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52 Weeks of Baking: Week 52 - Gooey Banana Cupcakes

YumSugar — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 05:01:38 -0800

This year I decided that I would have a New Year's resolution that I could stick to. I thought about it for a while and eventually landed on baking. So with my trusty mixer and collection of pans, I set off on a 52 week baking adventure. It's been a fun journey and there have been some ups and downs, but we've finally arrived at week 52.

This week I had a bunch of bananas slowly rotting on my counter. Normally, I would turn this sort of thing into a loaf or two of banana bread. However, I wanted to end this series on a more spectacular note, and plain old banana bread just wouldn't cut it. So I brainstormed and came up with Banana Cupcakes with a Dulce de Leche filling and Chocolate Buttercream frosting. They came together quickly, and were a real treat to my sweet tooth. To get the recipe, read more

Note: If you don't like dulce de leche, then try your own variation with peanut butter, chocolate or simply omit.

Gooey Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream
A recipe in progress by YumSugar

Makes 18

Cupcakes
3 overripe bananas plus 1 more for decoration
splash of milk (optional)
2 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 sticks of butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
dulce de leche filling, recipe follows
chocolate buttercream, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a food processor, puree bananas until smooth. Depending on your bananas, you may need to add a splash of mixture so that the consistency is nice and smooth. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk or sift flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together. Set aside.
In a mixer or large bowl, cream butter and sugars together until well mixed, and airy.
Add eggs, one at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated before proceeding.
Stir in vanilla, followed by banana puree.
Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Scoop an even amount of dough into each cup. I filled them to the top and had enough for 19 cupcakes.
Bake for about 16 minutes. A wooden skewer inserted in the middle willl come out clean and tops are a light brown in color.
Remove cupcakes from oven and cool in tins for two minutes. Transfer to cooling rack.
When cupcakes are completely cooled, cut a cone shape from the center. Set aside.
Spoon enough dulce de leche to fill the cavity you have created.
Top with cone piece, to create a nearly seamless look. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.
Spoon some frosting on top of each cupcake, spread out with a spatula.
Top each cupcake with a thin slice of banana.

For filling:
1 14 oz-can sweetened condensed milk

Fill the bottom of a double boiler (or pan if using bowl/pan method), halfway with water. Bring to boil and then reduce heat to medium. Pour milk into the top of the double boiler (or bowl if using/bowl/pan method). Heat until milk has thickened and has become a dark caramel color. This will take about 2 hours. Every 30 minutes give it a stir and replenish water on bottom if necessary. When finished, remove from heat and cool completely.

For frosting:
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk

In a small bowl or mixer, cream butter.
Mix in cocoa powder (you can add more or less depending on taste).
Mix in vanilla.
Mix in half of powdered sugar, followed by half of the milk.
Mix in the rest of the powdered sugar. Blend well. Add the rest of the milk and mix completely. If your frosting is too thin, add more sugar (or cocoa depending on taste). If it is too thick, add more milk.

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My Favorite Weeks of Baking

YumSugar — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:15:33 -0800

This year I decided to pick a New Year's resolution that I could stick with, and that's how I ended up on my 52 weeks of baking adventure. We're 51 weeks in, and I've surprised my friends and myself with some interesting baked goods. It's definitely been a challenging experience; I've had some inventions that came out better than anticipated, as well as some downright disasters. Overall it's been a great learning experience - if a messy one, as my kitchen's been filthy for a year! - and I hope I've inspired you to get baking!

There's one more treat on the way, but until then here are my favorite six of the year. Clockwise from the top left, they are:

52 Weeks of Baking: Mocha-Cappuccino Marbled Coffee Cake

YumSugar — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 09:18:31 -0800

This week, with all of the gingerbread and holiday baking, I thought it would be nice to make a simple cake to pair with coffee. Many folks have friends and family staying at their house this season and a coffee cake is something that whips up quickly and is perfect to have on hand. It works as a simple breakfast, and is delightful with an afternoon cup of tea. This particular recipe is a coffee-chocolate swirl, although I thought the coffee flavor could be heightened. The crumb is nice and moist, but be careful, there's a small window between perfect and overdone. To get the recipe, read more.

