My latest baking obsession has been this brownie caramel from Milk Bar. I used it in two different tartes I’ve made recently, and I cannot get enough of it. I want to put it in everything, so naturally that has led to these Brownie Caramel Filled Chocolate Chip Cookies.

And when I made this Half Baked tarte, I had some brownie caramel left over. It was just sitting in my fridge for a while, but when my pottery class teacher mentioned that they often bring snacks in on the last day of class, I figured it would be a good excuse to bake something.

When you’re baking for people you’ve only met a few times, you have to play it pretty safe. But on the other hand… I find playing it too safe to be boring. So I decided to use the leftover brownie caramel to stuff some chocolate chip cookies. Because who doesn’t like chocolate chip cookies? And who doesn’t like some extra chocolate-y chocolate chip cookies? I figured I wouldn’t even need to tell them they’re stuffed with anything – they’re just super chocolate-y on the inside.

It was a simple way to bring the cookies up a notch. And that’s exactly the effect it had! It’s not like it’s a massive pocket of brownie in the middle. It’s just an extra little pocket of chewy chocolate. In some of them, the caramel seeped through a bit and created a nice little caramelized texture on the bottom.

And I’m happy to report, these were a hit with my pottery class! The only problem was how much of a mouthful it was to say that I made “Brownie Caramel Filled Chocolate Chip Cookies.”

Now, just stay tuned for my pieces to be finished up, and maybe I’ll be able to take some photos of my baked goods on more interesting plates (and bowls… I was mainly only able to make bowls).

Brownie Caramel Filled Chocolate Chip Cookies

Author: Audrey

Ingredients

For the Brownie Caramel:

1/2 cup sugar (divided)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp dark chocolate chips
3/4 cups boxed brownie mix
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Cookies:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups chocolate chips

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Instructions

Caramel requires all of your attention – so measure all the ingredients beforehand and keep them close by, you don’t want to be scrambling to measure something while the caramel burns!
Make a dry caramel: In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, cook ¼ cup of the sugar over medium-high heat. As soon as the sugar starts to melt, use a heat-resistant spatula to move it constantly around the pan—you want it all to melt and caramelize evenly to a gorgeous amber color. Once the first amount of sugar has taken on color, add an additional ¼ cup sugar to the existing caramel in the pan, repeating the previous steps—cook and stir, cook and stir, until the mixture is once again a gorgeous amber color. Continue adding ¼ cup sugar twice more until all your sugar has become one pretty pan of caramel.
Remove pan from heat and stir in the unsalted butter until melted.
Next, carefully and slowly stream in the heavy cream, whisking all the while. The mixture will sputter and bubble and produce a ton of steam so watch your hands.
Add chocolate chips and stir until melted.
Finally, add in brownie mix, cocoa powder, and salt and whisk until smooth.
Transfer caramel to an airtight container and chill for at least an hour, or until thick and glossy.
Once cool, measure out teaspoon size globs of the caramel and place them on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Freeze them while you make the cookie dough.
For the cookies: Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Portion out balls of dough and flatten between your hands. Place a piece of frozen brownie caramel in the middle, and then mold the dough around the caramel.
Place cookie dough balls on a Silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.