Apple Cider Caramel Cookies

Having literally just seen my first shooting star after numerous attempts at stargazing with my hubby, writing about a cookie seems a little bit silly and insignificant... But cookies are significant too, right? My ideal would be to live in a somewhat warmer climate and go lie on my deck with my lucky guy AND a fistful of cookies. In a perfect world...



So, on with this fabulous little cookie. I'd never been to a cookie exchange before going to Wendy's three years ago and I loved it for multiple reasons. 1. I get to spend some time with girlfriends, 2. I get to take home a lot of cookies, and 3. I get to try out a new recipe. That one can sometimes bite some of us in the a$$. Nothing stinks more than scouring recipe after recipe to find that perfect one, making 80 gabillion cookies that you think are going to fabulous, and realizing they are just so-so – AND, lucky you, you get to share mediocre cookies with friends and acquaintances and not just pawn them off on your 6- and 5-year-old who will ingest anything with a high ratio of sugar (alright, throw my guy in that mix too).

 

I was a bit nervous about trying these out, but after reading positive comment after positive comment, I figured they HAD to be decent.  I mean, pretty much any time there's caramel involved, I'm there. And I was not disappointed.

~Leah

 

Apple Cider Caramel Cookies

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Leah (adapted from Six Sisters Stuff)

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 13 mins

Total time: 43 mins

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar


• 1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp cinnamon


• 1 cup unsalted butter, about halfway melted


• 1 cup granulated sugar


• 1/2 tsp salt (I like to use kosher)


• 1 (7.4 ounce) box Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink Mix *Not sugar free*


• 2 eggs


• 1 tsp vanilla extract


• 1 tsp baking soda


• 1/2 tsp baking powder


• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour


• 1 (11 ounce) bag Kraft Premium Unwrapped Caramel Bits

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Prepare cinnamon sugar by stirring together in a small bowl. Set aside.


2. In a stand mixer, cream together butter, sugar, salt, and all 10 packets of apple cider mix until smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract, then mix in the baking soda and baking powder. Add the flour and mix until just combined.


3. Cover dough and let chill for at least an hour in the fridge.


4. Scoop dough onto the parchment with a standard (size 50) cookie scoop. Flatten the dough slightly in your hand and place three caramel bits in the center. Work the dough around the caramel sealing well and rolling the dough into a ball. Roll the ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place the cookies two inches apart on the sheets.


5. 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.


6. Makes 30-50 depending on size

Notes

If cookies get too cool before you twist them off, freeze the whole sheet for a few minutes.

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