Caramel Apple Cider Cookies (Round 2, Week 2)

Caramel Apple Cider Cookies

Fall is officially here. Just ask me. I have already indulged in Pumpkin Lattes, light jackets and closed toe shoes. 60 degree weather is in the forcast and we've turned off the air. It doesn't get much more fally than that! Along with the cooler weather comes apples and cinnamon and caramel and...the list goes on and on. It was time for a fall cookie.

I have also become quite addicted to Pinterest lately. It is where I find all my recipes, crafts, home remedies and clothing I'll never be able to afford. It also introduced me to many other blogs I wouldn't normally visit. One of those being Michael Wurm's blog entitled "Inspired by Charm". I think he is me in another life. He has such cute ideas for decorations, crafts and sweet treats. You can find his blog here: www.inspiredbycharm.com. He also runs a bed and breakfast (my favorite) that I think if I ever visited I would just move in. I have pinned and repinned many of his posts, this being one of them. These cookies seemed so significantly "fall" that I had to make them right away. Apple pie is next on the docket...

Caramel Apple Cider Cookies
Original website: http://www.inspiredbycharm.com/2012/09/caramel-stuffed-apple-cider-cookies.html
Please note: I halved everything since my grocery store was not yet stocking Alpine Cider. Apparently the didn't know my feelings on it already being fall. I did, however, find five packets of apple cider lounging around in my cabinets so I went from there. I am listing the original measurements for a whole batch.

Ingredients: 1 cup butter, softened; 3/4 cup granulated sugar; 1/4 cup brown sugar; 1/2 tsp salt; 1 7.4 oz box Apline Spiced Cider Instant Original Drink Mix; 2 eggs; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 3 cups flour; 1 14oz bag Kraft caramels

Directions: 1. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. 2. Beat together butter, sugars and all 10 packets of drink mix. 3. Beat in eggs one at a time and then add vanilla extract. 4. Add in dry ingredients, a little at a time, until just combined. 5. Refrigerate dough for 30min to 1hour. This will help to form the dough around the caramels. 6. Preheat oven to 350 and unwrap your caramels. 7. Roll 1 1/2 tbsp of dough in your hands and flatten between palms. Place caramel in center of the dough and wrap dough around the caramel to seal it up. Feel free to add more dough if it is thin. This will help keep the caramel tucked inside while it bakes. 8. Place dough balls on a parchment lined cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake 12-14 mins or until edges are just slightly brown. These cookies are easily burnt so watch them carefully. Mine baked for 12min 30 sec and they came out perfect. 9. After you take them out, slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheet and onto the counter to cool. When they are cool to the touch, twist them off the paper and cool them on a cooling rack. If they are oozing from the bottom, cool them upside down. I let mine cool on the paper for a while so they were just perfect when I put them on the cooling rack.

They were warm ooey gooey when they came right out of the oven. It was very hard to let them cool long enough to not burn off the roof of my mouth, but totally worth the wait. They taste just like a caramel apple with a hint of spice. I love the mix of flavors it creates by adding the cider mix to the bater. Definitely the "fally" type of cookie I was looking for!

Frosting Cookies (Round 2, Week 1)

Frosting Cookies

It is obnoxious how many half used containers of frosting we have in the refrigerator. Seriously. I have used them for various reasons and never got through the entirety of them in the past few months. I only know we had so many of them because of the smell coming out of our freezer. We had to take everything out of the refrigerator and freezer to try to get rid of the dead animal smell eminating from its bowels. (As I am writing this a skunk just sprayed its heavenly scent in our backyard. Our windows are open because of the lovely weather and the smell is remeniscent of our fridge. Sick.) While putting everything back I started piling up the frosting containers. It was ridiculous:

 

I needed to find some way to use them to get them out of my refrigerator! Since I am not a huge fan of using frosting on cookies, I looked up ways to use them in the cookies. I found out there is a huge following of people who use frosting instead of butter in their cookies! Little did I know. Apparently, since you can use frosting, you can also use any flavor and the cookies will taste very similar. I gave my husband his choices and he chose strawberry frosting with chocolate chips. Here's how they turned out:

 

FROSTING COOKIES

Original Website: http://thecaramelcookie.com/2011/03/frosting-cookies/

Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 3/4 cup any flavor frosting, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/4 cup sugar

 

Directions: 1. Heat oven to 350 and grease a cookie sheet. I always use foil on the pan so I don't have to do dishes as often! 2. Mix flour, salt and baking soda together. 3. In a separate bowl beat frosting, egg, vanilla and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 min. 4. Slowly add dry ingredients until combined. 5. Drop cookies by large tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet. 6. Bake 10-12 mins or until edges are slightly browned.

 

 

They were such a cute pink color which didn't come across very well in the photos. And though I was trying to get rid of the frosting containers, there are still a few spoonfuls of strawberry frosting left. I may need to make a mid week batch of these for the next 12 weeks! They were scrumptious while still warm, though very sweet. By the fourth or fifth day of mingling in the container together they got a little crumbly, but the sweetness was still there! I will try this again with another flavor. Only four containers of frosting left!



The Return of Cookies

Well, well, well. It is that time of year once again. Time to roll out the dough, push up my sleeves and fill the bellies of cookie lovers everywhere. Well, at least my families bellies. My hubby's to be specific. It is time to get back into cookie cutter shape and practice for the season ahead. Though I've been quite busy making cookies all year, it is time again to write about them. Lack of any extra time on my hands has permitted me from documenting my cookie treks all summer. I have taken pictures which I will post and label, at some point. Again, the rules. I have to make each cookie from scratch. The cookie cannot be a recipe I have used before. (I'll try not to cheat on this one) I will take pictures, post the recipe, explain what I changed, if anything, and come back a few days later to let you know how they fared. I have quite a few more taste testers this year. Not only does my husband get to stuff his face full of sweetness, but my coworkers will get their crumbs as well. Let me know what you think, if you've also tried the recipes and if you have any suggestions. I love a good cookie party! And so it begins...