Chocolate Cookies with Caramel Filling

Well, if you were looking for a way to enjoy every hour of any day, or maybe every minute of every day, look no further. These cookies are so chocolaty and with a hidden surprise of caramel, who could not be happy? One word, DELICIOUS!

Makes About: 48 cookies

Takes About: 2 hours

Difficulty: 1 out of 5

Prep:

Place a piece of parchment paper onto a large cookie sheet.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter - room temperature

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ginger (optional)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

48 soft caramels or 24 soft caramels cut in half

1/2 cup granulated sugar

Instructions:

- Step 1 - Cream That Butter

In a large bowl, cream the 1 cup of butter until light and fluffy.

- Step 2 - Add the Sugar

Add the 3/4 cup of packet brown sugar and the 3/4 cups of granulated sugar into the butter and mix until fluffy - about 3-5 minutes.

- Step 3 - Add the Wet Ingredients

Add the 2 eggs and the 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and mix until well combined.

- Step 4 - Grabbing a Separate Bowl

In a separate bowl, mix together the 2 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cups cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Add the optional spices (the 1/4 teaspoon ginger and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon) only if you would like your cookies to have a little spice. The cookies do have a nice chocolaty, sweet taste without the spices and are delicious either way.

- Step 5 - Mix the Dry and Wet Ingredients

Add the dried ingredients to the wet ingredients in two batches.

The first mix will be pretty easy; however, when adding the remaining dried ingredients, the dough will become very stiff.

If the mixer can not stand it, press the dough together to make sure all dried ingredients are incorporated.

- Step 6 - Freeze

Once the dough seems to be mixed well, press the dough down into the bottom of the dish, cover with cling, and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

- Step 7 - Preheat

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

- Step 8 - Roll, Flatten, Fill, Roll

Take about one tablespoons of dough and roll it into a nice, smooth ball.

Flatten the ball and place a piece of caramel into the middle.

Press the dough back together and roll it back into a ball keeping in mind, the caramel should always stay in the middle of the cookie.

- Step 9 - Roll in Sugar

Place the 1/2 cup of remaining sugar into a shallow bowl or onto a plate.

Drop the filled cookie into the sugar and roll it around until completed covered.

- Step 10 - Fill the Cookie Sheet

Place the sugar covered balls onto a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart and bake in the preheated oven for 6-8 minutes.

The cookie will be soft when they come out of the oven, but it will harden.

- Step 11 - Don't eat them All!

Because, 1. you will want to eat them all. 2. I want some...

However, who could resist that gooey caramel?

Recommendation: The caramels will harden after the cookies cool, so just pop them in the microwave for about 5 seconds to soften them up.

Adapted from That Skinny Chick Can Bake's "Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies."