Caramel Apple Cider Cookies

Fall baking for me can be a little tough...

Why?

Because my boyfriend, Tony, isn't a huge fan of pumpkin.  (He's crazy, I tell you.)  But let me add that he is not a picky eater at all, although this may seem to be the case.  Thank goodness, he is pretty open to any strange food I put in front of him...just as long as it's not pumpkin.

Or blueberries.

Or mustard.  DEFINITELY not mustard... 

So, even though I do buy pumpkin and make a variety of pumpkin baked goods every year when October rolls around, I've had to make an effort to also find fall recipes that use other fall ingredients.  Over the past month, I've been sifting through the endless posts on Pinterest, and organizing a collection of Fall recipes.  Among the many I've collected, one recipe that stuck out in particular was the one for Caramel Apple Cider Cookies.

This cookie recipe was from the website, Gimme Some Oven, one of my favorite food blogs.  When I first saw the picture on Ali's blog, I couldn't help but immediately crave a bite of one of these.  The gooey caramel in the middle of the cookie looked so amazing, and I love the flavor combination of apples and caramel. 

These cookies are really easy to make!  The recipe is pretty straight-forward.  The only unusual ingredients you will need to buy is a box of Alpine spiced apple cider drink mix and some chewy caramel candies.  Ali used Kraft caramels.  I couldn't find these at the store, so I used Werther's chewy caramels, cut into halves, instead.  The rest of the ingredients are pretty common items that you should already have in your kitchen. 

I encourage you to try these cookies.  These definitely gave me the feeling of fall and made the house smell so good!  If you have someone like Tony in your life who doesn't like pumpkin, or is tired of the same old pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, etc., then this is definitely a cookie recipe that you must try!



Caramel Apple Cider Cookies

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Recipe adapted from Gimme Some Oven, slightly adapted from The Cooking Photographer via Scrambled Henfruit.

Yield:  Approximately 4 dozen, depending on the size of your dough

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 (7.4 oz) box Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink Mix (not sugar free)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 (5.5 oz) bag Werther's Original Chewy Caramels, cut into halves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silpat (to prevent melted caramel from sticking to pan).

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon, and set aside.  In a medium sized bowl (or bowl of an electric mixer), cream together butter, sugar, salt, and all 10 packages of apple cider drink mix, until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, until combined.  Add vanilla and mix well.  Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients, and mix just until combined. 

Scoop out cookie dough ball about the size of a walnut (about 2 Tbsp).  Flatten the ball of dough in the palm of your hand. Place a caramel candy in the center of the dough and seal the dough around it, covering it completely.  Reshape the dough into a ball and place on prepared cookie sheets, about 3 inches apart. 

Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until very lightly browned on the edges.  Remove from oven and carefully slide the parchment paper off of the cookie sheet and onto the counter.  Let cookies cool for a couple minutes on the parchment paper, then carefully twist off the parchment paper and allow to finish cooling upside down.