Peanut & Salted Butter Caramel Cookies

Before starting this Peanut and Salted Caramel Cookies recipe, organise all the necessary ingredients for the cookie dough.

For the cookie dough: Pour the castor sugar in the stand mixer recipient...

... add the soft brown sugar...

... and the soft butter.

Mix the ingredients at low speed, using the flat beater.

Add the peanut paste...

... and combine again until incorporated.

Add the dark vergeoise and combine.

Stop the beater and scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Add the whole egg...

... baking soda...

... flour...

... and fleur de sel.

Mix at low speed...

... until the dough has a homogeneous consistency.

Place 100 grams salted peanuts in a piping bag and crush them with a rolling pin.

Add the crushed peanuts to the cookie dough...

... and combine until incorporated.

Divide the dough into balls of approximately 40 grams...

... rolling them between your palms. Arrange the dough balls over a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper and flatten them a little. Refrigerate.

For the caramelized peanuts: Place the salted peanuts on a deep baking sheet and toast in a preheated oven at 160°C (gas 3) for 15 minutes.

Pour the water, sugar and tartaric acid (optional) in a saucepan...

... and combine with a spatula.

Cook over medium heat until you get a caramel.

When the caramel starts to get a golden colour...

... add the toasted salted peanuts in one go.

Continue cooking until you get a pale blond caramel. Don't wait until the caramel turns dark, which will give it a bitter taste.

When the peanuts are coated with caramel, pass them through a fine sieve to remove any caramel excess.

Place the caramelized peanuts on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper...

... and separate them with a fork before they cool down.

When cooled down, separate the peanuts by hand so you don't end up with clusters of peanuts and caramel. Dip each dough ball in the caramelized peanut, pressing firmly with your hand so the peanuts stick to one side.

Repeat the operation with all the cookies and arrange them over a sheet of greaseproof paper.

Grease two baking sheets using an oil spray...

... and wipe with a paper towel to get rid of any fat excess.

Arrange the cookies in staggered lines, leaving enough space so they won't touch during baking.

Bake in the oven preheated at 165°C (gas 3) for 5 minutes...

... then remove from the oven.

Using a stainless steel ring Ø 8 or 10 cm (depending on the size of your cookies), twist the ring around each cookie to give them a perfectly round shape. Repeat this operation 2 or 3 times for a baking time of 10 or 15 minutes, depending how cooked you want your cookies. Make sure the cookies are still soft in the centre.

Pipe 3 or 4 drops of praline paste in the soft centre of each cookie, using a piping bag (no nozzle).

Repeat for all cookies...

... and bake for another 2 minutes.

Remove from the oven and rotate a stainless steel ring around the cookies again.

Leave to cool at room temperature. The cookies should become hard while cooling, but the centre should remain soft.

Place some salted butter caramel sauce in a piping bag, then pipe a few drops on the surface of each cookie.

The caramel will melt in contact with the hot cookies but will solidify once cooled down.

Gently detach the cookies with a spatula...

... and arrange them on a serving plate. These delicious cookies will keep for several days in an airtight container. Be careful when stacking them since the surface is sticky. Enjoy!