Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars Recipe

Traditional cookies are great, but cookie bars are something else. It feels a little more like eating a brownie, but with our favorite cookie flavors. If you like a salty sweet flavor combo in your desserts, these gooey salted caramel chocolate chip cookie bars are for you.

This salted caramel chocolate chip cookie bars recipe reminds me of the Smoosh Cookies I posted a while back. I’m still not sure if the spelling is smoosh or smush, but it’s a fun and tasty dessert to make!

The concept is the same, but that recipe uses a roll of cookie dough from the store. If you’re short on time, you could probably get away with using pre-made dough in this recipe, too.

Here’s what you need to make this cookie bar recipe. The measurements are in the recipe card below.

• Unsalted butter
• Brown sugar
• Granulated sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Eggs
• Flour
• Baking Soda
• Baking powder
• Sea salt
• Dark chocolate chips
• Heavy whipping cream

To make the salted caramel, add the sugar to a small saucepan. Let the sugar melt slowly over medium-low heat, stirring every 20-30 seconds. It will caramelize into chunks at first, then smooth out to a liquid.

Once the mixture is melted and smooth, remove it from the heat at once and stir in the butter.

Add the heavy cream and salt and stir until incorporated. Transfer the caramel to a bowl and let it cool while you make the cookie bars.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9×13 baking pan.

Get a large mixing bowl and add the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. Cream it all together using a stand or hand mixer on medium speed.

Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing each one as you add them.

Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt to the mixture. Continue to mix at low speed until it’s all combined.

Fold in the dark chocolate chips.

Press half of the cookie dough into your baking pan. Be sure to press it into an even layer. Save the rest of the dough for another layer later.

Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

Once that layer of cookies is done baking, pour the cooled salted caramel over the top.

Use a spatula to spread the caramel evenly over the entire surface of the cookie bar.

Use the rest of the cookie dough to create the top layer by scooping a ball of dough into your hands, flattening it, and gently placing it over the caramel layer.

Some caramel might seep through the top layer of dough, and that is okay.

Bake for an additional 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.

Let the cookie bar cool completely before slicing and serving.

For an extra delicious treat, serve a cookie bar fresh out of the oven while it’s still warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Actual dessert heaven!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar Recipe Notes and FAQ

Can’t get enough caramel? Feel free to 1.5x the caramel recipe to add extra as a topping after the bars are fully baked.

Can I add nuts to these cookie bars?

Chopped pecans go well with the flavors in this cookie bar recipe. Add 1/2 cup of chopped pecans to the batter when you fold in the dark chocolate chips.

Can I make these chocolate chip cookie bars gluten-free?

You can use gluten-free all-purpose flour in this recipe. Be sure to check the packages of all your other ingredients to make sure the full recipe will be gluten-free.

• Chocolate caramel pretzel cookies
• Chocolate caramel dessert recipe roundup
• Chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel frosting

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Please let me know if you try these salted caramel chocolate chip cookie bars. I’d love to hear how they turned out for you!