These Salted Caramel Crunch Cookies are a delightful blend of sweet and salty, made in just one-bowl in 30 minutes! With crispy edges and chewy centers, these cookies are packed with crunchy pecans, toffee bits, chewy caramel and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
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I made these cookies on a total whim with what I already had in my pantry. I dug around in my pantry and started pulling random things together based off what I was craving. After my first warm salted caramel-y filled bite, I knew these Salted Caramel Crunch Cookies were going to be one of my new all time favorite cookies! The combination of sweet caramel and sea salt creates a perfect harmony that’s hard to resist. They’ve become a staple in our home, especially during the holidays. Here’s why I think you will love them too:
- Sweet and Salty: The combination of sweet caramel chunks and sea salt creates a delicious balance. Loved by kids and adults alike, they are a hit at any gathering!
- Quick and Easy: These cookies are made in one bowl and ready in under 30 minutes, making them perfect for a quick treat.
- Perfect Texture: They have crispy edges with a perfectly chewy center, offering a delightful contrast to the crunchy pecans, toffee bits and chewy caramel.
- Freezer-Friendly: Make a batch ahead and freeze the dough for warm freshly baked cookies anytime with little effort!
Looking for more easy must-make cookie recipes? Try my favorite white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, quick and chewy peanut butter cookies or these festive gingerdoodles!
Key Ingredients
Below you will find helpful notes for key ingredients used to make this easy salted caramel crunch cookie recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full ingredient list and exact amounts!
- Caramel Squares: I used Kraft caramel squares, with each square cut into 4 pieces. However, many readers have commented that their caramels harden. So, to ensure it stays soft, I recommend using Werther’s Chewy Caramels instead, found in the candy section of the grocery store. You can also use caramel bits, but I find they are a little too small and not as chewy.
- Pecans: You can swap these for any nut, walnuts or peanuts would also both be tasty.
- Toffee Bits: These are optional, but they add a lot more to the caramel flavor overall bite of the cookie. They also add a little extra texture to each bite!
- Flaky Sea Salt: Regular sea salt, nor table salt, will have the same taste. The large flakes are really best for that “salted” taste as they hit more of your taste buds at once!
Grab a bowl and a wooden spoon, and let’s get started. No fancy equipment is needed to whip together a batch of these salted caramel crunch cookies. Below is a quick recipe overview, but please scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions and to watch the step-by-step video!
- Dry Ingredients: Whisk together flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda, cornstarch, salt and cinnamon.
- Wet Ingredients: Add butter, combine with a spatula or with a handheld mixer until crumbly. Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat till well combined.
- Add Fillings and Chill: Fold in the toffee chips, caramel squares and pecans. You can bake the cookies immediately, however the texture of the cookies is best if you cover and refrigerate the dough for 2 hours, or up to 8 hours.
- Form The Dough: Roll two heaping tablespoons of cookie dough into a ball and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Bake: Bake for 12 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are set and golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle the tops with flaked sea salt, to taste.
Chef’s Tips and Variations
- Flour Measuring Tip: To get an accurate flour measurement, make sure to lightly fluff or stir your flour before spooning it into your measuring cup. Use a knife to scrape any excess flour off the top.
- Add Chocolate: Drizzle melted chocolate over the cooled cookies for extra decadence, or stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips.
- Add Rum Flavor: Add 1 teaspoon rum extract to give your cookies an overall slight rum flavor. It pairs surprisingly well with the caramel and pecans.
- Baking Time: Keep an eye on the baking time; slightly underbake for chewier cookies. Allow the cookies to rest on the hot cookie sheet for the centers to set up before moving.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature for even mixing.
Sure! Place them in an airtight container or a tightly-sealed freezer bag, and store in the freezer for 1-2 months. However, I much prefer to freeze the un-baked cookie dough for warm, freshly baked cookies anytime the mood strikes.
- Freeze Cookie Dough: You can also freeze the dough for freshly baked cookies anytime! Freeze the formed dough balls on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper for a couple of hours. Then move the cookie dough to a freezer friendly ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Bake Frozen Cookie Dough: You can thaw the cookie dough in the fridge for 24 hours before baking and then bake exactly as the recipe directs below. Or, bake from frozen, adding an extra 2 to 3 minutes to the bake time.
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup Dixie Crystals Light Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Dixie Crystals Extra Fine Granulated Sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup toffee bits
- 1 cup caramel squares, cut into fourths, I recommend using Werther's chewy caramels as they stay soft
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- Flaky sea salt, optional
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mats, set aside. (Unless you plan on chilling the dough for best texture results, then skip this step for now.)
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda, cornstarch, salt and cinnamon.
- Add butter, combine with a spatula or with a handheld mixer until crumbly. Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat until well combined. Fold in toffee chips, caramel squares and pecans. (Optional: reserve a few toffee chips, caramel squares and pecans to top cookie dough with for a prettier presentation.)
- Optional: Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or up to 24 hours. Allowing the dough to rest will help the flour to absorb better, so the thicker and chewier the final texture will be.
- Roll two heaping tablespoons of cookie dough into a ball and place on prepared baking sheet leaving 2-inches per cookie for spreading. (If you reserved extra toppings, place them on top of cookie dough now.)
- Bake for 12 minutes, or until the edges of cookies are set and golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with flaky sea salt, to taste.
- Let cookies cool and set up for 10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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This recipe was so helpful considering I had most of the ingredients in the pantry already. Not sure why the negative reviews, mine turned out perfect. They did spread but I don’t mind separating them after the bake and cool. I will make these again and they were a wonderful new cookie to try. Thanks Jessica!
Glad you enjoyed them too Abby! 🙂
Made these and will not do it again. Ran really bad not impressed.
Wasted ingredients.
I’m a terrible cook but you make everything look so simple even I want to try to learn how to do it. I have tried a few of the recipes and they came out really good. THANKS
look delicious, can’t wait to make them
Just incredible. Pulling these from the oven right now. Great chew. Perfect flavor. I baked mine on parchment & they’re a bit flat but who cares??
The link for these cookies is broken – the new one is: https://www.dixiecrystals.com/recipes/Salted-Caramel-Crunch-Cookies
My apologies! The link has been corrected! Thanks Desiree!
In your video you show putting cornstarch in with the dry ingredients, but the cornstarch is not included in your recipe. How much do you add?
Hey Lisa! They have corrected the recipe and you will now see the cornstarch!! 🙂
I prefer weights instead of or in addition to measurements.
Can you provide those as well.
These cookies were a disaster. I picked them for cookie exchange and I cannot express how much I regret doing so. First, whomever said 2 tablespoons of dough is insane. 1 tbs alone was a disaster. These, spread and went flat. The caramel is hard and not easy to chew. I bake all the time, followed this recipe and pan prep to a T. The picture is not anything like the finished product.
These look amazing! Bookmarking them for my holiday cookie baking extravaganza! Would it be okay to use regular white granulated sugar instead of the extra fine? Thanks!
Would love to try these! Please send recipe!
Love these
I made these cookies into a bar cookie. I added 1 extra cup of flour….cooked about 25 min. Extra topping of Carmel nits and bits last few minutes so they would not get hard. Perfect!
Looks so good
Solve this problem by making a bar cookie. Bet they would be yummy.
Do you quarter the caramels and then measure one cup or do you measure one cup of the whole caramels? Thank you
I can not get the recipe to show up. Please send before holidays
Please send the recipe for the salted Carmel cookies
I would love it if I could get recipe
Could you share this recipe ….it wouldn’t open for me