Caramel Stuffed Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Hello everyone. I'd like you to meet the most beautiful cookie in the world. It lived a good life. A short one... but good nonetheless.





Here are a couple of his brothers. Aren't they just adorable? Look at how fat and chewy they are. Look at those melting chunks of chocolate. Look at those gooey, buttery, swirls of caramel.



I created the perfect caramel sauce long ago, but this is the first time I ever got around to making this thicker variety. It's kind of like the goop you find in a Snickers... only five kadrillion times better.

Don't be afraid of making your own caramel. There are only a few ingredients and it's hardly any work. All you hafta do is melt down your sugar until it browns and then throw in some butter and stuff. And it's all worth it.

 As it cools, it firms up till it's thick n' chewy. So can just pull out a nice, big wad.

Never mind if you have chocolate cookie dough caked under your nails. Just get that glob of caramel and smash it into the cookie dough.

I like giant cookies because they're less likely to leak caramel out all over the pan. Also, because, well... they're giant cookies.

Now, you'll want to leave a little stub of caramel out when you're sealing the dough around the ball of caramel. Then you can stretch it out into a nice big swirl...

Don't get all distraught because your swirls are ugly. If you think there's anything you can do to make these cookies ugly, you're giving yourself way too much credit.

Oh, by the way, I finally got a new lens, since, as you may recall, my old one broke. And not only did I get smart and buy a case this time around, I also bought a brand spankin' new camera. Okay, actually it was used, but WHATEVS. It's new to me. And I love it.

In case you're curious, you can click on this to check out my new camera:

And you can check out my new Nikkor lens:

And here's the case. I got it in grey. It's pretty sweet.

I'm thinking that someday I'll set up a page all about my photography so you'll all QUIT ASKING ME SO DANG MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT IT.

Just kidding, just kidding. I love your emails. Really. I'm just whiny today because I have a cold.

Anyways, have fun with the your pile of chewy, gooey, heaven. While I sit here miserably blowing my nose all day. Hmph.

Caramel Stuffed Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

For the Caramel:
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons corn syrup
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the sugar and corn syrup and cook over medium heat on the stove, stirring occasionally. It will melt, then become honey colored and from there you'll have to watch very closely as it turns from a golden honey color to an ambery caramel color. As soon as it's caramel colored, add the butter and stir until bubbling subsides. Add the cream and stir until well combined and bubbling subsides. Add the salt and vanilla. Set aside to cool.

Cookies:
1 cup butter
3 cups brown sugar
2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups cake flour
2 cups all-purpose flour (you can just use 4 cups of all-purpose if you don't have cake flour)
1 cup cocoa powder (I used dutch-process)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks
One batch of the caramel

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Melt the butter and sugar together until bubbling. Allow to cool slightly. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Sift in the flours, cocoa, soda, and salt and mix until well combined. Add the chocolate chunks.
Form large balls of dough into the shape of a nest. Nestle a wad of caramel in the nest, leaving a small tail at the top. Roll the cookie around the ball of caramel and then swirl the tail around the top. Bake for 8-12 minutes until done.

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