DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a glass 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Combine cooled melted butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Slowly add in the flour, salt, and baking soda. When the dry ingredients are all mixed in, stir in the dark chocolate chips.

Divide the batter and press half into the prepared pan, covering the entire bottom of the pan. Combine unwrapped caramels with heavy cream and microwave on high for 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. When caramels are completely melted and mixed with the cream, pour the caramel mixture over the dough in the pan and sprinkle liberally with coarse sea salt. You want to be able to taste the salt.

Press the rest of the cookie dough mixture on top of the caramel by taking small amounts of dough at a time, flattening it between your hands and patchworking the top layer of dough. Lastly sprinkle the top with more sea salt and bake for 30 minutes. Cookie bars will be done when the top is golden brown and the edges pull away from the sides of the pan. Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack before cutting.