Caramel Apple Cider Cookies

Here's another Pinterest "must try" recipe! I have been on a caramel kick lately and realized I was hoarding 3 bags of Kraft caramels! I needed an excuse to use them and I figured that these would be the perfect fall cookie.

They are super yummy and taste just like a caramel apple! The caramel center is best when slightly warm and gooey, so either eat them warm from the oven, or you may want to pop them in the microwave for about 10 seconds.

Caramel Apple Cider Cookies

Recipe adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (7.4 oz) box Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink Mix (10 packets – found next to hot chocolate mix)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 (14 ounce) bag of Kraft chewy caramels

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (you need this so that the caramel doesn’t stick to the bottom of your cookie sheet).
• In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
• With an electric mixer, cream together butter, sugar, salt and all 10 packages of apple cider drink mix powder, until light and fluffy.
• Beat in eggs, one at a time.
• Add vanilla and mix well.
• Gradually add flour mixture to butter/egg mixture. Mix until just combined.
• Scoop out cookie dough ball about the size of a walnut (about 2 tablespoons).
• Flatten the ball of dough slightly in the palm of your hand. Press the unwrapped caramel into the center of your dough and seal the dough around it, covering it completely.
• Shape the dough into a ball, and place on parchment covered cookie sheets about 3 inches apart.
• Bake 11-14 minutes, or until very lightly browned around the edges. Once the cookies are done, carefully slide the parchment off of the baking sheet onto the counter.
• Eat warm from the oven or slightly warmed in the microwave.

Chai Pumpkin Spice Cookies

I love fall. I love the colors, cool weather, decorating, and especially baking! What better way to start it off than with Chai Pumpkin Spice Cookies? Apple and pumpkin desserts are the best and my absolute favorite. I saw these cookies on Pinterest months ago and could not wait to make them!

The past couple of months have been pretty crazy...planning for the big day and moving into a new house has kept us pretty busy. I finally had some time to put these cookies together and they were totally worth the wait! I looked for Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses everywhere and ended up finding them at Target. They only sell them at the very beginning of the season, so make sure you get them soon!

Chai Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla
1 (18.25 ounce) package spice cake mix
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon ground cardamom

22-24 Pumpkin spice Hershey’s Kisses

Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Position the cookie rack in the middle of the oven and cover two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a stand mixer, add the melted butter, vanilla, half of the cake mix, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, and ground cardamom and mix until blended and smooth. Add the rest of the cake mix and beat until just combined.

3. Using a mini cookie scoop (or two teaspoons), drop dollops of dough onto the parchment about an inch-and-a-half apart.

4. Bake cookies a sheet at a time for 9 to 12 minutes or until the edges look set and the top looks barely set when touched. Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately place pumpkin kisses in the center of each cookie. Don’t touch or the kisses will turn into puddles! Cool completely.

Baked Apple Chips

I love apples. What I love more is the fact that you can find them year round. Since apple season is in full swing now, I've been trying to put them in anything and everything. We went to Whole Foods last Sunday and their produce section was lined with every apple variety you could imagine. So naturally I bought a ton of them. As we were checking out I saw a bag of baked apple chips and I thought these would probably be pretty easy to make...and I figured they would taste even better fresh. Boy was I right. They were DELISH. This is the perfect healthy treat, and plus they make your house (or apartment) smell amazing! :)

Apple Chips

• 2 gala or granny smith apples
• 2 tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt

• Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
• Don't worry about coring the apples, just slice them super thin and remove the seeds. (A mandolin would definitely be easier to slice the apples, but I didn't have one. Patience and a steady hand are key!)
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the apple slices on the sheet. 

• Sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar, and salt.
• Bake for about an hour until the apple slices are crisp. If they are still soft after an hour, continue baking for another 30 minutes to an hour. Depending on the thickness of each slice it may take a little longer. 

Falling into FUN!

There's nothing better than a season change. The colors, the cool air, and the FOOD! It's officially fall, my absolute favorite season of the year. I just love the smell of apples, cinnamon, pumpkins, and a warm and cozy fire. I spent days trying to find the perfect decorations for our little apartment, but it isn't official until we pick out the perfect pumpkins to carve. This year we went to Southern Belle Farm in McDonough. 

After carving my scary spider and Evan's goofy jack-o-lantern...our next task was pumpkin seeds! 

I'm not a big fan of pumpkin flavored desserts, so I decided to stick to the seeds. Some people like the seeds without the shells, but we kept the shells on. Evan likes them spicy so I found at great recipe at Elana's Pantry.

Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pumpkin seeds
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
•  
• Directions:
• 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Place pumpkin seeds on foil lined baking sheet.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool and serve.

Makes 1 cup of spicy pumpkin seeds