Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Courtesy of lecremedelacrumb.com)

Ingredients:
12 Tbsp. butter, softened
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 c. flour
1 small (3.4 oz.) box instant vanilla pudding mix, dry- do not prepare (must be instant)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
24 soft caramels, unwrapped
Coarse sea salt, optional

Directions:
Start by beating butter and sugars together for 1-2 minutes until very fluffy.  Add vanilla and egg.  Mix well.  

In a separate bowl whisk together flour, pudding mix, baking soda and salt.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until incorporated and dough comes together.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet (can mist with cooking spray then wipe off with a paper towel- too much grease will lead to flat cookies).  Roll about 3-4 Tbsp. chocolate chip cookie dough into a ball, then repeat with 3-4 Tbsp. of dough.  Press a caramel square into the center of one ball.  Gently smash the 2 dough balls together and roll into one single ball.  Repeat with the remaining dough and place the dough balls at least 3-4 inches apart on the baking sheet.  Put additional chocolate chips into the top of each dough ball if you would like (just for looks).

Bake cookies for 10-13 minutes until set but still slightly undercooked.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt, if desired.  Allow to cook at least 10 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely to room temperature.  Store in an airtight container.