Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

What a busy week this is turning out to be. Everything I had specifically set time aside to accomplish has now been shoved to the back burner due to work…literally. There were so many recipes that I wanted to try out this week, but now it seems that B.O.B. Bob and I will be spending the majority or our week eating out.

Most of you know, that work for me, is very iffy on a good day. (Yes, I did just use the word iffy!) However, this week it seems I’ve hit the mother lode, and get to work three days, and of course two of those days are destined to be “snow days.” That’s just how my year seems to be going so far; if it’s snowing, I’m working. (On the bright side, if nothing else, I have learned how to spell “mother lode” correctly today…I always assumed it was “mother load.” Who knew?)

In addition to work this week, I am blessed with having my amazing friend Betty-La in town; so I’ve been trying to schedule some fun time into my week as well. So don’t be expecting me to be sharing any great recipes this week. You’re going to have to settle for this cookie recipe I created several months ago.

That’s right…I’ve been holding out on you. This one was a good one; it’s just too bad it wasn’t a very attractive cookie appearance wise. The caramel bits caused the cookie to spread out and take on a mutant shape, which was a little bit disappointing to say the least. At some point however, you need to look past appearances and appreciate things for what they are, and this cookie has a real inner beauty that’s just waiting to be relished.

So while I may not have time to play around in the kitchen this week, I can at least look forward to the future when my work, or lack thereof, will give me the opportunity to have some much-needed time to experiment with new recipes. In the meantime, I’ll be trying to look past the hectic schedule I’ve been experiencing lately, and appreciate the cherished moments with close friends that God has chosen to bless my life with this week in particular.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
2/3 Cup Light Brown Sugar, Packed
2 Eggs, Room Temperature
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
2 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 (10-oz.) Bag Ghirardelli Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Chips
1 (11-oz.) Bag Kraft Caramel Bits
Ground Sea Salt for Sprinkling on Cookies

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars for 2 minutes on medium speed.
Add eggs, mix for 1 minute.
Add vanilla, mix for 1 minute.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.
Add the flour mixture slowly to the butter mixture on low speed, mixing just until the flour is incorporated.
Mix in the mini chocolate chips and caramel bits with a spatula.
Use a cookie scoop to drop large tablespoonfuls of cookie dough onto a Silpat or parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Sprinkle each cookie with ground sea salt.
Bake for 9 to 10 minutes.
Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to completely cool.
Package the cookies in an airtight container.

Suggestions:

This is a flatter cookie than most that I make. The caramel bits melt down and make this cookie spread out.
Beware of your fillings. The caramel does not get super hard, but it is very sticky.
This recipe will yield approximately 4 dozen cookies.

Improvements: