If you know me you know I love the flavor combo or chocolate and caramel. I also love cookie bars, so I thought why not combine this? These cookie bars are super easy to make and are a slam dunk when it comes to flavor. They cookies are soft, chewy and packed with a buttery caramel. If you’re interested in other cookie recipes, click here! See below for more tips and tricks below 🙂
Recipe tips
- Baking pan: I HIGHLY suggest you use a metal baking pan. Metal pans cook baked goods more evenly than a glass pan and are super easy to transport the bars in (the one I tagged comes with a lid which is super convenient!)
- Chocolate chips: For this recipe I prefer to use milk chocolate or semi-sweet, but you can use whatever is in your pantry!
- How to make them soft and chewy: Like most of my cookie recipes, these bars are soft and chewy. In order to make these they stay soft make sure you don’t skip the corn starch in the recipe! Corn starch helps to create a really tender cookie and that’s what we want! You also want to pay close attention to your baking time. I baked mine for about 28 minutes. The top and outside edge will be nice and golden brown but the inside will seem under baked. Pull them from the oven and let them completely cool in the pan. This will produce the most delicious soft and chewy cookie bars 🙂
- Caramel: For this recipe I use store bought caramels and melt them with heavy cream to create a smooth caramel sauce. You can definitely make your own (I love this recipe!) but it’s truly an extra step you don’t need to worry about and they will still taste amazing!
Caramel Stuffed Cookie Bars
Ingredients
For the cookie bars:
- 18 tbsp salted butter, melted 1.125 cup
- 1 ½ cups light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tsp corn starch
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups milk chocolate chips you can use whatever type of chocolate you prefer!
For the caramel:
- 11 oz caramel candies I use Kraft caramels
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
Instructions
For the caramel:
- Unwrap the caramels and add to a heat proof bowl along with the heavy cream. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until completely melted and smooth. Set aside.
For the cookie bars:
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease and line a metal 9×13 pan with parchment paper. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the melted butter, brown and granulated sugar. Mix until combined. Add in vanilla and eggs, and mix until incorporated.
- While the mixer is on low add in the flour, salt, corn starch and baking soda. Mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Scoop half of the batter into the prepared pan and use a spatula to make sure the dough is evenly spread out to the edges of the pan. This layer will be thin! Pour caramel on top of the cookie dough, leaving about ½ inch around the edges that you don't cover with caramel. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to help set up the caramel. Top with remaining cookie dough, spreading it out but it's okay if some caramel peeks through.
- Bake or 25-30 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving. These bars set up and slice best after being refrigerated.
Is the brown sugar packed or unpacked? That’s about a 3 tbsp difference.
packed!