Brown Butter Caramel Chocolate Cookies (Print Version)
Sweet and salty cookies packed with brown butter, caramel, pretzels, toffee, and chocolate chips.
# List of Ingredients:
→ Dry Ingredients
01 - 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 teaspoon baking soda
03 - 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
04 - 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
→ Wet Ingredients
05 - 1 cup unsalted butter
06 - 1 cup packed light brown sugar
07 - 1/3 cup granulated sugar
08 - 2 large eggs, at room temperature
09 - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
10 - 2 tablespoons honey
→ Mix-Ins
11 - 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
12 - 1/2 cup toffee bits
13 - 1/2 cup soft caramel candies, chopped into small pieces
14 - 1 cup mini salted pretzels, roughly broken
→ Topping
15 - Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
# Step-by-step Instructions:
01 - Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently. Continue cooking until it foams and golden-brown bits form at the bottom, approximately 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and fine sea salt. Set aside.
03 - In a large mixing bowl, combine the browned butter, packed light brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Whisk until well blended and slightly cooled.
04 - Add the eggs one at a time, whisking thoroughly after each addition. Stir in the pure vanilla extract and honey until evenly distributed.
05 - Add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients and fold gently until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
06 - Gently fold in the semisweet chocolate chips, toffee bits, chopped caramel candies, and broken pretzel pieces until evenly dispersed throughout the dough.
07 - Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to firm up, which yields thicker cookies with better texture. This step is optional but recommended.
08 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
09 - Scoop approximately 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
10 - Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the centers appear just set.
11 - Immediately sprinkle the warm cookies with flaky sea salt. Allow them to rest on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The brown butter does most of the heavy lifting, giving each cookie a depth that regular butter simply cannot touch.
- Every bite hits a different texture, from melty caramel pools to sharp pretzel crunch, so you never get bored eating them.
02 -
- Brown butter goes from perfect to burnt in seconds, so stay at the stove and pull it the moment you see amber specks and smell toasted nuts.
- Pressing a few extra caramel pieces on top of each dough ball before baking creates those gorgeous gooey pools everyone photographs.
03 -
- If your caramel pieces are too hard, microwave them for 10 seconds to soften before chopping so you do not fighting a sticky, stubborn mess.
- Rotate your baking sheets halfway through the bake time for even browning, especially if your oven has hot spots like mine does.