Salted Caramel Chocolate Chips

In a mixing bowl, combine & cream together thoroughly:
3/4 cup soft UNsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 extra egg yolk
2 teasp. vanilla

Stir in:
2 cups plus 2 Tblsp. flour
1/2 teasp. baking soda
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Chill dough for 1 hr.
When ready to bake, heat your oven to 350º & line a few baking sheets w/parchment.

Have ready:  16-20 caramels, cut up into 4-6 smaller pcs. each - OR if you're lucky, you can find Kraft Caramel Bits (bag) in the baking aisle near chocolate chips.

Drop dough by rounded Tblsp. onto sheets, leaving space between each cookie.  Press a few pcs. of caramel onto the tops of each cookie.

Bake 8-10 minutes, until the edges begin to turn golden.  Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle a small amount of sea salt onto the tops of each cookie.

Cool and enjoy!

Chocolate chips

These have become a family favorite! I've played around with ingredients, amounts and technique and this works best for us, producing a tasty, yet chewy cookie.

In a mixing bowl, using a mixer or (vigorous action with a) wire whisk, cream together for 3-4 minutes (IMPORTANT!), until light and fluffy:

1 cup softened butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Mix in thoroughly:

1 teasp. good quality vanilla extract (I use Madagascar vanilla)

1 large egg

1 extra egg yolk only

Combine 1/2 teasp. of baking soda with 2-1/4 cups white flour - slowly stir into the creamed butter, mixing completely.

Add:

1 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips

(Add chopped nuts at this point if you like.)

Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for AT LEAST SIX HOURS, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On greased baking sheets OR parchment lined sheets (I always bake cookies using parchment) drop large teaspoonfuls of dough, leaving an inch of space between cookies, 16 to 20 per baking sheet. Bake cookies for 10 minutes, or until they're just starting to get golden around the edges. Remove from oven and cool before removing cookies to a plate.  If you prefer a crunchier cookie, bake another couple minutes.

Another option for a salty/crunchy chocolate chip is to add 1-1/2 C. crushed pretzels (when adding the semisweet chips) before baking.