Cookie Recipe #260 - Taffy Treats

These look like mini caramel apples and taste like them, too, minus the apple. A cookie filled with chopped walnuts, dipped in melted caramel, then rolled in more chopped walnuts is a rich treat not intended for the weak.

Ingredients: 1 1/3 cups walnuts, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, 1/2 cup butter, softened, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour, 1/2 pound (about 36)light colored candy caramels, 2/3 cup evaporated milk, 1-2 tablespoons water, if needed.

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Grind walnuts. In small saucepan, combine granulated sugar, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and 1/3 cup of the walnuts. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until very thick. Cool.

In large mixing bowl, cream butter; add brown sugar, powdered sugar, and salt, mixing well. Blend in egg and vanilla. Gradually add flour until thoroughly combined.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Make a depression in ball with thumb and drop in 1/4 teaspoon of walnut filling. Reshape into ball, completely enclosing the filling. Place about 1 inch apart on prepared sheets.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 15-18 minutes until lightly browned. Transfer to wire racks to cool. When completely cooled, insert toothpick in center of each cookie.

Make caramel coating: in small saucepan melt caramels and 2/3 cup evaporated milk over low heat until caramels are completely melted. Remove from heat, dip each cookie in caramel coating until completely covered (allow excess caramel to drip off), then roll in remaining chopped walnuts. Place on parchment paper to set.

Makes 2 1/2 - 3 dozen cookies.

This recipe was submitted by Marie J. Siers of LaGrange, IL, in "Pillsbury's Best Bake-Off Cookbook", Pillsbury, 1959.

Cookies Rule!!!