SALTED CARAMEL SHORTBREAD COOKIES


If you’re new around these parts, Fall Cookie Week (FCW) started back in 2012 when I baked a selection of cookies for a Fall Open House that I was hosting at the Gift Shop in my Bed and Breakfast. Although I chose to close the B&B in 2013, the FCW tradition is still going strong on IBC.



If Fall Cookie Week is new to you, you can catch up below. I’ve linked every year’s FCW recipes, beginning with 2012. (Please forgive the quality of the 2012 recipes and photos. I was just a beginning blogger back then. I hope to get those posts updated in the future


SALTED CARAMEL SHORTBREAD COOKIES
These Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies are a delicious fall treat. #cookie #saltedcaramel shortbread #fallcookieweek #fallbaking #dessert #recipe

These Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies bring together some of my favorite flavors and make the perfect sweet treat for fall.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Topping:
2 bags (13 oz each) caramels unwrapped
4 tablespoons milk
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped
1 tablespoon butter
3 teaspoons flake sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl with your electric mixer on high, beat the butter until creamy. Then beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer to low and beat in the flour until just incorporated.
Divide the dough into two parts. Place one half of the dough between two sheets of wax paper and roll it until it’s 1/4-inch thick. Then use a 2 1/2-inch-diameter round cookie cutter to cut the dough. Place the cut-outs on an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat this process with the remaining half of the dough. (You can reform excess dough, roll it out, and cut it again until all the dough is used.)
Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes or until set and just barely starting to brown. Transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
While the cookies cool: In a microwave safe bowl, melt the unwrapped caramels and milk on high for 2-3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until the caramels are melted and the mixture is smooth.
Add1-2 teaspoons of the caramel mixture to each cookie. Then sprinkle the cookies with flake sea salt.
Finally, in another microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate and butter on high for 1-2 minutes until it is smooth. Stir every 30 seconds. Drizzle the melted chocolate mixture over the cookies. Let the cookies cool until the chocolate sets.
Store the cookies in an airtight container.