Mocha-Cappuccino Marbled Coffee Cake
From Coffee Cakes: Simple, Sweet and Savory by Lou Seibert Pappas

12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp instant coffee powder dissolved in 2 Tbsp hot water
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups sour cream
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted

Preheat over to 350F.
Butter and flour a 10-inch Bundt or tube pan.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and mix in the vanilla and dissolved coffee until blended.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir to blend.
Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream in 2 increments, beating until thick and smooth.
Spoon one-third of the batter into a small bowl and stir in the chocolate.
Spoon 4 heaping tablespoons of the coffee batter into the pan, spacing them apart, then spoon some chocolate batter by the tablespoon into the spaces. Repeat until all the batter is used.
With a knife, swirl through the mixture once to marble the batters. [Note: I felt once was not enough and would do it at least 2 times depending on how deep you are able to swirl the batter.]
Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then unmold right side up on a wire rack and let cool completely.
Cut into slices to serve.

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52 Weeks of Baking: Gingerbread

YumSugar — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 13:31:31 -0800

CasaSugar and I recently got into a debate over who could make the best gingerbread house. I hadn't actually made one from scratch ever, and was about 10 years old when I last put one together. However neither of these things stopped me from talking up how great my house would be. I had the best plans and great ideas; only problem was I didn't have a recipe and didn't know where to begin. So I did some research, rolled up my sleeves, and started mixing. The recipe I found - from Bon Appétit - actually makes way more gingerbread than necessary for one house. With all the leftover dough I decided to make a few gingerbread men. Only problem was, I didn't actually have a gingerbread-man cutter. So I used a knife and freestyled.

The end result was a gingerbread man with one arm larger than the other. I fixed that problem by piping on an icing cast. His neck also received a hairline fracture because I moved it to the cooling rack before it was ready. I covered this up by piping a little tie on him. And since he had a tie, I felt he needed a cellphone, too. No matter what you end up doing, just have a good time. I'm going to share details on my house later this week, and now I'm off to invest in a good gingerbread-man cookie cutter!

To get the gingerbread recipe I used, read more.

Gingerbread (for House or Men)
From Bon Appetit, 2000

For Gingerbread
6 3/4 cups all purpose flour
4 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 1/2 cups solid vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup robust (dark) molasses

For Icing
4 large egg whites
7 to 7 1/2 cups powdered white sugar

Sift flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and cardamom into medium bowl.
Using electric mixer, beat shortening in large bowl until fluffy.
Add sugar and beat to blend. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Add molasses and beat on high speed until well blended.
Add dry ingredients in 4 additions, beating at low speed until dough forms.
Divide dough into 6 equal pieces [this is perfect for a house, and a good idea for cookies]. Flatten each piece into rectangle. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, at least 6 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
When dough is ready, preheat oven to 350°F.
Roll out 1 dough piece (keep remaining dough refrigerated) between two 15-inch-long sheets of parchment to scant 1/4-inch rectangle, turning over dough and parchment occasionally. If parchment wrinkles, peel off, smooth wrinkle and reposition parchment over dough; continue to roll out dough to required thickness.
Cut into desired shapes. The easiest way is to remove the excess dough from the bottom parchment paper and slide the entire parchment paper sheet (with cut-out cookies) onto baking sheet.I didn't have a cookie cutter, so I free-styled.
Bake until dry looking, firm to touch in center and just beginning to darken around edges, about 13 minutes. Note: this is the perfect time for house pieces, which you want to be a bit dryer, for individual cookies, start checking around 9 minutes.
Slide parchment with gingerbread onto rack and cool completely. Rinse baking sheet under cold water to cool; wipe dry. Continue with rest of dough/cookies.
While cookies are cooling, make icing. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in medium bowl until very foamy, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Beat until well blended. Add remaining cups sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating until well blended after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl occasionally.
Beat icing at high speed until very thick and stiff, about 5 minutes.
Place icing into pastry bag with a small round pastry tip.
Use icing to decorate cookies or adhere gingerbread house pieces together.

Note: If concerned about salmonella, use egg white powder instead of egg whites.

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52 Weeks of Baking: Torte Reform

YumSugar — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 05:01:39 -0800

This week my family has been throwing around a barrage of bad lawyer jokes. Why? My sister passed the bar and was officially sworn in as a lawyer! When I found out the good news, I thought it would be fun to celebrate by baking up something special. At first I tried to find a cake that screamed "Counselor" or "Esquire" to me, but then the obvious choice came to mind. One of her least favorite things in law school was tort reform, so I knew that a chocolate torte would be perfect. I also knew that I'd have to some how make it "reformed." It seemed to fit the spirit of the bad jokes, so I went about finding a recipe.

