Except when that big, warm, thick cookie is stuffed with a plump caramel.
We’re closing in on almost one year since I posted the Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups and since that recipe continues to be popular with readers and on Pinterest, I decided to one-up it. Because stuffed cookies will always one-up their unstuffed counterparts. Fact.
The beauty of this recipe is that you don’t need a mixer (cookie dough without a mixer!), it’s made in one bowl, and you don’t have to chill the dough. If you’re prone to having your cookies spread or not bake up as thick as you wish, this recipe just answered your cookie prayers because they’re baked in a muffin pan and nearly foolproof. From start to finish, you’re looking 30 minutes between you and warm, thick, stuffed cookie heaven.
I altered my previous recipe in a few ways. l simply melted the butter in the micro rather than browning it. Feel free to take the extra 5 minutes to brown it if you’d like. I changed the type and quantity of flour, from 1 1/2 cups bread flour to 1 3/4 cups all-purpose. For most of 2012, I was into baking cookies with bread flour because it makes them chewier. Chewiness is great, but bread flour can also dry out the dough and make the cookies tougher. After a couple batches of borderline dry and tough cookies, I’ve dropped bread flour in my cookies and have been back to only using all-purpose for most of this year. I usually need slightly more AP flour than bread flour and in this case, I used 1/4 cup more than before.
Finally, I added cornstarch to the dough, a trick I’ve been using for over a year. I’ve used it in at least 15 cookie recipes, including Lofthouse Soft Peanut Butter Chip Sugar Cookies, Lofthouse Soft Sugar Sprinkles Cookies, Pumpkin Spice Cookies, Peanut Butter Coconut Oil Cookies, M&Ms Cookies, Snickers Cookies, Twix Bar Cookies, Caramel Corn Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Smores Cookies. The cornstarch helps to keep this dough softbatch-style and the cookies stay lighter, without turning into little hockey pucks. And I’ve made plenty of those in my recipe tests.
To make the cookies, melt 1 stick of butter in the micro, stir in 1 egg, sugars, vanilla. Then add flour, baking soda, and cornstarch. Stir in the chocolate chips and you’re ready to start stuffing. Using a 1/4-cup measure, form a dough ball, stuff a Werther’s Original® Baking Caramels inside.
Seal up the edges to make sure the caramel is completely covered with dough or it will bake into the side of the pan and stick horribly. It’s a real elbow grease-infused hot mess if that happens. These Werther’s caramels are a dream to work with because they’re wrapped in paper, not cellophane, and unwrapping them takes seconds, not minutes. Anyone who’s used caramels in a recipe knows that it can take 15 minutes to unwrap 2 dozen caramels if they’re wrapped in cellophane. I have literally not made recipes that call for caramels because I loathe the unwrapping process. Problem solved with these. Strategically place any chocolate chips that are in the bottom of your mixing bowl onto the top and sides of the dough for a nice pop of chocolate. That visual appeal stuff.
The recipe makes exactly 1 dozen cookies but if you don’t need or want all 12 at once, simply refrigerate the unused dough mounds in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 4 months. As is the case with almost all of my cookie recipes, you can make this dough in advance and then bake only what you need.
The cookies are buttery soft with squishy interiors, and a slight chewiness around the edges. The chocolate is melty and gooey, and will make you reach for the napkins. After writing a cookbook and a dessert blog for almost 5 years, my husband is largely immune to any sweets I make, and generally not that impressed anymore. On top of that, he’s not a cookie guy (give him ice cream), but he hoarded these and said they’re some of my best cookies ever.
The best part is finding that big buttery, rich caramel in the center. It’s like digging for a treasure and striking gold.
Related Recipes
Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes!
Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups
They make a wonderful perch for a scoop or two
Chocolate Chip and Chunk Cookies – My favorite recipe for pure, unadulterated, perfect chocolate chip cookies. They’re soft, chewy, tender, moist, stay soft for days, are a snap to make, and have two kinds of chocolate in every bite. I wrote extensively about why I love them and if you need a solid, fuss-free, and straightforward recipe for chocolate chip cookies that yields fabulous results on every level, try this one. It’s my gold standard
Soft and Chewy Snickers Chocolate Chip Cookies
Soft and Chewy Smores Cookies
Soft and Chewy Seven Layer Magic Bar Cookies
Twix Bar Cookies
Soft and Chewy M&Ms Cookies
Softbatch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies – They’ve turned into a Pinterest hit. Move over butter, cream cheese keeps these cookies super soft
New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies (from Jacques Torres)
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookies with Peanut Butter Cups and M&M’s
Fellow caramel lovers, visit The Werther’s Caramel Shoppe for caramel recipes, tips and tricks. Reminder to enter the Magimix Colored Vision Toaster Giveaway ($200 Value) and the Outdoor Triple Burner Stove and Artisan Pizza Oven Giveaway ($350 Value) Have you ever made stuffed cookies? Favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe or recipe that uses caramels?
