Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: Salty sweet perfection!
Texture: The cookie is soft, chewy, and slightly gooey and the caramel sandwiched in the middle is ridiculously thick and sticky in the best possible way.
Ease: Easy peasy! You don’t need a mixer and we’re cheating slightly with the caramel.
Pros: Total comfort food.
Cons: None!
Would I make this again? YES. These bars are amazing with ice cream if you’re feeling particularly sinful.
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Salted Caramel Cookie Bars are the perfect salty-sweet treat – and, bonus, they are super quick and easy to make!
These bars are my new addiction. They sandwich chocolate chip cookie dough (which is already pretty much the greatest thing on the planet) with heavenly slightly salty caramel.
Are you drooling yet?
These Cookie Bars are wonderfully decadent and indulgent – especially with a scoop of ice cream on top!
Take them to your next potluck or party for the hit dessert everyone will rave about for years to come.
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Salted Caramel Cookie Bars
What’s the Best Pan for Salted Caramel Cookie Bars?
I tested this Salted Caramel Cookie Bars recipe using my favorite 8-inch square metal baking pan. I don’t recommend using a glass or ceramic pan, as these pans can take much longer to heat up and bake through, causing underdone middles and overbaked edges. Learn more about Glass vs. Metal Baking Pans here.
Avoid using a dark-colored metal pan, as these pans will heat too aggressively and can cause dry or even burnt cookie bars.
What if I Don’t Have a Metal Pan?
If you must use glass or ceramic, drop the baking temperature by about 15°F and increase the baking time by 5-10 minutes.
Why Are My Cookie Bars Dry?
- Incorrect measuring: If you are not measuring your ingredients with a digital kitchen scale, you could accidentally be adding too much flour, causing hard, dry, or cake-like cookie bars. Learn more about how to measure ingredients for perfect results every time here!
- Overbaking: The other reason your cookie bars could be turning out too dry or hard is likely that they’re overbaked. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the bars are golden brown and appear set on top.
Can I Double This Salted Caramel Cookie Bars Recipe?
Yes! Double all ingredients and bake in a light-colored metal 9 by 13-inch baking pan, adding a few minutes to the bake time.
How to Store Salted Caramel Cookie Bars
Store Cookie Bars for up to 3 days at room temperature inside an airtight container. We have not tried freezing these cookie bars, so please let us know in the comments below if you give this a try!
The full Salted Caramel Cookie Bar recipe can be found on Imperial Sugar’s website!
This post was written by Tessa Arias on behalf of Imperial Sugar. All text, photos, and opinions provided are my own.
More Recipes You’ll Love:
- Chocolate Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
- Apple Crisp Cookie Bars
- Pumpkin Bars with Brown Sugar Frosting
- Loaded Peanut Butter Christmas Cookie Bars
- Peanut Butter Toffee Chocolate Chunk Bars
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Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks (170 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (125 grams) Imperial Sugar Dark Brown Sugar
- 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups (191 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups (255 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
- 11 ounces caramel candy squares, unwrapped
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- Flaked sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8 by 8-inch metal pan* with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine butter with sugar and stir until smooth. Let cool slightly. Stir in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until smooth. Add in salt and flour and stir until combined. Gently stir in chocolate chips.
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine caramels and heavy cream. Microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring between bursts, until mixture is melted and smooth. Be careful not to overheat.
- Press half cookie dough evenly into prepared pan. Pour the caramel evenly over dough. Sprinkle all over with sea salt. Scoop remaining dough into spoonfuls over caramel, gently spreading until caramel is mostly covered. Sprinkle with additional sea salt.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool to room temperature before chilling for 30 minutes to make bars easier to cut. Slice into large bars or squares and serve. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Not sure why this recipe says to use aluminum foil, I wonder if it’s a mistake. Parchment will work much better. Yummy cookie bar. I used Werther’s caramels.
Not a mistake, feel free to use either. 🙂 Happy you loved the recipe, Cindy!
What are caramel candy squares?
I live in the UK and cannot see any such Confectionery item?
Hi there! We used Kraft Caramels for this recipe. Here’s what they look like. If you can’t find those in the UK, any type of caramel that holds its shape well but is still soft should work just fine in the recipe. You could even make homemade caramels if you’re unable to find them in the shops. Here’s a great recipe from Tastes Better From Scratch. I hope that helps!
They are soooo gooey. I followed the recipe to perfection. One commenter mentioned Tessa explanation of what pan to use. I couldn’t find that anywhere and used an 8X8 glass Pyrex dish.They don’t even seemed baked they’re so gooey and I have a Wolf oven so that’s no it. Disappointing to say the least though I’m sure properly baked they’re delicious.
Hi Claire! I’m sorry to hear that your bars were too gooey. This is likely due to the pan used, as glass tends to take much longer to bake, compared to metal. Learn more about that here. I hope you’ll give these bars another try in a metal pan sometime – they really are delicious!
Can these be frozen for a short time?
Hi Deb! I’m sorry, but we haven’t tried freezing these bars, so I can’t say for sure! Normally I’d say it should be completely fine, but I’m honestly not certain how the caramel portion will freeze and thaw. Let us know how it goes if you give freezing these bars a try! Good luck and happy baking 🙂
This recipe reminds me of the turtle brownies I have away made for my kids. They do freeze well, but you MUST remember to take them out of the freezer in plenty of time for them to thaw completely, or you will have either a sore jaw or a broken tooth. I would make a double batch, freeze half. After a week I would take them out of the freezer either the night before if I defrost in the fridge, or leave them on the counter the entire day for that days treat.
Hope this helps even after a year.
Can this be doubled and put into a 9 x 13 pan?
Hi Jan! Yes! You can double this recipe by using a 9×13 pan. You may need to add a few extra minutes to the baking time. Let us know what you think when you give this recipe a try
I made these but had to add extra flour. Did anyone else have this problem?
Good day, I would like to make these but live on a small island where I may not find caramel candies. Could I use a jar of caramel I have in the cupboard or make some? Many thanks!
Hi Emily! We haven’t tried homemade with this recipe, but you’ll want to make sure that you use a thick caramel for this recipe (not a thin caramel sauce). Please let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
I’m not a huge chocolate/caramel person but, I have to say that these are absolutely amazing. I cut them into very small squares since they’re very rich. I’ll definitely be making them again for friends and family who are chocolate/caramel lovers.
So happy you loved them! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, we appreciate it! 🙂
The recipe calls for 1 1/2 stick of butter, which is NOT 6 oz. Very confusing. (1 1/2 sticks butter is 12 oz.)
Thanks so much for catching that, Anne! I just updated the recipe.
is the updated recipe 1 1/2 sticks of butter? I want to make these tomorrow and freeze for Christmas. they sound scrumptious
Hi Diane! Yes, the recipe needs 1 1/2 sticks or 170 grams of butter. Let us know what you think once you’ve given these bars a try! 🙂
Just a heads up for those who measure ingredients by weight. Another commenter stated that 1 1/2 sticks butter is 12 oz. This is absolutely wrong. It is 6 oz. One stick of butter is 4 oz. Maybe this commenter is thinking of tablespoons.
what are the instructions for doubling the recipe? i.e. pan size and cook time
Hi Debra! You can double this recipe by using a 9×13 pan. You may need to add a few extra minutes to the baking time. Let us know what you think when you give this recipe a try 🙂
Okay, first things first – these were delicious. The cookie + caramel was a perfect combo. However (and this might have been my own error/fault) – – the caramel seemed to be a big mess and did not stay put like the recipe above pictured.