Caramel Apple Cider Cookies Recipe

Super easy sweet fall treat. Strong apple cider taste with gooey or chewy caramel in the middle.

Caramel Apple Cider Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar**
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (7.4 ounce) box Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink Mix (*not sugar free*)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 (14 ounce) bag Kraft Caramels, unwrapped

**I used 3/4 of a cup, should have used 1/2 cup or none at all. The drink mix is sweet enough on its own!

Servings: ~45 cookies

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line cookie sheets with parchment or a silpat. (The melted caramel may stick to the bottom if you just use cooking spray on a plain baking sheet.)

In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. With an electric mixer, cream together butter, sugar, salt and all 10 packages of apple cider drink mix powder, until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and mix well. Gradually add flour mixture to butter/egg mixture. Mix until just combined.

Scoop out cookie dough ball about the size of a walnut (about 2 tablespoons). Flatten the ball of dough slightly in the palm of your hand. Press the unwrapped caramel into the center of your dough and seal the dough around it, covering it completely. Shape the dough into a ball, and place on parchment covered cookie sheets about 3 inches apart.

Bake 12-14 minutes, or until very lightly browned around the edges. Once the cookies are done, carefully slide the parchment or silpat off of the baking sheet right out onto the counter. Allow cookies to partially cool on the parchment/silpat. When cookies are cool enough to be firm but still slightly warm, carefully twist off of parchment and allow to finish cooling upside down (either on the parchment/silpat or on a rack).

Recipe From: Gimmesomeoven.com

These were pretty quick and easy to whip up, however they also taste a little quick and easy to whip up. The drink mix doesn't "dissolve" in the cookie, which keeps the strong apple flavor going but leaves it all a little "fake". This recipe could do with a small bit of tinkering. Right now it tastes like a "box mix" but I think with some improvements it could be made awesome.

As it is now, kids will love it, adults will like it, health nuts will cringe. Eat these warm (but well cooled, molten caramel burns!) from the oven to get gooey caramel, eat these cold and get chewy caramel (but not in a bad way).