Apple Shortbread with Caramel Drizzle

I love experimenting with cookies. I also love fall flavours, so coming up with these cookies made for a fun afternoon. Not only are they tasty, they're really easy.

They start with butter, apple jelly and powdered sugar.

Next, spices are added.

Then some flour. The dough is formed into a disk and chilled.

 

The chilled dough is rolled out and cut into rounds.

The rounds are topped with apple slices and baked.

Once baked, the cookies are drizzled with caramel made from melted caramels and cream.

 

  
Apple Shortbread with Caramel Drizzle
3/4  c  butter, softened
1/4  c  apple jelly (or apple butter or applesauce, whatever you have on hand will work)
1/2  c  confectioners' sugar 
1      t   vanilla
1/4  t  cinnamon
1/8  t  nutmeg
2     c  flour
24       Kraft caramels
1     T  half and half cream

Cream butter, apple jam and sugar. Beat in spices and vanilla. Stir in flour in two additions. Form dough into a disk and chill until firm (about 2 hours).
Roll dough out to 1/8" thick. Cut into rounds about the size of an apple. Top each cookie with a thinly sliced round of apple. Bake at 350F on parchment lined sheets for about 15 minutes or until cookies are golden.
Melt caramels and cream in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Stir smooth. Drizzle onto baked cookies.

Perfect for Fall...Pumpkin Spice Shortbread with Chopped Pecans

I love Fall. It's absolutely my favourite time of year. The air is crisp, everything smells better, the leaves turn beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow. Yes, I know it gets chilly, but who wants to turn the oven on when it's eighty degrees outside? So in honour of my favourite time of year and the best baking weather you could ask for, here's a recipe for shortbread cookies made with a bit of pumpkin and aromatic spices, and rolled in chopped pecans.

First cream butter, pumpkin and sugar.

 

Then add spices and vanilla.

Add flour.

After the dough chills a bit, form it into balls and garnish with chopped nuts.

Bake and enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Shortbread with Chopped Pecans 
2/3  c  butter, softened
1/3  c  pumpkin puree
1/2  t   vanilla
1/2  c  confectioners sugar
1/4  t  cinnamon
1/8  t  nutmeg
1/8  t  all spice
pinch of ginger
2      c  flour
            chopped pecans, for garnish

Cream butter, pumpkin puree and sugar. Beat in vanilla and spices. Add flour in two additions, mixing gently. Do not over mix or your cookies will be tough.
Chill the dough briefly (30 to 60 minutes should do it). Roll dough into 1 inch balls and garnish with chopped pecans (you can either sprinkle a few on top of each ball if you don't like your cookies super nutty, or roll the ball in the nuts to cover completely).
Bake at 350F on parchment lined baking sheets for 15-20 minutes or until the bottoms start to turn golden brown.