Directions: |
Directions:Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cream together butter and sugar till light and fluffy. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In three increments, add flour mixture to the creamed butter. mixing between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the milk and vanilla extract. blending until combined and the dough begins to come together in large pieces. Use your hands to divide the dough in half, pressing it together to compact it into two disks. Wrap the disks securely in plastic wrap and refrigerate them until firm, about 1 hour. Once dough has chilled, roll out onto a lightly floured surface until it is ⅛" thick. Cut out as many cookies as possible with a doughnut shaped cookie cutter. Place the cut out cookies on parchment paper lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet half way through, until the cookies are pale golden brown. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Make coconut topping. Spread the coconut flakes onto a baking lined sheet with parchment paper. Bake the coconut for about 10 minutes in a 350ºF oven until toasted, stirring frequently to ensure even browning and so that it does not burn. Remove toasted coconut from the oven and set it aside. Melt the caramels, milk and salt in a double boiler by placing the caramels in a medium saucepan set over a large saucepan of boiling water. Cook stirring until the caramels are fully melted. Remove from heat and combine ¾ of the caramel with the toasted coconut in a large bowl. Carefully spread the remaining ¼ cup of caramel on top of the cooled cookies then press on a portion of the coconut mixture. Let cookies cool 30 minutes. If caramel-coconut mixture thickens too much at any point while pressing it on to the cookies, return it to the double boiler till it is spreadable again. Melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave. Dip the bottoms of the cookies in chocolate and place then on wax paper lined baking sheet. Use a fork to drizzle the tops with chocolate. Let the cookies sit until the chocolate hardens fully. Makes 48 cookies. |
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