Caramel Apple Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and dice apples for topping.

Mix your dry dough ingredients including flour, baking soda and salt. Whisk and set aside.

In a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until evenly blended. Mix in eggs 1 at a time until well distributed. Add vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, Vanilla Bean Sugar, lemon juice, and ½ cup flour mixture. Mix and continue adding flour mixture in 2 batches.

In a sauce pan over medium heat, add butter and diced apples. Cover apples with sugar, brown sugar, Vanilla Bean Sugar, and lemon juice. Saute over medium heat until tender and caramelized. Set aside to cool.

Scoop dough into even balls and place on lined baking dish. Use the back of a spoon, sprayed with cooking oil to avoid sticking, to press a round well into the top of each dough ball. Add a small scoop of sauteed apples, draining liquid, on top of each cookie.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

In a saucepan over medium high heat, add sugar to begin caramel. Stir occasionally as sugar changes from granular to chunks, then to caramel.

When all sugar residue is gone, reduce heat and add butter continuing to stir. The caramel will bubble vigorously. Remove from heat when butter fully melts, continuing to stir until well blended. Sprinkle in salt and continue stirring. Transfer caramel to heat safe container to briefly cool. Monitor changes in consistency closely. If the caramel cooked too high or too long it will harden to crack stage very quickly.

When desired consistency is reached, drizzle cookies with caramel and cool and additional 3-5 minutes. Enjoy!