The one I decided on was pretty standard - although I wish I'd spent a little bit more time researching, this particular recipe is a bit dry - but instead of serving it as a traditional layer cake, I served it layered in a fancy wine glass. I dolloped it with whipped cream and sprinkled it with a bit of cocoa powder. The end result is a simple but elegant dessert; one fit for a new lawyer.

To check out my version of "Torte Reform," read more

To make my "Torte Reform" I baked up a traditional Sachertorte recipe. This particular one comes out quite dry, it called for 45 minutes of baking time, but I switched it down to 35. It probably should have gone down to 30. However once coated - and I mean coated - with the apricot glaze it moistens up pretty well.

Once I had the cake baked and cooled, I sliced it into two layers and cut circles out using the glass I planned to serve it in as a cutter. Next I layered a ring of cake, followed by a layer of apricot jam, another layer of cake, more jam, chocolate glaze - poured on thick so that it would seep down into the cracks - and a dollop of whipped cream and dusting of cocoa powder. More or less your traditional Sachertorte, just not in the same form.

If you'd prefer to make a more traditional cake, cut the cake into two layers, and fill with apricot jam. Top entire cake with chocolate glaze. I'd recommend this chocolate fudge glaze and a high quality jam.

Torte
From Kaffeehaus by Rick Rodgers via Epicurious

4 1/2 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour (spoon gently into cup and level top)

[Note: I used dark chocolate chips instead, it came out okay, but really needed a larger chocolate flavor. Also, this cake is only going to be as good as your ingredients.]

To make the torte: Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 400°F. Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment or wax paper. Dust the sides of the pan with flour and tap out the excess.
In the top part of a double boiler over very hot, but not simmering, water, or in a microwave at medium power, melt the chocolate. Remove from the heat or the oven, and let stand, stirring often, until cool.
Beat the butter in the bowl of a heavy-duty standing mixer fitted with the paddle blade on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. On low speed, beat in the confectioners' sugar. Return the speed to medium-high and beat until light in color and texture, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the chocolate and vanilla.
Beat the egg whites and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer on high speed just until they form soft, shiny peaks. Do not overbeat. Stir about one fourth of the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining whites, leaving a few visible wisps of whites. Sift half of the flour over the chocolate mixture, and fold in with a large balloon whisk or rubber spatula. Repeat with the remaining flour.
Spread evenly in the pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. (The cake will dome in the center.) Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the sides of the pan, and invert the cake onto the rack. Remove the paper and reinvert on another rack to turn right side up. Cool completely.

Note: If you do glaze your cake, make sure you do a "crumb layer" firsts. This crumb layers seals the crumbs in, and ensures a smooth finish when you apply the second layer of glaze. This is a photo of the crumb layer.

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52 Weeks of Baking: Informal Croquembouche (Cream Puffs)

YumSugar — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:13:33 -0800

There are only a few weeks left in my 52 weeks of baking resolution, so I'm trying to find things on my "I can't believe I haven't made these before" list. Cream puffs were near the top of that list, but after last night, I'm officially able to cross them off.

I found a pastry recipe that looked simple and yielded a large haul of puffs. However, instead of a traditional custard cream - there wasn't enough time to let it set - I went with a whipped cream filling and a chocolate glaze. While mine isn't quite a traditional French Croquembouche - aka stacked cream puffs coated with caramel - it does work as a modern twist. To get the recipe that I put together on a weeknight just read more

Informal Croquembouche

Pâte à Chou (Cream Puff Pastry)
From Gourmet, December 1994

1 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
4 to 6 large eggs

In a heavy saucepan bring water to a boil with butter and salt over high heat.
Reduce heat to moderate. Add flour all at once and beat with a wooden spoon until mixture pulls away from sides of pan, forming a dough.
Transfer dough to bowl of a standing electric mixer and beat in 4 eggs, 1 at a time, on high speed, beating well after each addition. Batter should be stiff enough to just hold soft peaks and fall softly from a spoon. If batter is too stiff, in a small bowl beat remaining 2 eggs lightly, 1 at a time, and add to batter, a little at a time, beating on high speed, until batter is desired consistency.
Preheat oven to 425°F. and butter and flour 2 baking sheets.
Spoon pâte à chou into a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip and pipe about 55 mounds onto baking sheets, each about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, leaving 1 1/2 inches between mounds.
With a finger dipped in water gently smooth pointed tip of each mound to round puffs.
Bake puffs in upper third of oven 10 minutes, switching position of sheets in oven halfway through baking if necessary. Reduce temperature to 400°F. and bake puffs 20 minutes more, or until puffed and golden.
Let puffs stand in turned-off oven 30 minutes. Transfer puffs to racks to cool.
With a skewer poke a 1/4-inch hole in bottom of each puff.
Puffs may be made 2 days ahead and kept in an airtight container. Recrisp puffs in 400°F. oven 5 minutes and cool before filling.

