Chocolate Chunk Caramel Oatmeal Cookies

Soft oatmeal cookies loaded with chopped chocolate and caramel squares. If you want to switch up your usual cookie recipe, bake these!

Chocolate Chunk Caramel Oatmeal Cookies are a cross between oatmeal cookies and chocolate chip cookies, just add caramel! These cookies have gooey centers with slightly crisp edges and are loaded with flavor.

These cookies are absolutely delicious with so many complimentary flavors and textures! If you don’t have caramel squares on hand, you can totally omit that ingredient!

Read on for a breakdown of the ingredients and the baking process.

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What you need

Parchment paper – line your cookie sheets with parchment paper for an easier clean up.

Butter – salted butter is preferred.

Brown sugar – brown sugar gives more depth of flavor and helps the cookies spread out more which is what I was going for with this cookie.

Cane sugar – pure cane or granulated will work.

Vanilla extract – what is a cookie without vanilla extract? Shop my favorite vanilla extract here.

Egg – large egg, doesn’t need to be room temperature.

Flour – All purpose flour, spoon into your measuring cup and level off, don’t pack the flour.

Baking soda – so the cookies rise a little.

Cinnamon – traditional oatmeal cookies call for this. I added a little to this recipe to bring out the oatmeal cookie vibes.

Salt – fine salt for the cookie batter and flaky sea salt for topping the cookies.

Chocolate bar – high quality 4 oz chocolate bar. Alternately you can use chocolate chips. I prefer chopped chocolate as it elevates the final look of the cookie.

Oats – I used quick cooking oats, but old-fashioned oats would work as well.

Caramel squares – I used Kraft soft caramel baking squares, but you could also use the caramel bits, just fold about half a cup into the batter with the oats and chopped chocolate. Alternatively, you can drizzle caramel sauce on top of the cookies after they’ve baked.

How to make Chocolate Chunk Caramel Oatmeal Cookies

Start by lining a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Cut about 8 caramels in half (these are for stuffing the cookies) cut another 8-10 caramels in four pieces (these are for topping the cookies). Set aside.

In a small bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, sugars, vanilla and egg until combined. Add the flour mixture and whisk just until combined and there is no dry flour left. Fold in the oats and most of the chopped chocolate, set some aside for topping.

Scoop out about 16 even sized balls of cookie dough. Flatten each ball and place a caramel piece in the center. Fold the dough around the caramel and roll into a ball. Place 6 at a time on the prepared baking sheet, leave plenty of room for these to spread! Top with 2-3 caramel bits and chopped chocolate. Bake for about 8 minutes at 365 Fahrenheit.

When cookies are done, the centers will be puffy and the edges set. Remove from oven and immediately top with sea salt. Let the cookies set on the pan for 5 minutes before Transferring to a cooling rack. Serve warm!

Will the caramel harden after sitting out at room temperature?

Yes! The caramel will harden after the cookies have sat out for a while. It’s best to serve these warm or heat up in the microwave before enjoying.

If you don’t have a microwave, you can reheat the cookies in an oven for about 4 minutes at 350 Fahrenheit.

I don’t enjoy the texture of a soft cookie with tough chunks of caramel, but my husband enjoyed them both ways! If you’re worried about the caramel hardening, I would suggest Kraft caramel bits instead or leaving the caramel out altogether.

Another tip is to bake the amount of cookies you want that day and store the remainder of the cookie dough in the fridge or freezer for the next time you want a fresh warm cookie.

Chocolate Chunk Caramel Oat Cookies are delicious on their own and even better with a glass of milk. My husband, Hunter even made an ice-cream sandwich with these cookies while I was out of town!

I love a new cookie recipe I can add to the rotation, and I hope this recipe gets added to yours. Be sure to comment and rate this recipe if you try it!