Caramel Macchiato Thumbprint Cookies

It's always hard to get back into the swing of things after a break. This past week was our spring break and classes resume today. I am currently looking at my list of things to-do in the next seven weeks and I cannot say that I am particularly thrilled. Normally I get excited at the prospect of tackling my upcoming assignments, but this list seems somewhat daunting. Go-go Gadget Time Management skills!

Perhaps I am cranky because Ron and I had a rude awakening early this morning. At 5:00 a.m., I heard a noise on the shelf above our bed. I assumed it was Salem who finally conquered the task of jumping onto the shelf. But then I heard a gentle flapping and Salem flew to the opposite side of the room. BUT, Salem is a cat. And although it was super early, I know that cat's don't have wings. Praying it was a dream, I turned on the light next to the bed. Sure enough, there was a bat frantically flying around our bedroom. And Salem, such a little over-achiever, was sprinting back and forth across the room trying to get it. Naturally, I remained calm under the circumstances.

"AGHHHHHHHHH, RONNNN!!!!  GET UPPP!!! GETTTTTT UPPPPP!!!!!!"  Ron, who is always a wonder of words first thing upon awakening, shouted something incomprehensible. Then we ducked under the covers while the bat landed on the window opposite of our bed and discussed what we should do. It's rare that I actually pull the "you are a man and this is a man job" card, but today was one of those days. I grabbed Salem, who was doing everything in her power to help get the bat, and took off into a closed location. Ron screamed. The bat squealed. Ron plowed down the stairs and out the front door. And the bat was released to fly away in the dark sky (and likely back to our home to save its family). Later on he started talking about radioactive powers and Batman. Um, ok. Keep your superhero dreams out of my living quarters.

It certainly started the week off with a bang. Because I have been somewhat down in the dumps, I decided that I needed to post a fun, yummy recipe on here. I had intended to post this delicious blueberry buttermilk bread that I made a few weeks ago, yet discovered that I have misplaced the recipe. Go figure, speaking from the person who created this blog to save and track recipes. So, here is a recipe for some amazingly delicious cookies that I made a few weeks ago. Ron loves anything coffee flavored. He had been out of town and I wanted to surprise him with a fun dessert. These fit the bill. The recipe uses a packaged mix, but I ended up being OK with it because I'm not 100% sold on my recipe converting skills just yet. Plus, upon tasting one of the cookies, I had no qualms about their method of preparation. I did use the advice of one commenter and used a packet of Starbucks Via in lieu of the instant coffee granules. I also melted some cappuccino chips with the chocolate to make the drizzle, but the chocolate chips alone would taste just fine. I would advise to go easy on the caramel unless you want to overpower the coffee flavor. Overall, they were amazing. They truly tasted like a caramel macchiato in a cookie form.

Caramel Macchiato Thumbprints
Betty Crocker
Yield: about 3 dozen cookies
Ingredients

• 1 packet Starbucks VIA instant coffee packet, or 2 tsp instant espresso coffee powder or granules
• 1 Tbsp hot water
• 1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
• 1/4 cup AP flour
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 18 caramels (from 14-oz bag), unwrapped
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp shortening

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
2. In a large bowl, dissolve coffee as directed by package (or in hot water if using granules). Stir in cooke mix, flour, butter, vanilla and egg until very soft dough forms.
3. Shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. On ungreased cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. Using thumb, make indentation in center of each cookie.
4. Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.
5. In small microwavable bowl, microwave caramels and milk uncovered on High 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring once, until caramels are melted. Spoon 1/2 tsp caramel into indentation in each cookie. Cool 15 minutes.
6. In another small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and shortening uncovered on High 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds or until chips can be stirred smooth. Drizzle chocolate over cookies. Let stand about 30 minutes or until chocolate has set.