Chocolate Chip-Peanut Butter-Caramel Cookies

For Christmas, I gave Mel a subscription to her own cookie-of-the-month club. So far, she has chosen pumpkin cookies and cappuccino brownies (aka Melanie brownies). For March she wasn’t sure what she wanted. I mentioned this old SL Cooking School recipe because it has many of her favorite flavors, and she approved. Looking over the recipe, I realized that a lot of changes needed to be made to improve it and to make it more representative of how I cook now versus how I cooked in 2003. When I delivered the cookies, I asked AC and LB for help coming up with a name. Their suggestion was “chocolate-peanut butter-caramel fantastic deliciousness!” That’s a big name to live up to—enjoy!

Chocolate Chip-Peanut Butter-Caramel Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 cups brown sugar, divided
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 bag chocolate chips
2/3 cup toffee chips
1/4 cup butter
4 Tbsp. whipping cream, divided
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Combine butter and peanut butter in a mixer. Gradually beat in 1 1/2 cups brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Add in eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add in vanilla.
2. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients. Gradually beat in to butter mixture until blended. Add in 1 bag chocolate chips and toffee chips. Scoop batter onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
3. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until done. Remove from oven, and lightly press a depression into the top of each cookie with a spoon.
4. Meanwhile, combine remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan, stirring often. Cook until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, and stir in 2 Tbsp. whipping cream. Allow to cool slightly, and spoon a little caramel into each depression on cookies.
5. Combine 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 2 Tbsp. whipping cream. Cook in microwave for 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Drizzle over tops of cookies; allow to cool completely.