Salted Caramel Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
What do you get when you decide to brown a little butter and get creative? The most insanely delicious little salted caramel brown butter chocolate chip bars ever, that’s what.
Why are good ol’ chocolate chip cookie bars so irresistible? I mean, chocolate chip cookies are tasty, but smash the same basic dough into a pan, underbake just a little, and wow.
It is safe to assume that bar cookies in some form have solved many a dessert dilemma for me over the years (and in some cases made me look way more put together in the potluck department than I really am).
I’m not trying to usurp the almighty chocolate chip cookie bar here, but sometimes even amazing things can be improved on. And in this case, a touch of brown butter and soft, chewy caramel does just that.
Honestly, these bars are magically delicious. A basic chocolate chip cookie dough gets a boost from the nutty flavor of browned butter before being layered in a pan with chewy, lightly salted caramel.
After baking, that caramel layer pops up a bit here and there throughout the chocolate chip cookie bars, creating a chewy, buttery soft ripple that immediately alerts my self-control: get these bars out of the house ASAP.
The fact that these salted caramel brown butter chocolate chip bars freeze amazingly well can either be taken as the best news ever or a dangerous piece of advice.
What’s the deal with browned butter?
Yes, brown butter is a bit trendy…but it’s also here to stay. And I am not sad about that. If you’ve never browned yourself some butter, may I encourage you to do so at your earliest convenience? I have a quick and easy tutorial here. Other than keeping a close eye on the butter while it cooks (as in, now is not the time to go paint your toenails), it’s easy as can be.
And if you’re wondering why the fuss? Well, the little bits of butter solids that turn nutty and toasty give the brown butter (and resulting cookie dough, in this case) a delicious depth of golden, caramelly flavor that can’t be achieved by any extract or artificial flavoring.
Caramel, Caramel and a few other tips
Caramel is a distinct and important ingredient in these cookie bars. You don’t want caramel sauce. You want soft, chewy, squares of caramel that most likely need to be unwrapped (unless you are ambitiously making your own homemade caramel or are using little chewy caramel bits – Kraft brand, I think?).
My favorite brand of wrapped chewy caramels are Trader Joe’s or Kraft. Whatever the brand, make sure to spread the melted caramel over the unbaked cookie dough while the caramel is still warm.
If you are using homemade caramel, you probably want about 1 1/2 cups or so.
Despite the few simple extra steps of browning the butter and melting a bit of caramel, these chocolate chip cookie bars are easy. Almost too easy. If you know what I mean.
They are positively dangerous for anyone who possesses a love of caramel and cookies. The good (?) news is, if word gets out you have a batch of these sitting around, you might be rid of them sooner than you’d like. #barthedoor
I know I’ve shared a lot of recipes over the years with you, my faithful friends, but I’m never happier than when I’m typing up a recipe like this – so easy, so sure to become a family favorite. If I wasn’t solidly sure if it before, days like today reinforce that my love language is definitely sharing good food with anyone and everyone who will listen/eat.
One Year Ago: Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
Two Years Ago: Simple Weeknight Greek Chicken Burritos {or Wraps!}
Three Years Ago: Amazing Cinnamon Chip Scones {Best Basic Scone Recipe}
Four Years Ago: My Favorite Peanut Butter Cookies
Five Years Ago: Baked Shrimp and Orzo with Feta Cheese
Salted Caramel Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (170 g) salted butter
- 1 cup (212 g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (213 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups (255 g) chocolate chips
- 14-ounce bag (397 g) soft caramels, unwrapped (not caramel sauce)
- 2-3 tablespoons milk or cream
- ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch pan (I use metal) with foil or parchment paper (to make cleanup easier with the caramel). Lightly grease the bottom and sides with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Brown the butter by cutting the butter into tablespoon-size pieces and placing in a skillet (preferably not nonstick so you can see the changing color easily – quick tutorial here). Cook over medium-low heat until the butter melts, begins to sizzle, and the butter solids on the bottom begin to turn a toasty brown, 3-4 minutes. Watch closely; the exact time will vary. Remove from the heat and immediately pour into a medium bowl. Refrigerate the butter for 10 minutes or so (not too long or it will solidify) until no longer hot.
- Stir in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda and salt to the browned butter until evenly combined.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined. Stir in the flour and chocolate chips until no dry streaks remain.
- Take about 2/3 of the dough and dot in large pieces across the bottom of the prepared pan. Press into an even, thin layer.
- Add the unwrapped caramels and cream to a microwave-safe bowl and cook for 1-minute increments at 50% power, stirring in between, until the mixture is melted and smooth (careful not to burn).
- Spread the caramel, while still warm, over the cookie dough in the pan. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, if desired. Pinch teaspoon-size pieces of remaining cookie dough and sprinkle across the caramel.
- Bake for 20-27 minutes until the cookie dough is golden (the bars will be super gooey coming out of the oven – like molten lava because of the melted caramel; as long as the top and sides are golden, they'll set up as they cool). Let cool completely before cutting into squares.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Hands down this recipe is now my most requested at family/friend gatherings. Guarantee you can’t eat just one!
I love knowing that, Cheryl! Thanks for sharing!
You’re right, these bars are magically delicious! I wanted to come back and weigh in as some of the struggles reported by others had me a little nervous to make these, but they turned out beautifully for me! I used Kraft caramels, they come in an 11oz package, which worked out just fine. I sprinkled a good bit of coarse sea salt over the caramel (more than suggested) and I think next time I might just add a sprinkle on top of the bars as well as we love a salt/sweet combo! I baked for 20 mins in a metal 13×9. At that point the top was browned like you would expect chocolate chip cookie bars to be and the middle set up perfectly once cooled. Definitely will be making these again! My family loved them. Thanks for another great recipe!
These didn’t turn out at all! And they didn’t look as nice as the picture either. Followed the recipe to the tee.