Martha Stewart's Dulce de Leche (Bat) Cookies

Chocolate and caramel has got to be one of the most sinful flavour combinations around. Whenever I eat it, it reminds me of making ice cream sundaes at parties as a child. When kids make sundaes, they usually do it with vigour. Bubble gum, sprinkles, oreo crumbs, marshmallows, strawberry sauce, caramel or chocolate syrup - whatever you put in front of them, it's probably going on the ice cream.

And while I doubt I'll ever make a strawberry-bubble gum-oreo-marshmallow cookie, a chocolate and caramel cookie? Yes, please.

In this case, two chocolate cookies sandwich a healthy dollop of dulce de leche, a type of caramel made by boiling down sweetened condensed milk. In Canada, you can find it for $3 a jar. Not too shabby for something that tastes so decadent.

It's a Martha Stewart recipe, although I own no aspic cutter to make cute bats on the front as the recipe calls for. Still, you'll definitely want to try these if you can get your hands on some dulce de leche. Keep reading for the recipe.


Dulce de Leche Bat Cookies
Via Martha Stewart's Cookies
Yields 18

3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dulce de leche

1. Whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder. Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg, yolk, chocolate, and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate 1 hour.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out 36 rounds with a 2-inch cutter, and space 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Using an aspic cutter set, cut a triangle, point side up, in the center of half the cookies, and then use the half-moon cutter to make one "wing" on each side of the triangle. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 375. Bake until set, 7 to 9 minutes. Let cool. Top each uncut cookie with 1 teaspoon dulce de leche and a cutout cookie.