Chocolate Caramel Bat Sandwich Cookies
Ingredients
1 batch gluten-free Thin & Crispy Chocolate Wafer Cookie dough, slightly chilled
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup water, at room temperature
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, at room temperature
1 tablespoon (14 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside.
Place the cookie dough between two large sheets of unbleached parchment paper and roll into a rectangle about 1/4-inch thick (slightly thinner). With a 3 1/4-inch cookie cutter, cut out 24 rounds, gathering and rerolling scraps as necessary. Place all of the rounds about 1-inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. With a bat cookie cutter, cut out bat-shapes from the center of 12 of the rounds and remove them carefully from the baking sheet.
Place the cookies in the center of the preheated oven and bake until just set, about 7 1/2 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet. They will cool quickly.
While the cookies are cooling, make the chocolate caramel filling. In a medium-sized, heavy-bottom saucepan, place the sugar and water, and whisk to combine well. Cook the sugar mixture over medium-high heat, whisking frequently, until it thickens and then becomes slightly amber-colored around the edges (about 3 minutes). Remove the pan from the heat immediately.
While whisking the sugar mixture vigorously, add the heavy whipping cream. The mixture will bubble up. Continue to whisk vigorously until the bubbles subside. Add the butter and chopped chocolate, and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a heat-safe bowl, cover loosely and allow to cool until it begins to thicken but is still warm.
Once the cookies are cool and the caramel slightly thickened, place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of chocolate caramel on the underside of one of the non-bat cookies. With the bottom of a spoon, spread the caramel into an even layer that stops about 1/4-inch from the edge of the cookie. Place a bat-cutout cookie on top of the caramel and press down gently but firmly to force the caramel to the edges of the cookie and up through the bat cutout. Allow to set at room temperature. Repeat with the remaining cookies and caramel.