Caramel Corn Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recently I made a batch of caramel corn for a baby shower I hosted. (More about the shower soon – I can’t wait to tell you about it!) For a few crazy minutes, I contemplated just making a half batch of caramel corn because we didn’t need very much. Thankfully I quickly regained my sanity, made the full batch, and proceeded to snack with reckless abandon. But even after my snacking binge(s) and hosting the baby shower, I still had a huge amount left over. Not that I consider that a problem, mind you, but this surplus coincided with a strong urge to bake cookies. I was browsing the various cookie recipes I have bookmarked and then this one stopped me in my tracks. Chocolate chip cookies…with caramel corn. So, basically, two of my very favorite things combined in one.

Now, as wonderful as the idea of these sounded, I was very skeptical of how they might turn out. Logistically, I was sure that the caramel corn would lose its crunch, or that the caramel would melt into weird pools and mess up the cookies, or…something. Eventually I figured it was worth a shot and even if they weren’t fabulous, they should still be pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the caramel corn retained its crunch and its flavor, and the cookies didn’t make any funky moves while baking. I used dark chocolate chips rather than the usual semisweet and added a touch more salt to offset the additional sweetness from the caramel corn.

In closing, caramel corn + amazing chocolate chip cookies = do it.

Yield about 20-22 large cookies

Ingredients

2 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. baking soda
12 tbsp. (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1½ cups caramel corn

Directions

01
Preheat oven 325°. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugars. Beat on medium-high speed until well combined. Mix in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until smooth. With the mixer on low speed stir in the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the chocolate chips and caramel corn.
02
Roll a scant half-cup of dough into a ball. Holding dough ball in fingertips of both hands, pull apart into two equal halves. Rotate halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, place formed dough onto cookie sheet, leaving ample room between each ball. Bake, rotating halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy (about 14-18 minutes). Do not overbake.
03
Let cool on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
04
Note: I think these cookies are far better fresh from the oven than enjoyed on subsequent days. Normally I bake only the number of cookies I need at a time, shape the rest of the dough into balls as instructed, and freeze the dough balls individually. Then we bake directly from the freezer (adding a few minutes to the baking time). If you do have left over baked cookies, warm them briefly in the microwave for 5-10 seconds to soften slightly before eating.

Source

inspired by Cate’s World Kitchen and adapted from Baking Illustrated