Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix together butter and sugar in a separate bowl until fluffy.
- Mix in the flour mixture until fine crumbs form.
- Add the vanilla and combine.
- * If the dough isn’t coming together, add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time as needed, until the dough forms a ball, or if the dough is impossibly sticky, sprinkle with a bit of flour.
- Flatten the dough slightly, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill for 1 hour or freeze for 15-20 minutes.
- After dough has chilled, roll it out on a flat well-floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness.
- * If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle a couple tablespoons of flour over the dough and knead it a few times with your hands, roll it back into a 1/4 inch thick disc.
- Use a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter to cut dough rounds, as many as you can from the dough.
- Then cut a smaller hole in the center of each cookie with a smaller cookie cutter, or using a knife,
- the end of the handle on a wooden spoon, or any other small round device that you can find in your kitchen.
- Press the remaining dough into a ball, roll into a 1/4 inch disc again and repeat cutting process.
- Do this again until you have used as much of the dough as you can.
- Transfer the rounds to the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly browned and the cookies are set.
- Cool them for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- —-Make the topping—
- Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F and line another baking sheet with parchment.
- Spread the coconut flakes evenly on the baking sheet and toast,
- stirring every 5 minutes, until the coconut is golden, about 20 minutes.
- Set toasted coconut flakes aside.
- In a microwave safe bowl, combine caramels and milk on high for 2 minutes.
- Stir, and return to microwave for 20 seconds at a time, stirring between each, until caramel is fully melted and smooth. Stir in salt.
- Spread about 1-2 teaspoons of caramel on top of each cookie.
- Chill for 2-3 minutes to let the caramel set.
- If the caramel becomes too firm to work with, reheat it in the microwave for a few seconds.
- Stir coconut flakes into remaining caramel.
- Spread the coconut-caramel topping onto the cooled cookies, up to 2 teaspoons per cookie.
- Chill again while you prepare the chocolate.
- Melt the chocolate chips in a double-boiler or in the microwave.
- Dip the bottoms of the cookies in the chocolate and place them on parchment or a wax paper-lined baking sheet.
- Transfer any remaining chocolate into a piping bag or a resealable plastic bag with one corner snipped off.
- Drizzle chocolate stripes on top of the cookies.
- Let the cookies sit until the chocolate hardens fully.
- Note: These cookies are fairly time consuming to make, but if you take your time and have fun with them, the results will be worth it.
- If any cookies make it to the end of the day, store them in an airtight container.
