take them out to bake to add the caramels?
Freezes well, yes! Up to 3 months. To ensure the caramel is nice and gooey, add the caramels after freezing and thawing the dough.
I love these cookies!! Dark chocolate, caramel and sea salt together can not go wrong! I have make them several times now and can’t wait to make them again and again!
I made these and they turned out so good, especially when warm. So tasty reheated in the microwave for a seconds.
Hey Sally! Can I replace the dark chocolate morsels with normal chocolate chips? This recipe looks decadent I can’t wait to try it!!
That would be fine.
Can I use diff caramel candies like Werther’s original?
Those would be fine, though they may slightly ooze out of the bottom of the cookie. The chocolate coating on the rolls helps prevent any caramel from escaping. (Though sometimes it smell does!)
Hey Sally, do you think this recipe would work well as a giant cookie cake too? Just wondering if I’d still need to chill the dough or not? I am pretty new to your blog but EVERY recipe, without fail has been foolproof! I’m referring everyone I know who eats my bakes, to where the recipes come from!
Hey Amanda! Yep, this recipe could definitely work as a cookie cake. No need to chill the dough, just press into the 9-inch pan with a spatula (it will be quite sticky). Around 25-28 minute bake time.
Hi Sally! I just wanted to tell you how delish these cookies are!! I made them for a cookie exchange and they won!! So, thanks to you for the awesome recipe!!
Made these and LOVE them. They are wonderful. Just wondering if anyone has tried making a smaller version of these cookies using the new mini rolo’s ?
Hey Heather! I’ve tried them with mini rolos. They are fantastic. Cut the dough ball size in half if using though.
Hey, this recipe sounds amazing. I have a question, however. Does the caramel inside stay soft after baking? Or does it harden once the cookies cool? I was thinking of making these for an event but I usually do all my baking the day/night before because there just isn’t enough time the day of:/
Hi Madeleine! The caramel is soft and gooey when the cookies are warm. It’s still slightly gooey after a few days kept at room tempterature. It doesn’t get super hard at all. Let me know how you like them!