The Cooking Photographer: Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies
(Dessert, November 22nd)
I was a little speptical while making these because I had to use my non-preferred brand of apple cider mix because Swiss Miss has discontinued theirs. Also the dough was a bit tart for me when I tasted it while mixing. That said these turned out great! Especially while still a little warm (though I also learned my lesson tasting them a bit too soon while the caramel was still molten.) One dissapointment was that once these cooked they were pretty rock hard. I’d love to see I can tweak this to be a softer but still apple flavored cookie.
UPDATE:I made these again and made some tweaks to the recipe and they came out perfect. Here’s my version of the recipe.
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/8 cup granulated sugar7/8 cup brown sugar1 teaspoon salt
1 (7.4 ounce) box Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink Mix *Not sugar free*
1 egg1 egg yolk2 tbsp milk1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 (14 ounce) bag Kraft Caramels
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line rimless cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a stand mixer, cream together butter, sugar, salt, and all 10 packets of apple cider mix until smooth and fluffy. Beat in egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla extract, then mix in the baking soda. Add the flour and mix until just combined.
3. With a standard (size 50) cookie scoop, scoop the dough scrapping off the excess as you go up the bowl. Flatten the dough slightly in your hand and place a caramel in the center. Work the dough around the caramel sealing well. Place the cookies two inches apart on the sheets.
4. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. After baking, carefully slide the parchment with the cookies onto the counter. Let cool until they are no longer soft but still slightly warm. Twist gently to remove, and cool the rest of the way upside down on the parchment or on a cooling rack.
