Cookie Recipe #104 - Choco-Caramel Delights

A pond of caramel surrounded by an enbankment of chocolate cookie sprinkled with walnuts and striped with chocolate is a delight as its name portrays.

Ingredients: 2/3 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup butter, softened, 1 egg, separated, 2 tablespoons milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 cup finely chopped pecans (I used walnuts), 14 unwrapped light caramels, 3 tablespoons whipping cream, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 1 teaspoon shortening.

In large mixing bowl, beat sugar, butter, egg yolk, milk and vanilla until blended. Stir together flour, cocoa and salt in small bowl; blend into sugar/butter mixture until thoroughly combined. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or until firm enough to handle (or overnight).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg white slightly in small bowl; set aside. Shape dough into 1 inch balls; dip into egg white, then roll in nuts to coat. Place 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Press thumb gently in center of each ball making an indentation. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. While cookies bake, prepare caramel filling as follows: In small saucepan, combine the 14 caramels and the whipping cream. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until caramels are melted and mixture is smooth.

Remove cookies from oven to heatproof surface. Press center of each cookie again to further indent (cookies will be hot, so if too hot for your finger, use the back of a measuring spoon). Immediately spoon 1/2 teaspoon of Caramel filling in center of each cookie. Carefully remove to wire racks to completely cool.

Heat chocolate chips and shortening in microwave, stirring after each minute (1-2), until completely melted. Drizzle chocolate over cookies in design of choice.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

(Treasury of Holiday Cookies, published by Publications International, Ltd, Lincolnwood, IL, in 1994).

Cookies Rule!!!

Cookie Recipe #27 - Boiled No-Bake Cookies

Boiled No-Bake Cookies are just what they say-no oven needed, only a stovetop. They are rich in chocolate and peanut butter, chewy in oatmeal, yet crunchy in nuts, and so easy to make. Once everthing is mixed in, you have to work quickly to drop the hot mixture on baking sheets before they cool-that's the only hard part (not really that difficult). My husband loves these; he remembers making them as a child and how yummy in the tummy they were then and still are!

Ingredients: 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, 2 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup evaporated milk, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 2-2 1/2 cups quick oats, 1/2 cup chopped nuts, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

Instructions: Using two baking sheets, place a sheet of waxed paper on each; set aside. In medium saucepan place butter, sugar, cocoa and milk. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until butter melts. Continue cooking and stirring until mixture comes to a boil; boil for one minute. Remove from heat; stir in peanut butter until melted, then add vanilla, oats and nuts and mix thoroughly. With two spoons, quickly scoop a tablespoonful of chocolate mixture out of pan and scrape off onto prepared baking sheets with the other spoon. Continue with remaining mixture. Allow to cool until cookies are set and can be removed from waxed paper to serving dish.

Makes about 3 dozen 2-2 1/2 inch cookies. Store in airtight container at room temperature or in refrigerator-they're good either way!

Cookie Recipe #22 - Caramel-Filled Chocolate Cookies

The first bite into one of these cookies involves chocolate, white and dark, crunchy pecans, followed by a creamy caramel filling-utopia in your mouth! You can't eat just one (or at least I can't). When I lived in Michign, this was one of the several kinds I made at Christmas time to give as gifts to all our friends and relatives. The center is a Rolo candy, so as you unwrap them to prepare to use them in the cookies, try to save a few for the cookies...

Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 - 1 cup cocoa, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1 cup butter, softened, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 2 eggs, 1 cup chopped pecans 48 Rolo Caramels, unwrapped (9 oz pkg-larger, if you want to eat some), 1 T. sugar, 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, 1-2 teaspoons shortening.

Instructions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In small bowl, combine flour, cocoa and baking soda; set aside. In large mixing bowl, beat sugar, brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs; beat well. Sift flour, cocoa and baking soda over bowl of wet ingredients and thoroughly combine. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped pecans.

In small bowl, combine other 1/2 cup chopped pecans with 1 tablespoon sugar (I use raw sugar); set aside.

With floured fingers, shape 1 tablespoon dough around one Rolo and roll into a ball. Dip one side of ball into bowl of sugar & pecans pressing lightly, then place on ungreased baking sheet, nuts side up, about 2 inches apart.

Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 7-8 minutes. Cookies should be slightly cracked and still soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet until they retain their shape when removed, about 5 minutes. While cookies are cooling, prepare drizzle as follows: Melt vanilla chips and shortening in microwave-safe bowl on High about a minute. Stir until chips are completely melted (return to microwave for an additional 20-30 seconds, if necessary). Using a spoon, drizzle the melted chocolate over each cookie and allow to harden.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Cookies Rule!!!