Ever since Starbucks introduced their Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate, I have been on a frenzied, manic quest for all things salted caramel.

 

I’ve fallen madly in love with Toscanini’s Salted Caramel ice cream (made into an ethereal affogato with espresso), as well as their Burnt Caramel ice cream, so when I came across David Lebovitz’s Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe with Salted Caramel, borrowed from Cindy Mushet’s The Art and Soul of Baking, I immediately cleared my calendar and made a date with a big jar of peanut butter.

 

And, the verdict is…. that this recipe needs a bit of work, at least as far as my taste buds are concerned. Something just didn’t feel right about the outcome, and I had absolutely no problem resisting scarfing the entire tray of cookies, which is a trifle odd.

 

The peanut butter cookies dough tasted scrumptious – yes, I try my cookie dough before it’s cooked, salmonella be damned (although I’ve convinced myself that the organic, local eggs that I cook with present much less of a danger in that regard). The caramel did burn a bit, but my love of Tosci’s Burnt Caramel ice cream would lead one to believe that this would be a good thing.

 

I’m not sure what went wrong, but I’m not in love, and thus implore you, dear reader, to give this recipe a go, and either tell me that I’m crazy or advise me on ways to catapult it to cookie-deity-status.

 

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Salty Peanut Butter Cookies with Toffee Peanut Caramel, Yields 22-24 Cookies

 

Ingredients:

 

For the Cookie Dough

¼ Cup Unsalted Butter, at room temperature

½ Cup Light Brown Sugar, packed

½ Cup Sugar

1 Egg

1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract

¾ Cup Creamy Peanut Buttermilk & 1/8 Tsp. Salt

¼ Tsp. Salt

1 ½ Cups Flour

½ Tsp. Baking Soda

 

For the Toffee Peanut Caramel

1 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Cup Sugar

½ Cup Water

1 Tbls. Light Corn Syrup

1/8 Tsp. Salt

¾ Cup Roasted, Salted Peanuts or Toffee Covered Peanuts, finely chopped

 

 

Preparation:

 

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

 

Pre-heat the oven to 350°.

 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter, brown sugar, and sugar at a medium speed until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and continue to mix at medium speed until fully incorporated.

 

Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the peanut butter and continue to mix at medium speed until fully incorporated.

 

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Add the salt to the mixture.*

 

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones in 4 batches, incorporating the dry ingredients thoroughly before adding the next batch.

 

Once throughly mixed, use an ice cream scoop or tablespoon to scoop out tablespoon-sized balls of dough. Roll them between your hands to create a ball and slightly flatten them.

 

 

Lay the flattened balls of dough evenly on the cookie sheets and bake for 14-15 minutes.

 

Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly – just enough so that you can touch them without getting burned – and, using your thumb, make a thumb print in the center of each cookie.

 

Remove the cookies to a baking rack to cool thoroughly.

 

 

To make the toffee peanut caramel, combine the water, sugar, corn syrup & salt in a deep saute pan and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Stir the caramel occasionally, to ensure that none of the sugar clumps and burns.

 

 

Be very careful when making caramel or heating sugar, it gets extremely hot and cannot be touched for quite awhile after removing from heat.

 

While the caramel cooks, heat the heavy cream in a small sauce pan over low heat.

 

 

 

 

Once caramelization begins, the sugar will ‘cook’ very quickly and can burn. As soon as you see the sugar turn into a coffee color, remove the pan from the heat and place on a trivet. With a whisk in hand, add the warm heavy cream in a steady stream to the pan, whisking the entire time. The caramel will bubble and froth (which is why you need a deep saute pan). Once it has subsided, give it a good stir and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.

 

Once cooler, but still warm, add your finely chopped peanuts (or toffee peanuts, which I prefer) to the caramel and stir thoroughly. Allow the caramel to cool for 10-15 more minutes before filling the cookies’ thumbprints with it. Drizzle any extra caramel across the cookies to your desire.

 

Note: My sifter doesn’t allow kosher salt crystals to pass through. If this isn’t an issue for your sifter, sift the salt into the flour and baking soda.