Salted Caramel Cookies

Difficulty: Easy-Medium

Makes 24

I remember the first time the concept of salty and sweet was introduced to me via popcorn. At first I was dead set against it but it soon become one of my favourite things. Salted caramel is all the rage these days, so I thought I would give it a good ol’ vegan crack and see what I could come up with. The possibilities are endless with this stuff but drizzle it on top of a crunchy vanilla cookie and you’ve got yourself the ultimate indulgence.

Ingredients

Cookies

• 1 cup vegan margarine
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Salted Caramel

• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1/3 cup vegan margarine
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
2. Using the paddle attachment on your electric mixer, combine your vegan margarine, caster sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract on medium-high until light and fluffy.
3. Sift in the flour, baking soda and baking powder and mix until a dough is formed.
4. Scoop out a heaped tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. Place onto the baking tray and do the same with the remaining dough, placing about 2cm apart on the tray.
5. Dip the back of a large spoon or the bottom of a glass into some caster sugar and gently press each ball of dough down til it’s about 1cm thick.
6. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, the cookies will look like they’re not set but they will!
7. Allow to cool completely on the tray.
8. While your cookies are cooling, make your salted caramel by adding the caster sugar to a saucepan and stir constantly over a medium heat.
9. As you’re stirring, the sugar will clump up and then turn into a light golden liquid. Be careful not to let it burn!
10. Once all the sugar has dissolved, add the vegan margarine and continue to stir until it’s combined.
11. Remove from the heat and stir through the salt and almond milk. Allow to cool completely in the fridge.
12. Drizzle the salted caramel over your cookies and add a little sprinkling of salt before serving.