An Inspired Cook

These cookies were inspired by my craving for ice cream sandwiches.  I’ve been on an ice cream binge lately and the thought of dark chocolate and caramel wrapped around a scoop of vanilla ice cream seemed very appealing.  I started with a basic chocolate cookie dough, chopped up a bar of dark baking chocolate then added some caramel bits to the mix with just a sprinkling of sea salt over the top.  For those who love this combination, it’s like eating a decadent candy bar filled with gooey caramel.  The ice cream sandwiches turned out better than I had imagined, I could indulge in these all summer long!

Get out the stand mixer or hand mixer and begin by adding the butter and sugars together.

Beat the butter and sugars until they are well combined.

Add the eggs and splash of vanilla and beat them together.

In another medium bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Stir the dry ingredients together and begin to add to the creamed mixture.

Mix in all the dry ingredients and beat on medium until you have a thick cookie dough.

I added one cup of caramel bits and a 4 ounce bar of semi sweet baking chocolate.

The baking bar is easiest to chop if first refrigerated.  Once cold, it is easy to chop and get those nice big bits of chocolate to melt into your cookies.

Add the chocolate and caramel bits back into the mixing bowl and stir so that there will be bits of chocolate and caramel in every cookie.

Drop rounded balls of dough onto a baking sheet .  Pop into a preheated 350 degree oven for 9 – 10 minutes.

As soon as they come out of the oven, sprinkle some coarse sea salt over the top.

Love those caramel bits.  They are soft and gooey when warm and become chewy like a wrapped caramel when cooled.

And if you have some Vanilla Ice Cream on hand, be sure to treat yourself to an ice cream sandwich!  If you can wait that long, set aside a few cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes before adding a scoop of ice cream.





Salted Dark Chocolate Caramel Cookies

1/2 cup Butter, softened
3/4 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Flour
3/4 cup Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Caramel Bits
1 (4 ounce bar) Semi Sweet Baking Chocolate, roughly chopped with a knife
Coarse Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugars together using a stand or hand mixer.  Add eggs and vanilla to the creamed mixture and beat on low.  In another bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the mix and begin to blend until you have a nice thick cookie dough.  Gently stir in the chopped baking chocolate and caramel bits to the mix.

Drop rounded spoonfuls (I use a small ice cream scoop) onto a baking sheet, allowing space in between for the cookies to spread.  Bake for 9 – 10 minutes.  Immediately sprinkle coarse sea salt onto cookies as they come out of the oven.  Let cool on a wire rack.

Makes about 3 dozen

To make ice cream sandwiches:  Place 2 cookies for each sandwich in the freezer for 10 minutes. Place one scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream between 2 cookies and gently press together.  Enjoy!