Rolo Cookies

This is one of my mom's signature cookie recipes. My siblings and I would always be so excited when these were waiting for us after school! The burst of caramel from the Rolo in the middle is so good - my strategy is to eat the chocolate cookie all the way around the outside and then save the middle bite for last! They are best enjoyed warm and gooey fresh out of the oven with a big glass of milk.

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) margarine

1 and ¼ cup white sugar, plus an additional 1/2 cup for rolling

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 and ¼ cups flour

¾ cup cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

5 pkgs. Rolos

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

With an electric mixer, beat together the margarine and sugars. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until well combined.

Roll the dough into balls and push one Rolo into the center of each ball. Slightly flatten and roll the ball of dough and cover the Rolo. Pour about 1/2 cup of white sugar onto a flat plate or shallow bowl. Roll each cookie in the sugar to coat before placing it on the prepared baking sheets. This step is optional but gives the cookies a great shiny finish and a crispier outside to contrast the chewy, gooey centre.

Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. Allow them to cool on the baking sheets for 3-5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling. They need a few minutes to set so that the caramel doesn’t ooze out too much.

These are great cookies for mailing. I have also tried making these cookies with mini Rolos and they work fine, but the regular sized ones work better if you want larger cookies!

*Recipe from Karen McMillan