SALTED CARAMEL SHORTBREAD COOKIES
1 hr 20 min Prep
2 hr 45 min Total
36 Servings
Turn buttery shortbread into something extra special by simply topping with caramel, chocolate and a sprinkle of salt. It's a winning combination!
Ingredient List
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 1/2 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
Cookies
- 1 bag (14 oz) caramels, unwrapped
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoons coarse (kosher or sea) salt
Topping
Preparation
- Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups butter with electric mixer on high speed until creamy. Beat in sugar and vanilla. On low speed, beat in flour until blended.
- Divide dough in half. Between 2 sheets of waxed paper, roll 1 portion of dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter. On ungreased cookie sheet, place cutouts about 2 inches apart. Repeat with second portion of dough.
- Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until set and just barely light golden (do not overbake). Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks; cool completely.
- In medium microwavable bowl, microwave caramels and milk uncovered on High 2 minutes 30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth. Frost each cookie with about 1 rounded teaspoon caramel mixture.
- In small microwavable bowl, melt chocolate and 1 tablespoon butter uncovered on High 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth. Drizzle chocolate over caramel on each cookie. Sprinkle generously with salt. Let stand until set.
Tips
- If desired, substitute 1 can (13.4 oz) dulce de leche (caramelized sweetened condensed milk) for the caramels and milk. Spread each cookie with dulce de leche and proceed as directed.
- You can omit the coarse salt on top of the cookies and instead add a dash of salt to the cookie dough.
- For a quick and easy way to drizzle the chocolate, spoon melted chocolate into a small resealable food-storage plastic bag. Cut off a tiny corner of the bag and squeeze bag to drizzle the chocolate evenly over cookies.