artificial drink mix gone...right?

so i found these cookies on photograzing: apple-cider cookies with caramel inside. the photo looks amazing - a ribbon of caramel stretching lusciously between two halves of a cookie - and i'm thinking to myself, a stuffed cookie like a caramel-filled truffle? no awkward compression and repositioning of cookie filling as happens with sandwich cookies? sold.

that is, until i looked more closely at the recipe and found that all of the important flavor components come from artificial, processed sources. the cider flavor comes from cider drink mix, and the caramels are just kraft caramels from the candy aisle. typically, i would attempt to replace these ingredients with non-artificial stuff, but, well, i wanted these cookies. what do you replace apple cider drink mix with, anyway? you can't replace it with reduced apple cider, because it throws off the balance of wet and dry ingredients, and i unfortunately don't have a deyhydrator with which to make apple cider powder.

i held off for about a week before their siren call necessitated a trip to the supermarket for artificially flavored sugar products. i made the cookies, and, well, they were pretty awesome. so now i guess i need to figure out how to make them without the processed sugar. in the meantime, here's the original recipe.


caramel-filled apple cider cookies
2 sticks butter
1c granulated sugar (i used what i had on hand, 1/3c white sugar and 2/3c brown sugar)
1t salt
1 7.4-oz box of alpine cider drink mix (original, not sugar free)
2 eggs
1t vanilla
1t baking soda
1/2t baking powder
3c flour
1 14-oz bag kraft caramels

1. in a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, salt, and drink mix (yep, the whole box).

2. add the eggs and vanilla, and beat until incorporated. add the baking soda and powder and beat until incorporated.

3. fold in the flour with a spatula. cover and chill the dough for about an hour.

4. unwrap 36 of the caramels. take about a tablespoon of dough and flatten it out enough to wrap one of the caramels in it. roll the ball of dough in your hands to make sure the caramel is sealed in, then place on a cookie sheet. bake 12 cookies to a sheet, for about 10-12 minutes - until the rims are just turning golden brown. let cool completely before removing from the cookie sheet. you can line the cookie sheet with foil and slide the foil off to keep making more cookies.

note: the caramel will still be soft and melty when right out of the oven. the caramel will stiffen up as the cookies cool - to rewarm, nuke the cookies for about five seconds in the microwave, or set over a hot mug of tea or coffee.

[makes 36 large cookies]

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p.s. i have been tinkering with the pumpkin pie-tart recipe, specifically with the filling, so look out for a new version of the recipe soon.