Description
Delicious Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars featuring layers of buttery cookie dough, rich caramel sauce, and melty chocolate chips topped with flaky sea salt for the perfect balance of sweet and salty flavors. Ideal for sharing or satisfying your cookie cravings in bar form.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Add-ins and Toppings
- 1 ½ cups chocolate chips (divided: 1 cup for dough, ½ cup for topping)
- 1 cup caramel sauce
- ½ tsp flaky sea salt (for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Pan: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper to prevent sticking and make removal easier.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: In a separate large bowl, mix the melted unsalted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and well blended. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and continue mixing until the batter is smooth and uniform.
- Incorporate Dry into Wet: Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring gently until just combined to avoid overmixing. Fold in 1 cup of the chocolate chips evenly into the dough.
- Layer Dough and Caramel: Spread half of the cookie dough evenly into the prepared baking pan. Drizzle the caramel sauce evenly over the dough layer. Then, gently spread the remaining dough over the caramel layer, smoothing the top. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of chocolate chips on top.
- Bake: Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the bars turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs.
- Finish and Cool: Remove from oven and while still warm, sprinkle the flaky sea salt evenly over the top to enhance the flavor balance. Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan before cutting into squares and serving.
Notes
- Use parchment paper in the pan for easy removal and cleaner edges.
- Do not overbake to keep bars soft and chewy rather than dry and hard.
- Adjust the amount of sea salt topping to your taste preference for sweet-salty contrast.
- Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- To warm up, microwave bars for 10-15 seconds to enjoy gooey caramel and melted chocolate.