Whipped Cream Filling

2 cups heavy whipping cream
4 tbsp powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Whip cream until frothy.
Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract.
Whip until stiff peaks can be formed.

Chocolate Glaze

6 oz semisweet chocolate cut into pieces (or chocolate chips)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter

Place the chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl and set aside.
In a medium sized saucepan heat the cream and butter over medium heat. Bring to a boil.
Pour boiling cream over the chocolate and let stand for five minutes.
Stir with a whisk until smooth.
Add a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg or clove if desired.

To Assemble

While cream puffs are cooling, make whipped filling. Transfer filling to a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain top and barely fill each puff (do not overfill).
Using toothpicks or skewers stack cream puffs into a cone shape.
Make glaze. Drizzle glaze on top of stacked cream puffs.

Alternatively, you can just dip each cream puff into the glaze and serve individually.

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52 Weeks of Baking: Two Turkey Pies

YumSugar — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:27:19 -0800

I don't know about you guys, but after a week of cooking and prepping for Thanksgiving, I am looking forward to a few days of rest and relaxation. That said, I've decided to cheat a little bit on this week's baking project. I wanted to figure out a way to use all the turkey leftovers, without causing a lot of work. So, instead of making my own pastry crust, I decided to pick up two premade crusts and turn them into two different turkey pot pies.

I only have one pie dish, so I put half of the mixture in it and inverted one of the pie crusts as a top crust. For the other pie, I put in half the mixture and topped with leftover mashed potatoes, creating a shepherd's pie.

Plan now for Friday's leftovers, pick up two extra pie crusts and call it a day. To get the easy recipe, read more

Turkey Pot Pie or Turkey Shepherd's Pie
From The Culinary Institute of America adapted by Boston Globe with additions by YumSugar

3 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups turkey or chicken broth, heated to boiling
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 Yukon Gold or Yellow Finn potato, diced
4 cups diced cooked turkey
1 cup green peas (thawed if frozen - try not to use canned, they will be too mushy)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 nine-inch prepared pie crusts, frozen puff pastry sheets (thawed), or other topping such as leftover mashed potatoes

Note: This recipe is for four individual pot pies, however I used the filling to make two larger sized pies: one shepherd and one regular.

In a large saucepan, heat the butter over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until tender.
Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the broth little by little, whisking well to prevent lumps. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring often, for 15 minutes or until thickened. Add salt and pepper.
Set the oven at 350 degrees. Have on hand 4 individual baking dishes (about 2 cup capacity each).
Add the carrot, celery, and potato to the broth mixture. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Add the turkey and peas and remove from the heat. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper, if you like. Stir in the parsley.
Spoon the filling into the dishes. Cut pie crust or puff pastry dough to the appropriate size and shape of the dishes to cover the filling. Cuts vents in the crust and press the edges of the dough onto the dishes to seal them.
Or alternatively, spoon filling into prepared pie crusts and spread leftover mashed potatoes on top.
Set the pies on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake them for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is golden.

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52 Weeks of Baking: Pecan Pie Cookies

YumSugar — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 09:18:33 -0800

I originally thought I'd make a classic Thanksgiving pie for this week's baking project. However, as you may know, pie crust tends to thwart me. So instead of struggling about, I started thinking about ways to make a pie without making a pie. Eventually, I landed upon the idea of a pecan pie cookie and after a bit of googling, I found a recipe that sounded just right. The result - a thumb-print cookie with a caramelized-pecan filling - was definitely reminiscent of pecan pie, only a lot easier to put together. If you're looking for a treat for an upcoming Thanksgiving potluck, then look no further, get the recipe, just read more

Pecan Pie Cookies
From Land O' Lakes

For Cookies:
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder

For Filling:
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350°F.
Combine all cookie ingredients except flour and baking powder in large bowl.
Beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour and baking powder. Beat until well mixed.
Shape dough into 1-1/4-inch balls.
Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Make indentation in each cookie with thumb; rotate thumb to hollow out slightly.
Combine all filling ingredients in small bowl; fill each cookie with 1 rounded tsp. filling.
Bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.

