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Fall: Taffy Treats

Source of Recipe

Minneapolis Star Tribune and the recipe came from Sherryl Joos.


Recipe Introduction

Just a report on this recipe. It is fabulous and deserves to be a winner. My cookies look just like little caramel apples. I used the toothpicks with the frilly ends. I was concerned because the balls I made flattened out somewhat but I went ahead with the recipe and by the time the caramel and the nuts were on with the frilly little sticks, they were just too cute. They also taste just decadent. DH's sugar was low so he had one and could not believe how good they were. I quickly put them in the freezer after that. I froze them on the tray and when frozen popped them into ziplocs. I left one frozen one out to see how it would do and the caramel stayed dry and the right hardness and they tasted just as fresh. I will say that I added the whole bag of caramels which is more than a half pound because I was just insecure about the texture of the caramel melted with all that canned milk. Needless to say I had caramel left over which I put in a canning jar in the fridge for future ice cream attacks. Then again, I could just make more of these great treats. These are definitely worth trying gang. My husband was VERY impressed with the way these looked. I can see for sure why these were a winner.

List of Ingredients

1 1/3 cup walnuts, divided
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup evaporated milk, divided
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups sifted flour
round, colored toothpicks
1/2 pound caramels
1 to 2 tbsp water, if necessary




Recipe

To make filling: In a food processor, grind walnuts fine. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine 1/3 cup of ground walnuts (reserve remainder), granulated sugar and 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and cook, stirring constantly, until very thick, about 5 minutes. Cool and reserve.

To make dough: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream butter with brown sugar, powdered sugar and salt, creaming well. Add egg and vanilla extract and mix well. Reduce speed and gradually add flour, mixing well. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Make a depression in ball with your thumb and drop 1/4 teaspoon sweetened-walnut filling into depression. Reshape cookie into a ball, enclosing the filling. Place on parchment-paper-lined baking sheets and bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack to cool, and insert a rounded colored wooden toothpick into top of each cookie.

To make caramel coating: In a double boiler, combine caramel and remaining 2/3 cup evaporated milk and heat until caramel melts, stirring occasionally (if too thick, thin with 1 to 2 tablespoons water). Remove from heat but keep mixture warm over hot water (If using a microwave oven, melt caramels in 1-minute intervals, stirring and repeating until caramel is melted). Dip cookies into caramel coating, allowing excess caramel to drop off (cookies can be double-dipped). Dip bottom of cookie in remaining ground walnuts and place on waxed or parchment paper to set.