Almond Roca Cookie Cups

Almond Roca always seems like such a special treat. Each piece is wrapped up in shiny gold foil like a little present. Then, there's the layers of flavors - the almonds on the outside, then the chocolate, and finally that buttery sweet chunk of toffee. Rather than bite into it all right away, I used to eat all the almonds and chocolate off first then savor the toffee last.



Thinking of Almond Roca made me want to create a cookie cup that would bring all those flavors together once again. So, I made some chocolate almond cookie cups, filled it with caramel ice cream topping, and topped it off with more almonds and chocolate. These may not be wrapped up in gold, but they're still pretty special to me.

Almond Roca Cookie Cups (created by Sweet as Sugar Cookies)

1 c. salted butter, at room temperature (if using unsalted, add 3/8 tsp. salt)
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2/3 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. chopped almonds

1/4 c. caramel ice cream topping
4 tsp. all-purpose flour
chopped almonds
melted semisweet chocolate, for drizzling

Cream the butter with the sugars. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Mix in the cocoa powder. Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda and mix to combine. Stir in the chopped almonds.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease mini muffin tins. Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full with the dough. Bake for 10 min. or until a toothpick comes out clean. If the cookie cups have risen above the muffin cups, simply use a spoon to flatten them down so they are level with the muffin cups.

While still warm, make a well in the center of each cookie cup with a small spoon or your finger. Chill the muffin tins in the fridge for 30-60 min. before removing the cookie cups.

Mix the flour into the caramel ice cream topping to thicken it. After the cups have chilled, remove from the tins and fill each one with 1/2 tsp. caramel ice cream topping. Sprinkle with the chopped almonds and drizzle with the melted chocolate. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.