Method (caramel core)

1. Make a batch of my Vegan Caramel Sauce. Allow this to cool and thicken before using.
2. Set aside.

Method (cookies)

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C fan and line a baking tray with grease proof paper. As this recipe makes appropriately 2 trays worth of cookies, you can bake a tray at a time.
2. In a small bowl, combine the water and flax, mix to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes to thicken, this creates your flax egg.
3. In a medium sized bowl with a handheld whisk or stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the dairy-free butter, sugar and vanilla for a few minutes until pale and creamy. Add in the flax egg, mix to combine.
4. Sieve in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cornstarch. Mix to combine into a thick cookie dough.
5. Add in the dark chocolate chips / chunks and crumbled up shortbread biscuits and mix to combine.
6. Scoop the cookie dough into 40g balls using spoons or an ice-cream scoop, you can weight the dough on a set of kitchen scales. Make a dent in the cookie dough ball, add in some of the thick caramel sauce, then shape the dough over the spread to cover. Make sure it’s completely covered to prevent it oozing out when baking (refer to video for example).
7. Place the cookies on the lined tray (leave the dough in balls, don’t press them down), leaving room in between as they will spread slightly when baking.
8. Bake in the middle of the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden.
9. Once baked, remove the trays from the oven, use a round cookie cutter to help shape the cookies. Use a circle cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookie to scoot the cookies into a circle.
10. Allow the cookies to cool fully on the baking tray / cooling rack. They’ll be soft when first out the oven but will crisp up.

Method (chocolate shell)

1. Add the dark chocolate either in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second increments until melted completely or on the hob using a bain-marie method (a saucepan filled 3/4 with water with a heatproof bowl on top. Melt the chocolate.
2. Allow the chocolate to cool slightly so it’s slightly thicker in texture, this makes it so much easier for coating the cookies.
3. Line a baking tray with grease proof paper. Spoon some of the melted dark chocolate on the tray and spread out into a circle, slightly larger than the cookie. Place a cookie on top (this will make the bases of the cookies have a chocolate base). Repeat this for all the cookies.
4. Use a spoon to drizzle chocolate over the cookies and spread it over the entire cookie, over the top and edges until the entire cookie is coated.
5. While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle over some roughly crumbled shortbread biscuits.
6. Place into the fridge until set (approximately 10-20 minutes).
7. Once set, serve and enjoy!