Chocolate Caramel Treasures Recipe

I am going to list my favourite Christmas cookie recipes one by one, till I tire of it, every other day. When I was baking to sell, this was one of the favourites, most requested. It is quite yummy, who can resist chocolate, hazelnuts and caramel, yum! I found this recipe in Gourmet, December 1999.

Chocolate Caramel Treasures

For cookies:

1 stick, unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

1 large egg yolk

2 tbsp. whole milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

1/2 cup finely chopped hazelnuts

For caramel filling:

10 plain caramels, unwrapped

2 tbsp. heavy cream

For chocolate drizzle:

3 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Make cookies:

Beat together butter, sugar, yolk, milk and vanilla with an electric mixer until well blended. Sift in flour, cocoa, and salt and beat on low speed until mixture forms a dough. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Roll scant tbsp. of dough into balls, then coat with egg white, letting excess drip off, and roll in nuts to coat. Arrange balls, as coated, 1 1/2" apart on greased baking sheets and press your thumb into center of balls to flatten, leaving a depression. Bake in batches in middle of oven until puffed slightly but centers are still soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press centers of cookies again ( we used handle end of a wooden spoon). Transfer to racks to cool. 

Make filling while cookies are cooling:

Heat caramels and cream in a small saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and mixture is smooth. Spoon into centers of cookies and cool completely.

Make chocolate drizzle:

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Cool to warm and pour into a heavy-duty sealable plastic bag. Seal bag and snip 1 corner to forma small hole. Drizzle chocolate over cookies and let stand until set, about 30 minutes.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies. Store in a sealed container in a cold place, they may be frozen.