Melt in your mouth brown sugar shortbread, filled with homemade caramel sauce and drizzled with milk chocolate. It will be love with first bite!
Servings 28cookies
Author Tasia ~ twosugarbugs
Ingredients
Brown Sugar Shortbread
2 ¼cupsall purpose flour
¼teaspoonsalt(I prefer kosher salt)
1cupunsalted butter(room temperature)
⅔cupbrown sugar
¾teaspoonpure vanilla extract
Homemade Caramel Sauce (recipe slightly adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction)
Yield: 1 cup
1cupgranulated sugar
6tablespoonsunsalted butter(room temperature)
½cupheavy cream
½teaspoonsalt
Chocolate Drizzle
4ouncesmilk chocolate(melted)
½teaspooncoconut oil(or vegetable oil)
Instructions
Brown sugar shortbread:
In a small to medium bowl whisk the all purpose flour and salt together, set aside.
In your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand held mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar on medium-high until combined. We are not going for light and fluffy with these cookies. Add the vanilla and mix until combined.
Scrape up and down the sides of your mixing bowl. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until the dough comes together.
Prepare baking pans with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Using a 1 tablespoon measure, scoop and roll dough into balls and place on prepared baking pans, spacing an inch or two apart.
Use the palm of your hand and slightly press down the dough and then using the end of a spatula, a half teaspoon measure or your finger, make an indent in the middle of each cookie dough ball.
Chill the dough in the refrigerator for one hour (or up to a couple of days if you cover them).
Make the homemade caramel sauce once you put the dough in the refrigerator to chill. You need a little time for the caramel to cool before you use it.
Homemade caramel:
Add one cup of granulated sugar to a medium saucepan and heat over medium, stirring constantly. Use a wooden spoon or a high heat resistant rubber spatula.
The sugar will start to melt. Then it will clump together before melting into a thick amber colored liquid.
When the sugar is fully melted add the room temperature butter. The butter will cause the sugar to bubble rapidly, so use caution in this step.
Whisk the butter into the caramel until it is completely incorporated. I prefer using a whisk to keep the butter and sugar from separating, but your wooden spoon or spatula can work as well.
When your butter and sugar are fully incorporated, slowly add the heavy cream while continuing to whisk (or stir). Again, the mixture will bubble rapidly, so use caution.
Let the mixture boil for approximately one additional minute.
Remove from the heat and stir in ½ teaspoon of salt.
Carefully pour caramel into a heatproof container and allow to cool down before using. You will have left over caramel sauce, store covered in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Bake the cookies:
Once your dough has been chilled for one hour, remove from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and fill each indent with your caramel sauce. If the indents have lost their shape, you can use the end of your spatula or a ½ teaspoon measure to press the dough back down. Bake for an additional 2 minutes.
Allow cookies to rest on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Chocolate drizzle:
Once cookies are completely cool, melt 4 ounces of chopped milk chocolate with a ½ teaspoon of coconut oil (or vegetable oil) using your preferred method. Then drizzle the chocolate over the cookies. The chocolate will set up in about an hour.
Notes
Cookies stay fresh in an airtight container for up to three days or in the refrigerator for up to one week. If you chill the dough longer than 1-2 hours, it may take a few more minutes of baking time.*Homemade Caramel Sauce slightly adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction