caramel apple cider cookies
October 7th, 2011
Last weekend, I took a trip with my lovely book club girls….camping!
That’s right! A bunch of city girls road tripped it to spend a 40-degree evening together snuggled up on the banks of Clinton Lake. And oh my goodness. Amongst the many highlights of the evening and beautiful foggy morning (Enneagram lectures, Patty-Griffin-turned-retro-Jennifer-Knapp-and-Rich-Mullins singalongs, time with two sweet book club dogs, to endless conversations and laughter)…I must say that a group favorite was our gourmet “meal plan”.
From delicious roasted veggie and potato hobo packs, to warm bison vegetable stew, to s’mores, to homemade cinnamon rolls, to warm “oatmeal supreme”, to warm cornbread made in an oven constructed from a box, hangers, aluminum foil, and coals (credits to our #5, Amanda), to a book-club-worthy selection of wines, coffees and chai, I think it’s safe to say these girls love food as much as they love books. Fabulous!
One of my contributions, in addition to my favorite party mix, was a batch of these “caramel apple cider cookies”. They have been quite the hit of the blogosphere lately, and this seemed like the perfect autumn occasion to give them a try. Needless to say, you should too. I will warn you that they take a little while to prep, but they are filled with all of the nostalgic apple-cidery, melted-caramel goodness they promise. Highly recommend giving them a try.
Cheers to heart-warming autumn recipes, camping trips, and good friends!
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
Method:
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).
Yield: Approximately 4 dozen, depending on the size of your dough.
Ali’s Tip:
If you want an extra chocolate kick in these, you can substitute Milk Duds for caramels.
Source:
Slightly adapted from The Cooking Photographer, via Scrambled Henfruit.
Those sound ridiculously good! I’ve had a few different cookie recipes that I’ve been eyeing to make this weekend, but this just jumped to the top of the list. Yum!
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I think I’m going to try making them with some Boiled cider that I got from King Arthur Flour… They sound outstanding!
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these sound amazing… have to try these out soon… love your photography as well
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Sounds like such a fun camping trip!! These cookies look SO good!
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The second I saw these on foodgawker I actually gasped. Oh my word, I can’t wait to make these very soon!
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What a perfect fall cookie! I cannot wait to try these.
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I have been looking forever for a recipe for this type of cookie to add jam as a filling and would love to try this dough. Can I make without the cider drink mix? Thanks
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I am just wondering — are these cookies melty when they’ve cooled? Or does the inside become tough again? (I’ve got some dinner guests with bad teeth and I don’t want to make them suffer!) Thanks so much!
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How creative! These look delicious!!
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Okay, so the addition of the cider mix is an awesome idea. Definitely trying these out this fall season. I may even pass on this recipe on my blog.
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these look wonderful! and i have extra caramels on hand :)
loved hearing about your camping adventure–i want to camp with you guys, yum!!
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Made this and they turned out delicious! It was a big hit at the office. I did however need to add in an extra cup and a half of flour to make the dough less wet, and then I froze the dough for 30 mins so I could manage it easier and get it to flatten out so I could fold it around the caramel pieces it. Make sure to flour your hands so the dough doesn’t stick to you.
Very creative recipe!
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Wondering if the Carmel stays soft if eaten cold? Or do you need to serve warm?
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My store didn’t have any cider mix, so I made it with apple sauce instead (and took out one egg) and it was super yummy :) They stayed stiff and looked like pizza puffs instead of cookies though!
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It was great to meet you yesterday. You have a lovely site! These cookies look very delicious, what a perfect idea for combining fall flavors.
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Hi! I stumbled across your blog while searing for pumpkin biscotti & your recipe popped up. I can’t wait to try it out. Anyhoo, just wanted to say I’m really enjoying your blog! :)
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I found this recipe on Pinterest and took it to a church function last night. They are so good! I’m glad I left half of them at home to enjoy myself! I shared your link on my Friday Favorites.
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I officially need to stop looking at food blogs and pinterest at food! Being a college student without a kitchen stinks!! I miss cooking and having real food! These cookies look amazing! If you make them again soon and want to send some in a care packet, you can any time :P
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Ok, I have to know what kind of liner you’ve got on your cookie sheet! Do tell :)
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I made these and they’re DELICIOUS, BUT the caramel was really hard after the cookies cooled….like right out of the package hard, if not a little chewier. Straight from the oven they were perfect. Did anyone else make them and have any suggestions?
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I just made these and I will agree with one reviewer that the caramel is way too chewy once cooled and a lot of them were coming out of the bottom of the cookie even with the cooling upside down. I might recommend making a melted caramel sauce and drizzling over the plain apple cider cookies (easier to do too).
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Just made these. YUM. I would suggest maybe leaving a packet or 2 of the apple cider powder out of the mix because they were a bit sweet but other than that they were a big hit with the family. Serve hot though because of the caramel.
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What a great idea! Your blog is so great. I cant wait to try these recipes! I hope you can check mine out! I am just starting out but I have a variety of healthy style ideas like cauliflower hashbrowns. Keep up the great work!
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Looks delicious. I make my own homemade caramels (and sell them too http://www.kitchen-tested.com/cara-mels/) and I can’t wait to try this recipe!!! Just one question: why can’t I use sugar free apple cider mix???
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These were not an instant hit but they kind of grew on me. A little too sweet for some who tried them.
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