This is a Better Homes and Gardens recipe that was attached to a red plastic spoon I somehow acquired.  I’ve ditched the spoon but was immediately intrigued by the cookie recipe.  I’ve had it for at least two years but haven’t made it until yesterday.  Read the notes below before you begin.

Chocolate Caramel Delights

Recipe By:  Adapted from BH&G recipe for Fantasy Chocolate Caramel Delights

Serving Size:36

Preparation Time:3:00

1 egg

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

16 vanilla caramels

3 tablespoons whipping cream

1 1/4 cups finely chopped pecans

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate pieces

1 teaspoon shortening

Separate egg, reserving yolk and white.  Cover and chill egg white until needed.  In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer for 30  seconds.  Add sugar and beat well.  Beat in egg yolk, milk, and vanilla.

In another bowl stir together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat until well-combined.  Cover the dough and chill for 2 hours until dough is easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 350°F.  In a small saucepan heat and stir caramels and whipping cream over low heat until mixture is smooth.  Set aside.

Slightly beat reserved egg white.  Shape the dough into 1" balls (use about one teaspoon dough).  Roll balls in egg white, then in nuts.  Place balls 1 inch apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Make an indentation in the center of each cookie with your thumb.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until edges are firm. Let stand for 5 minutes and carefully remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Set rack on a cookie sheet (to catch any drips) and spoon some melted caramel mixture into indentation in each cookie.  If necessary, reheat caramel mixture to keep it spoonable.

In another saucepan heat and stir chocolate pieces and shortening over lo heat until melted and smooth.  Cool slightly and transfer mixture to a Ziploc bag,  or a pastry bag fitted with a #3 or 4 writing tube.  If using a Ziploc, clip a corner (make a small cut).  Drizzle cookies with chocolate mixture.  Let cookies stand until chocolate is set.

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Notes:  A BH&G recipe, this is awesome!  First made 12-2-2006.  Kind of putzy but well worth the effort and time. 

My dough chilled for almost three hours; I used insulated cookie sheets in the slightly-lower-center of oven (the smooth top range) and increased the temp to 365°.  The edges were barely firm.  I recommend using 350° if you are using uninsulated cookie sheets.  When tasted, the cookie was just a bit chewy – excellent texture.

I only got 32 cookies and increased the caramels to 18 or 19.  It was not too much caramel.  My caramel was fairly cool when I used it; I melted the caramels in the microwave at 50% power to start. 

Making them on 12/3 I rolled the dough into a log to chill it, maybe 12” long.  I cut 36 pieces and rolled them into balls.

1/3 cup chocolate chips is probably sufficient.

I used whipping cream in the cookies instead of milk and did not grease the cookie sheets.  I chopped chopped pecans even more.

These are excellent!  Will make more and try to include a few in my gift boxes for friends.

Would you not love to sink your teeth into these?   Same cookies, two different plates — I wanted to show off my Christmas china.   Shoot me.

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