Sugar-Coated Sundays: Sweet & Salty Cookie Cups

These last two days have been rough.  The small child has decided 4:30 am and 5 am are acceptable times to wake up, crying....loudly and without restraint.  I don't know what the deal is.  Yesterday Otto woke up from Eddie crying.  So there was no way I was getting back to sleep anytime soon.  This morning, I got Eddie to snuggle in the recliner with me and sleep a little more so I could sleep.

On the bright side, yesterday was an amazing family day.  We figured out costumes for everyone.   We had already bought Eddie's costume, so yesterday we got Otto's costume and I ordered my shirt online.  Three down, one to go.  

Mike was my hero and wrangled the boys in the afternoon so I could get a nap in.  After my blissful sleep, we took the boys to the park.  The weather was sublime and I got to play with the camera on Mike's new phone.  He got the phone I wanted, and since I worked some magic to get him the phone, he owes me playing with it a bit.

I figured with Halloween fast approaching I had better get on the themed food/craft bandwagon - ah the life of a blogger.  The great thing about these cookie cups is that you can make them for any occasion by using regular or white chocolate and your choice of sprinkles.

One Year Ago: Kettle Corn

Sweet & Salty Cookie Cups
Adapted from Parents Magazine

Ingredients:
1 roll refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, at room temperature
1 cup finely crushed pretzels
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
24 caramel bites  {I used the Kraft ones in the yellow bag}
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
Sprinkles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  If not using a non-stick pan, spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, knead the pretzels into the cookie dough.  roll dough into 1 to 1 1/2" balls and set in muffin tin cups.  Using your thumb, make and indentation in the cookie dough ball to form a little cup.  Bake 5 minutes.
3. Remove cookies from oven and place 1 caramel in each cup.  {The caramels will melt down, it's okay if they are sticking out of the top of the cup a little.}  Return cookies to oven and bake 5 to 6 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.
4. Let cookies cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
5. Place chocolate chips and shortening in a glass bowl and microwave for 1 minute on 50% power.  Stir chocolate until smooth.  If needed, microwave longer for 30 seconds at a time on 50% power; stirring after each heating.
6. Dip tops of cookies in chocolate.  {I had to spoon a little chocolate into the top of the cup to fill the gap the caramel created.}  Immediately top with sprinkles.  Refrigerate 15 to 20 or until chocolate is set.

Happy caramel cookie cups.

I made half a batch and got 12 cookies.

Also, I snipped the caramel pieces in half.  I was worried they wouldn't fit in the cups.  In hind sight it would have been fine after the caramel melted down and filled the cup.

These cookies got rave reviews at work.  I love that there's a surprise treat in the center.