I was scrolling through pintrest the other day (one of the many ways I spend my free time) and I came across this recipe. They are called "Twix Cookies" because of the 3 main components- a shortbread thumbprint cookie filled with caramel and a chocolate drizzle on top. I said they were amazing...
This recipe is tweaked a bit. It originally called for melted store-bought caramels but I decided to make my own caramel sauce, which is a lot easier and even more delicious then it sounds.
Since it's summer I have much more time to bake and cook (another one of the ways I spend my free time). These were definitely worth the effort and if you make them you will know why!
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Serves: 24 (mine made a few more)
Ingredients:
Shortbread
2/3 cup softened butter (about 10 tbs)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs (just the yolks)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
Caramel sauce/filling:
1 cup sugar
6 tbs butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp salt
Chocolate drizzle:
chocolate chips (I eyeballed it, but I think about 1/3 cup)
Instructions (shortbread):
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Combine the butter, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla on medium until creamy
3. Add flour, beat at low speed until well mixed
4. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour
5. Shape dough into 1-inch balls
6. Make a hole in the middle of each ball with your thumb or a spoon. You want to make it pretty big for maximum caramel capacity but make sure there's a good lip on the edge so it won't spill over
and place on cookie sheet
7. Bake for 7-10 minutes (I pulled mine out 2-3 minutes early and used a spoon to re-do the holes in the middle because they'd flattened out in the oven. Then I put them back in for the remaining time.)
8. Cool
Instructions (caramel sauce):
1. Put sugar in a medium sized pot and place over medium heat
2. Start stirring constantly to prevent burning (the sugar won't do anything for a couple minutes. Then it will get increasingly clumpy and eventually become a liquid)
3. Once it has reached a nice amber color and all the big clumps are gone, add the butter
4. It will bubble a lot, but keep stirring constantly for another 1-2 minutes (but no longer)
5. Add the cream and stir until combined for one minute
6. Remove immediately and stir in salt
7. Set aside to cool
Instructions (chocolate):
1. Put chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl
2. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time and stir until it is completely melted (I microwaved for 1 minute. Make sure not to over-do it again or it will get a weird texture and not melt)
3. Put in a small plastic bag and snip a VERY SMALL hole in one corner (normally I just drizzle with a spoon but it wasn't working out so I used this method. I highly recommend it because the chocolate drizzle came out looking very nice).
How to assemble the cookies:
1. Either while the cookies are still on the tray (but mostly cooled) or on a wire rack (probably with something underneath), fill the middle of each cookie with caramel. I used a spoon and eyeballed it. More than a teaspoon but less than a tablespoon. Be careful that they don't overflow, but if they do it's not a big deal. The most important thing is not to skimp on the caramel- it's super yummy.
Important note!!!!: If the caramel has cooled too much and when you stir it it isn't a homogenous liquid, heat it over medium low and stir constantly. Some of the butter may separate and rise to the top, but you can either leave this or pour it out (CAREFULLY so you don't pour out all the caramel)(I know this from experience *wink*)
2. Sprinkle a SMALL pinch of salt on each of the cookies
3. Using the chocolate in the plastic bag, pipe/squeeze lines of chocolate on top of each cookie. They do not have to be perfect by any means. See the picture if you need an example.
4. At this point they are ready to eat, but you probably want to let the caramel and chocolate set a bit. I put them in the fridge for a while. But I completely understand if you can't resist the temptation to eat one then and there.
5. Enjoy! And don't forget to leave one or two for everyone else...
I hope that if anyone decides to bake these cookies they love them as much as I did! Now I'm off to eat my last one :( They've only lasted two days in our house
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