Chocolate Caramel Cookie Bites

By kayjayjohnson

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa*
• 1 bag of caramels, unwrapped
• 1/2 cup raw or turbinado sugar (for rolling)

Details

Adapted from stumbleupon.com

Preparation

Step 1

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

- Whisk dry flour, salt and baking powder in bowl and set aside.

- Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa in mixer. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until smooth.

- Wrap dough ball in plastic and chill for at least one hour.

- Roll out cookie dough on floured counter. Cut into roughly 1 1/2 - 2 inch diameter circles or squares (the shape and precision of the cut section doesn't really matter since you will be wrapping it around the caramel anyway), brushing extra deposits of flour off the top.

- Roll the dough around an unwrapped caramel. Roll the dough back and forth in your hands until it forms a smooth ball.

- Roll the ball in a bowl of raw or turbinado sugar, pressing slightly to coat with sugar.

- Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are firm.

- Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

* I used regular old Hershey's cocoa (I thought it would be most appropriate since Milk Duds are a Hershey's product) but feel free to substitute a higher quality chocolate if you have it. I'm sure it would just add to the intensity of the chocolate flavor.

Note: These are best served fresh from the oven or slightly reheated (a quick zap in the microwave will do the trick). This warms the caramel up, making it gooey and delicious. Served at room temperature they are still yummy but the caramels are chewier.