Caramel Meltaways Food

PEANUT BUTTER MELTAWAYS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 cake pan.
• Whisk together all dry ingredients.
• Cream butter with sugar. Add peanut butter, egg and water. Add dry ingredients. Press into cake pan and bake 15-20 minutes until brown around the edges. Cool 15 minutes.
• In the meantime, melt caramels with cream. Stir and add vanilla. Spread hot caramel over crust and top with chocolate chips and chopped peanuts. After chocolate melts, I chill in refrigerator until chocolate is firm before attempting to cut.

PEPPERMINT MELTAWAY COOKIES

Steps:

• Mix together butter and powdered sugar til smooth. Add flour, corn starch and vanilla and mix again until dough comes together. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Gently press each dough ball with the heel of your hand to flatten slightly. Bake for 10-12 minutes, allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
• Make the frosting by creaming together cream cheese, and butter. Mix in powdered sugar and peppermint extract. If desired, mix in a drop or two or red food coloring. Spread over cooled cookies and top with crushed candy canes.

CARAMEL MELTAWAYS

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a three quart saucepan.
• Add the brown sugar and salt.
• Stir until thoroughly combined.
• Stir in corn syrup and mix well.
• Gradually add condensed milk, stirring constantly.
• Cook and stir over medium heat to firm ball stage, or 245 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 12 to 15 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Stir in vanilla.
• Pour into buttered 9-inch square pan or 7 x 11-inch pan.
• Cool and cut into squares.

EGGNOG MELTAWAY COOKIES

Steps:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Put the almonds and 1/2 cup of the confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process until very finely ground, about 2 minutes. Add the butter and process until smooth, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Scrape the dough off the inside of the bowl if needed. Add the bourbon and rum and vanilla extracts and pulse until smooth. Add the flour and salt and pulse until the dough forms a ball.
• Roll mounded teaspoons of the dough into balls about 1 inch wide and place on the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Bake, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until the cookies are firm when gently pressed, completely dry and just beginning to crack at the top, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes; they will firm as they cool.
• Meanwhile, put the nutmeg and remaining 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar in a pie plate or wide baking dish and mix well. Toss the warm cookies very gently in the sugar mixture until evenly coated; the cookies need to be warm for the first coating of sugar to stick. Cool the cookies on a wire rack completely, about 30 minutes, then toss again in the sugar mixture so they are very white. Sprinkle with additional grated nutmeg.
• Store the cookies in a little bit of extra confectioners' sugar in an airtight container for up to a week.

PEPPERMINT MELTAWAYS

Steps:

• Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and powdered sugar for 1 to 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the peppermint extract and kosher salt. Mix for another 30 seconds until incorporated.
• In a small bowl add the cornstarch and all-purpose flour and whisk together to evenly incorporate. Slowly add this to the butter mixture, while mixing on low speed, just until combined.
• Using a 1½ tablespoon (or 1½-inch) cookie scoop, scoop out dough balls and place them onto a plate. Once all the cookie balls are scooped, place the plate into the refrigerator to chill for a minimum of 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Once the dough balls are chilled, place them 2 inches apart on the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the tray for 5 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat until all the cookies are baked and cooled.
• While your cookies are cooling you can make your frosting.
• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium-low speed, beat the butter until fluffy. Add the peppermint extract, half & half and 1 cup of the sifted powdered sugar. Beat on low for another 30 seconds then add the remaining powdered sugar one cup at a time until all the powdered sugar is fully incorporated and the frosting is smooth and creamy.
• Using an offset spatula, or a butter knife, frost each cookie making sure to not go all the way to the edge of the cookie.
• Garnish each cookie with a little sprinkle of crushed peppermint candies.