Nutrition Facts (1 cookie): Calories: 130, Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 20mg, Sodium: 50mg, Carbohydrates: 15g, Dietary Fiber: <1g, Protein: 1g

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52 Weeks of Baking: The Best Drop Biscuits

YumSugar — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 11:17:44 -0800

I've been out of town for a while and haven't had much time for baking. That's why this week's baking needed to be something wonderfully simple. However, I also wanted it to be Thanksgiving friendly. Luckily, while flipping through the pages of the most recent issue of Cook's Illustrated, I came across this recipe for the "Best" Drop Biscuits. They looked simple, sounded great, and best of all, they could be done in under thirty minutes. The ingredient list is also wonderfully sparse, consisting of just baking staples.

After a few easy steps and a brief encounter with the smoke alarm - the oven is at a toasty 475°F, anything stuck to the bottom of it is probably going to burn a little - I was chowing down on some perfect biscuits. I'm not sure they're the best drop biscuits, but they are pretty darn close. To get the recipe, read more

If buttermilk biscuits are too boring for you, try adding other flavors such as Parmesan cheese, pepper, scallions, mustard seed, etc.

Best Drop Biscuits
From Cook's Illustrated, Nov/Dec 2007

Makes 10-12.

2 cups (10 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp table salt
1 cup cold buttermilk*
8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (about 5 minutes)
2 tbsp melted unsalted butter for brushing biscuits

*Note: If you don't have buttermilk, substitute with a mixture of 1 cup cold milk plus 1 tbsp lemon juice that has stood for 10 minutes.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475F.
In a large bowl whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt.
In a medium bowl, combine buttermilk and 8 tbsp melted butter, stirring until butter forms small clumps. It looks like it is a mistake, but you are actually looking for those clumps.
Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula until just incorporated and batter pulls away from the sides of bowl.
Using a greased 1/4 cup dry measure, scoop level amount of batter and drop onto parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, spacing biscuits about 1 1/2 inches apart.
Bake until tops are golden brown and crisp, about 12-14 minutes.
Brush biscuit tops with remaining 2 tbsp melted butter.
Transfer to wire rack and let cool 5 minutes before serving.

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52 Weeks of Baking: Caramel "Apple" Cookies

YumSugar — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 13:01:19 -0700

I was searching for a final cookie recipe to round out National Cookie Month when I stumbled across one that looked like caramel apples. They were so cute and seemed like the perfect Halloween treat, so I headed to the store and grabbed a bag of caramels. The cookies themselves are pretty simple to make; they're basically a dyed sugar cookie dipped in caramel and put on a stick! To get the recipe and start bobbing for your own "apples," read more

Note: I couldn't find any popsicle sticks at my local grocery store; you may need to try a specialty craft or cooking store. I only had 10 sticks available - free with the caramels - and used the rest of the dough to make small cookies.

Caramel "Apple" Cookies
From Recipe Link

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine or butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
red food coloring (optional)
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
About 24 wooden popsicle sticks
Caramel Glaze (see below)

Heat oven to 400F.
Mix sugar, margarine and shortening in large bowl.
Stir in vanilla and eggs.
Stir in flour, baking soda and salt.
Add in food coloring if desired. Add enough to obtain desired color, I used five drops and ended up with a pale pink.
If possible, wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in freezer for an hour, or in refrigerator overnight.
Roll dough 1/4 –inch thick on lightly floured cloth-covered surface.
Cut with 3-inch round or apple-shaped cookie cutter.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Insert wooden stick horizontally into each cookie.
Bake 8 or 9 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool about 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet. Cool completely.
While cookies are cooling, make caramel glaze (see below).
Spread top third of each cookie (opposite wooden stick) with Caramel Glaze. Hold cookie upright; allow glaze to drizzle down cookie.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Caramel Glaze
1 package (14 ounces) vanilla caramels, unwrapped
1/4 cup water [I used apple juice]

Heat caramels and water over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth.
If glaze becomes too stiff, heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until softened.

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