Chocolate + Caramel Toffee Shortbread Hearts
Chocolate + Caramel Toffee Shortbread Hearts are the quintessential Valentine’s Day treat! Who wouldn’t love layers of toffee studded cookie, salted caramel and dark chocolate? Makes a great gift, too!
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoon unsalted butter, 1 stick
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch kosher salt
- ½ cup toffee chips
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 8 ounce caramel candies
- 10 ounce dark chocolate, chunks / chips, or chopped up bar
Instructions
- Cream together the sugar and butter. Add vanilla and a generous pinch of salt and mix in.
- Fold in the toffee chips and about 1/3 of the flour. Continue folding in the flour, a third at a time. Using clean hands, knead the dough in the bowl until it just comes together. Don't overwork it.
- Place the dough on a floured work surface. Flour your rolling pin, too. Roll out to about 1/4” thick.
- Cut heart shapes. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Put the whole cookie sheet in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake for 15 - 20 minutes. Let them cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before removing them to a rack to cool completely.
- Melt caramels in a microwave safe bowl on high for 1 minute. Stir. If not completely melted, cook again in 30 second bursts until just melted. Stir after each burst. (One minute was all I needed.) Allow to cool for a few minutes until it’s thick enough to spread on the cookies.
- Use a spoon or small knife to spread caramel on each cookie. Place on a sheet pan and allow to set at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments and stir. When the chocolate is almost entirely melted, let it it sit for a minute or two and give it a final stir. The last solid bits will melt from the residual heat.
- Using a fork, lower a caramel covered cookie into the chocolate until it’s completely submerged. Lift it out and let the excess chocolate drip off. Place on a wire rack until set.
- If you want, add sprinkles, coarse sugar or salt to the tops while the chocolate is still wet. You can wait until the chocolate has set up a bit, then pipe a design with another type of melted chocolate.
Notes
Working with melted caramel and chocolate: at any point it gets too thick, nuke it for 15 seconds at a time until it reaches a consistency that's easier to work with.
Nutrition
Calories: 218kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 36mg | Potassium: 126mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 199IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 2mg
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