Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies

Have I mentioned that I love Dorie Greenspan? Well, I do. Her book, Baking: From My Home to Yours is my favorite baking guide, and I've never been let down by any of her recipes.

This lovely cookie is no exception! Soft, not-overly-sweet cookies with a deep caramel flavor, held together by creamy dulce de leche.

One note I'd make is that while this recipe calls for store-bought dulce de leche, it's fairly simple to make your own, which basically involves cooking down either a milk/sugar/vanilla mixture or a can of sweetened, condensed milk. I prefer homemade dulce de leche for most uses, but the canned version is surprisingly good, works quite well in these cookies, and is obviously a time-saver. Totally up to you!

Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies
(Dorie Greenspan - "Dulce de Leche Duos)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup store-bought dulce de leche, plus more for filling (I ended up using about 1 1/2 cans)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Beat the butter at medium speed until soft. Add 3/4 cup dulce de leche and both sugars and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until just blended.

Spoon the dough onto the baking sheet by heaping teaspoonful, two inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Cookies should be honey brown, and still soft. Allow to sit on the baking sheets for a few minutes after removing from the oven; then transfer to cooling racks.

When cookies have cooled, match them into pairs of similar sizes. Spread one cookie from each pair with remaining dulce de leche, and sandwich with the other.