recipe: caramel sandwich cookies

You know how everyone has their desert flavor?

For some people, it's chocolate. (Ok, for a lot of people, it's chocolate.) For others, it's lemon or coconut or strawberry or mint. But whatever it is, it's that flavor that you just can't resist on a menu -- the one that calls your name every time you see it.

For me, that flavor is caramel.

I'll face it: I'm a little obsessed. On this site, I've made homemade caramel sauce, caramel mousse, caramel fudge cookies, caramel syrup, caramel cupcakes, marshmallow caramel bars, and, of course, caramel ice cream.

I know, I know. It's getting a little out of control at this point!

Weirdly enough (go figure), I've never actually made caramels, but clearly that needs to be remedied pronto.

But that's what happens when you have a favorite flavor -- there's no end to the variations you come up with. So, to add to the list, I give you Caramel Sandwich Cookies. They actually use the caramel sauce I made a few months ago, so this is a perfect recipe to use up any leftovers on.

And they come out completely delicious. Caramel buttercream, in between crispy chocolate cookies?

Yes, please. I'll take the whole batch.

Caramel Sandwich Cookies

INGREDIENTS

For the cookies:

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp)

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 egg yolk

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

For the frosting:

1/4 cup caramel sauce

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (3/4 cup)

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS

For the cookies, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cream together the butter and sugar and then add the egg yolk. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and then add that mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until just incorporated. Drop dough by teaspoons onto baking sheets lined with parchment or Silipat.

Bake cookies for 7 minutes and allow them to cool completely.

For the frosting, beat together the caramel sauce and butter, then gradually beat in the confectioners sugar.

Spread frosting on the bottom side of one cookie and then create a sandwich with a second cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are gone!

Makes about 30 sandwich cookies.