Salted Caramel Cookies
These sophisticated cookies are the best right out of the oven – crispy and gooey.
PREP TIME: 40 minutes
BAKE TIME: 10 minutes
SERVINGS: Makes 28 cookies
INGREDIENTS
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ tsp fine salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Jarred dulce de leche or other thick caramel filling
coarse or flake sea salt, preferably Maldon Salt
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 350°. With a mixer, cream together butter, sugar, and salt until fluffy and light. 2-3 minutes.
Beat in egg and vanilla.
Add flour and mix until just incorporated. Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten into disks, wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm.
Generously flour a sheet of parchment paper. Place one disk in center and dust the top and rolling pin with flour. Working quickly, roll dough into a thickness just shy of a ¼ inch. Slide onto baking sheet. Re-chill. Repeat process with 2nd ball of dough.
Flour two fluted, round cookie cutters. One larger, measuring about 1 ½ inches, and 1 smaller measuring about 1 inch.
Using the larger cutter, cut half of the dough in this shape. These will make the bottoms of the cookies. Lift off excess dough to chill and re-roll for more cookies, if desired. Re-chill entire tray of cut cookie bottoms.
For cookie tops, repeat step 7 on second half of dough. Now, using the smaller cutter, place cutter in the middle of each cutout cookie to form a “window” or a center hole in the tops. This is where the caramel will show through. Re-chill entire tray of cut cookie tops. Count to make sure you have an equal number of solid bottoms and “windowed” tops.
Place trays in preheated oven for 9-11 minutes, rotating after 5 minutes, until just set. Do not brown.
Remove to cooling rack. Cool completely. Spread bottom cookies with caramel, Cover with top cookies. Sprinkle with sea salt.