Dulce De Leche Surprise Cookies

Ingredients

• 200g dulce de leche (can be bought at most supermarkets)
• 200g unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
• 240g (1 firmly packed cup + 1 tablespoon) brown sugar
• 110g (½ cup) caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs vanilla bean extract
• 350g (2⅓ cups) plain flour
• 1¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp fine salt

Method

1. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Scoop 12 heaped teaspoons of dulce de leche onto the tray, then freeze for 30 mins to firm slightly.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the melted butter, brown sugar and caster sugar until well combined. Add the egg and vanilla bean extract and whisk until smooth and glossy.

3. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt into a separate bowl. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and beat until just combined (stop just as you see the last few streaks of flour to prevent the cookies from becoming tough). Refrigerate for 20 minutes to a slightly firm scooping consistency, if necessary.

4. Line two separate oven trays with baking paper. Scoop 24 heaped tablespoons of cookie dough (approximately 35-40g), flatten roughly with your palms to a 5cm round, then place on the trays.

5. Scoop the dulce de leche mounds onto half the dough rounds, then top with the remaining dough rounds. Using your hands, carefully seal the edges. Return the stuffed cookie dough to the lined trays, 5cm apart to allow for spreading, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour to firm.

6. Preheat the oven to 180C. Place one tray of cookies in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven – the cookies should be slightly puffed in the middle – then use a little force to tap the tray a few times on a work surface to deflate the cookies slightly; you should see a few cracks form on the surface. Bake for a further 2-3 mins or until golden, crisp around the edges and just set in the middle. Remove from the oven and tap the tray a few times again to deflate the cookies.

7. Cool for 5 minutes on the tray, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookies or freeze the cookie dough rounds in an airtight container and bake at a later date.

8. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Recipe by Yasmin Newman

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