(Adapted from “Cherry Cheesecake Murder,” by Joanne Fluke)

¾ cup chilled butter

2 cups flour

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 egg, beaten

approximately 3 dozen individually wrapped Kraft caramels

Cut the butter into flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Continue mixing until the dough is crumbly.

Melt the chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl for 40 seconds on HIGH. Stir them to see if they’re melted. (Chocolate chips maintain their shape until they’re stirred.) If not melted, microwave in 20-second intervals until they melt. Stir the melted chips into to the dough until the chocolate is mixed in and the crumbly dough is uniform in color.

Mix in the beaten egg until a soft, piecrust-type dough results.

Divide the dough into four equal parts. Use wax paper to roll each piece of dough into a log with your hands, approximately 12 inches long and 3/4 inch thick. Put each wax paper wrapped dough log into a freezer bag. Freeze them for an hour or two until firm. (Overnight is fine, too.)

When you’re ready to bake, take out the dough and let it warm up on the counter for fifteen minutes.

Unwrap a roll of dough and cut it into ¾ inch pieces with a sharp knife. Place cut side down on a greased, or parchment-covered cookie sheet, 12 pieces to a sheet.

Unwrap 6 caramels and cut them in half. Press a half caramel into the center of each chocolate cookie. Be careful not to press it all the way to the bottom. (If the dough is still too cold to press in the caramels, let it warm up a bit more and try again.) Make sure your caramels are surrounded by cookie dough and won’t melt over the sides of the cookies when they bake.

Bake at 325°F, for approximately 15 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Let the cookies cool for a minute or two on the pan and then remove them to a wire rack to complete cooling.

When all the cookies are baked and cooled, spread foil or waxed paper under the wire rack containing the cookies and prepare to glaze them. (I use extra-wide foil because it’s easy to crimp up the edges and make it into a disposable drip pan.)

Chocolate Glaze

Ingredients

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1 cup sugar

1-1/3 cup milk chocolate chips  (8 oz)

Approximately 6 dozen pecan halves

In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and white sugar. Place the saucepan on high heat, and STIRRING CONSTANTLY, bring the contents to a boil. Boil for 15 seconds, still STIRRING CONSTANTLY, and pull it off the heat.

Dump in the chips, all at once, and cover with the hot syrup. Let sit on a cold burner for 2½ minutes.

Gently and slowly stir the mixture until it’s almost completely smooth. If you stir too quickly you’ll get bubbles.

Spoon a little chocolate syrup over the top of each cookie and let it drizzle down the sides.

Top each cookie with a pecan half, making sure the nut sticks to the chocolate glaze.

Leave the cookies on the wire rack until the glaze has hardened, approximately 30 minutes.

Yield: Approximately 6 dozen very tasty cookies.