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Salted Caramel Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

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These Salted Caramel Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe is so simple and so delicious. These mouthwatering cookies are soft and chewy in the middle, swirled with salted caramel, and finished with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with Salted Caramel Swirl

There’s one thing I can guarantee with this Salted Caramel Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe…and that is that these cookies will disappear fast.

And I mean fast.

Seriously, these cookies are ah-mazing! They are simple to make and come out of the oven with perfectly crispy edges, a soft and chewy middle, and the perfect combination of melty chocolate chips and salted caramel swirls.

This is one of the most requested oatmeal chocolate chip cookies in my house, and I have a lot of different recipes! If you love oatmeal cookies, people got nuts for my Oatmeal Raisin Cookies to. I am partial to a good monster cookie myself.

overhead of a cooling rack piled with oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

Key Ingredients

  • Kraft Caramels – caramels are melted with milk which helps prevent it from hardening back up in the cookies. Make sure the caramel is cooled before adding it to the dough so it doesn’t melt the chocolate chips.
  • Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar – both sugars add sweetness while the brown sugar keeps the cookies super moist and soft.
  • Rolled Oats – rolled oats create the perfect hearty, soft, and chewy texture. Rolled oats are sometimes called old fashioned oats.
  • Flakey Sea Salt – I use Maldon Sea Salt Flakes to garnish the cookies for a perfectly salty finish.

How to Make Salted Caramel Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

  1. Make the caramel: In a microwave-safe bowl, combine caramels, milk, and sea salt. Microwave for 20 seconds at a time, stirring each time, until smooth. Cool completely.
  2. Cream the wet ingredients: Soften the butter slightly, then combine with the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Beat until combined, then mix in the eggs and vanilla.
  3. Add the dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix together flour, oats, salt, and baking soda. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until a dough forms, with some loose flour remaining.
  4. Add the mix-insAdd in the chocolate chips, then mix in the cooled caramel and beat only until combined.
  5. Portion and chill the dough: Use a large cookie scoop to portion the dough out onto a lined cookie sheet. Garnish with sea salt, then chill in the fridge for 1 hour to 1 day. You have to pre scoop the dough before refrigerating because it’s too difficult to do it after the fact.
  6. Bake: Let the dough sit on the counter for 10-15 minutes prior to baking. Bake in an oven preheated to 350° F for 11-13 minutes, then cool and devour.
overhead closeup of a pile of cookies on a cooling rack

Can You Use Quick Oats for Oatmeal Cookies?

In theory, yes. Although I prefer rolled-outs for the best texture and structure.

If all you have are quick oats, you can use those instead, but keep in mind that they tend to absorb more moisture and get mushier than rolled oats do.

Why Do My Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Go Flat?

There are a couple of reasons your oatmeal cookies are going flat as they bake. Here are some things you can do to prevent that from happening:

  1. The butter is too soft. You only need about 20 minutes for the butter to soften, so it’s colder than room temperature butter.
  2. Chill the dough. The dough needs to chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour or for up to 24 hours. The cooler dough holds its shape better so the cookies are nice and thick.
  3. Improperly measured ingredients. It’s important not to over or under measure the flour and the oats. Flour should be measured with a kitchen scale or using the spoon and level method. Undermeasuring the oats will also cause the cookies to spread more.
  4. Line the baking sheet. I recommend lining the baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. The lining helps prevent the cookies from spreading.

Now, even if you do get some spreading with your cookies, this is totally fixable. Just take an angled spatula or the flat edge of a knife or a spoon, then gently push the outside of the cookies back in right when they come out of the oven. Make sure you do this while they’re still hot so they are easy to re-shape!

Why Are My Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies So Hard?

If your oatmeal cookies came out hard, they’re probably over-baked. I recommend pulling the cookies out of the oven right when the edges are browning, but the center isn’t quite cooked through.

As the cookies cool, they will firm up a bit, but remain soft and chewy!

three oatmeal chocolate chip cookies stacked

Recipe Variations

I love these salted caramel oatmeal chocolate chip cookies as is, but here are a few recipes you can follow to switch things up!

four oatmeal cookies stacked with a bite out of the top cookie

How to Store Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These oatmeal chocolate chip cookies will last in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Can These Be Frozen?

Totally! These oatmeal cookies actually freeze super nicely. Let them cool completely, then place in an airtight container with pieces of parchment paper between the layers so the caramel doesn’t stick. They will last for up to 3 months.

To enjoy a cookie from frozen, thaw one in the microwave for 10-15 seconds before eating! You can also thaw the whole batch in the fridge.

Freezing Cookie Dough

I love freezing cookie dough so I can have freshly baked cookies whenever I want! Pre scoop the dough as usual. Flash freeze on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet for about 30 minutes until the dough is firm. Transfer to an airtight container with parchment paper between the layers of cookie dough.

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closeup of a salted caramel oatmeal cookie on a cooling rack garnished with flakey sea salt

Salted Caramel Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

  • Author: Julianne Dell
  • Prep Time: 90 minutes
  • Cook Time: 12 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 42 minutes
  • Yield: 24 cookies

Description

These Salted Caramel Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe is so simple and so delicious. These mouthwatering cookies are soft and chewy in the middle, swirled with salted caramel, and finished with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.

Ingredients

  • 20 Kraft caramels, unwrapped
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) milk
  • 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (220g) light brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup (143g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons (7.5ml) pure vanilla extract
  • 2 3/4 cups (330g) all-purpose Flour
  • 2 ¼ cups (181g) rolled oats
  • 2 teaspoon (10g) salt, divided
  • 1 teaspoon (4g) baking soda
  • 1 bag (11oz) chocolate chips
  • Flakey sea salt for garnish

Instructions

  1. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine caramels, milk, and sea salt. Microwave in 20-second increments, stirring each time. Caramel will be very hot and can burn easily. Stir in 1 teaspoon salt. All the caramel to cool.
  2. Slice the butter into cubes and let the butter sit on the counter for 20-30 minutes or so. Combine the softened butter with the brown and granulated sugar. Beat on medium speed until well combined, 2-3 minutes.
  3. Next, add the eggs and vanilla extract and continue beating until well incorporated.
  4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, salt (1 tsp) and baking soda. Stir to combine and slowly add the dry ingredients into the dough, mixing on low speed until the dough starts to form.
  5. Before the dough thickens, add the chocolate chips. Beat a couple of times until they start to incorporate.
  6. Once the caramel is cooled, add to cookie dough. Beat just until combined.
  7. Pre-scoop the dough using a large cookie scoop and place on a sheet pan. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt. Refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 24 hours in advance. Remove each batch 10-15 minutes before baking.
  8. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes. The center of the cookie should be slightly under-baked but not too gooey. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Notes

  • Refrigerate the dough: These must be refrigerated for a minimum of one hour, but the longer the better.
  • Fixing cookies that spread:  When your cookies come out of the oven and they do spread or are misshaped, take a flat edge, such as a knife and press the edges of the cookie back towards the middle of the cookie, shaping it into a circle.
  • Storing baked cookies: Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days.
  • Freezing baked cookies: Place on a cookie sheet with layers of parchment paper in between each layer. Once frozen transfer to an airtight container.
  • Freezing cookie dough: Pre scoop the dough as usual. Flash freeze on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet for about 30 minutes until the dough is firm. Transfer to an airtight container with parchment paper between the layers of cookie dough.
Nutrition Information:
1 cookie
293
31g
393mg
9g
48g
1g
3g
37mg
  • Category: Cookies
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American
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