Chocolate and Caramel S’more Cookies

This recipe is going to seem fairly complicated and involved, but I promise it really is simple. It does consume a bit of time, but these suckers are worth it! I made the graham crackers and caramel one day and put everything together the following day.

Something to keep in mind: If you want to make this easier on yourself, you do not have to make everything from scratch. I just thought it would be a fun experiment.

I’ll post everything separately to (hopefully) make things easier.

Graham Cracker

• 2 cups Pamela’s Ultimate Baking Mix plus more for dusting
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons cold water
• cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Chop the butter into slices and combine with the dry ingredients using a stand mixer on medium speed. In a separate bowl, mix the honey and cold water. Turn the mixer speed to low and gradually add the honey mixture. Combine for a couple minutes, then remove bowl from the mixer. Dust a couple tablespoons of Pam’s Mix over the dough and start to form a ball. You may need to use a spatula to scrape the sides.

Spread a sheet of wax paper on your counter top and sprinkle with Pam’s Mix. Using your hands, flatten the dough to about 1/8 inch thickness. I used a circle cookie cutter to make my crackers round. Alternatively, you could roll the cookies out and cut them into traditionally sized graham crackers and design patterns with the prongs of a fork. Place the crackers on a baking sheet lined with a silpat mat or parchment paper. After the baking sheet is full, sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the tops and bake for 15-20 minutes. These cookies would also make a fantastic pie crust.

Now for the caramel sauce. After Googling how to make caramel sauce, I came across a recipe on cakecentral.com. Here’s what I learned about the recipe: It makes a very large quantity (I ended up using less than half of it for the s’mores), and it is very yummy. This sauce can also be used as a cake filling, a dipping sauce for fruit, really anything. It keeps well in the refrigerator. I made the sauce in advance and allowed a little time for the caramel to come to room temperature before spreading on the cookies.

Caramel Sauce

• 1 cup butter (do not substitute)
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tablespoons whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt

In a heavy saucepan, bring butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and sweetened condensed milk to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Carefully stir in the whipping cream. Attach a candy thermometer to your pan. Continue to stir until the caramel reaches 238 degrees, or the soft ball stage. Remove the pot from heat and add vanilla and salt. Stir until everything is combined. Let cool before serving.

The hard part is over!

S’More Cookies

Here’s what else you will need to put the treats together:

• one bag of gluten-free milk chocolate chips, chunks, or pieces
• one bag of very dark (60% or higher cacao) gluten-free chocolate chips, chunks, or pieces
• 1-2 bags of Dandies vegan marshmallows (depends how many s’mores you’re making)

If you want to make things easier, use only one type chocolate instead of two. The dark chocolate melted and coated everything more evenly. The milk had the traditional s’more taste.

Take chilled caramel sauce and spread evenly on one side of the graham crackers. Place the dry side of the crackers on a baking sheet lined with a silpat mat or wax paper.

Next melt the marshmallows over medium to low heat in a large sauce pan. Take a large spoon and place melted marshmallows over the caramel coated side of the graham cracker. Or you could place non-melted mini marshmallows on top of the caramel and proceed to the chocolafication.

Using a bane-marie or double boiler, melt chocolate over medium heat. Once completely melted, dip a caramel and marshmallow cookie into the chocolate with a slotted spoon. Completely submerge the cookie, then remove. Place on the wax paper lined baking sheet to harden. Repeat this process with the remaining cookies. I placed all of my cookies in the refrigerator to allow them to cool faster.

Makes ~18 cookies