My kids had a singing performance this week and I wanted to make something special for dessert afterwards. I was flipping through an old Betty Crocker magazine and found these darling cookies and immediately began assembling ingredients. I've glanced at these cookies a few times over the years but never made them because I thought they looked too time consuming. I'm relived to say they were much, much easier than I thought they'd be! The dough came together quickly and decorating the cookies was a snap! Plus~ look how they turned out! They're so cute!
Caramel Apple Cookies
Adapted from Betty CrockerCookies:
Directions:
Heat oven to 400°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In large bowl, beat sugar, butter and shortening with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in vanilla and egg. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt.
On lightly floured surface, roll dough 1/3 inch thick. Cut with an apple-shaped cookie cutter. Or, if you're like me and don't have an apple-shaped cookie cutter, use a pumpkin cutter and simple turn it upside down!
On a parchment lined or lightly greased cookie sheet, place cutouts 2 inches apart. Carefully insert 1 inch of wooden stick into side of each cookie. {Into the stem of the pumpkin.} Don't let this step scare you, it's actually really easy! Just take one hand and lightly touch the top of the cookie while you use your other hand to push the popsicle stick in the cookie. You'll be able to feel exactly where the stick is in the cookie- I tried to push it in until it was almost to the top of the cookie.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely before adding caramel glaze.
If you're using caramel squares: In 2-quart saucepan, heat caramels and water over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. If caramel glaze becomes too stiff, heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until softened.
Spread top third of each cookie (opposite wooden stick) with caramel glaze. Hold cookie upright to allow glaze to drizzle down cookie. If it's not spreading a lot, add more caramel! You can also encourage the caramel to spread down one side or another by adding drips to certain sections of the top of the cookie. Sprinkle with candy sprinkles.
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Caramel on Top:
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping + 1.5 TBSP flour
or
24 square wrapped caramels + 2 TBSP water
{I didn't have 24 caramels and didn't want to sit and unwrap them all anyways, so I did the ice cream topping method and it worked beautifully!}
***You'll also need 18 wooden sticks. I tried both the wide craft sticks and thin popsicle sticks and both worked well!!
Heat oven to 400°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In large bowl, beat sugar, butter and shortening with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in vanilla and egg. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt.
On lightly floured surface, roll dough 1/3 inch thick. Cut with an apple-shaped cookie cutter. Or, if you're like me and don't have an apple-shaped cookie cutter, use a pumpkin cutter and simple turn it upside down!
On a parchment lined or lightly greased cookie sheet, place cutouts 2 inches apart. Carefully insert 1 inch of wooden stick into side of each cookie. {Into the stem of the pumpkin.} Don't let this step scare you, it's actually really easy! Just take one hand and lightly touch the top of the cookie while you use your other hand to push the popsicle stick in the cookie. You'll be able to feel exactly where the stick is in the cookie- I tried to push it in until it was almost to the top of the cookie.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely before adding caramel glaze.
If you're using caramel ice cream topping: mix topping with flour until smooth.
If you're using caramel squares: In 2-quart saucepan, heat caramels and water over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. If caramel glaze becomes too stiff, heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until softened.
Spread top third of each cookie (opposite wooden stick) with caramel glaze. Hold cookie upright to allow glaze to drizzle down cookie. If it's not spreading a lot, add more caramel! You can also encourage the caramel to spread down one side or another by adding drips to certain sections of the top of the cookie. Sprinkle with candy sprinkles.
Allow cookies to sit out about an hour for caramel to harden a bit. Lay flat to store.
ENJOY!
