Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Turtle Thumbprint Cookies
Makes about 1 dozen cookies
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick or 113 grams) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (for a sweeter cookie, roll dough in more sugar before baking)
1 egg
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 to 1/2 cup caramel sauce (depending on how large you make your cookies)
1/4 pecans, chopped
1 to 2 ounces dark chocolate, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat mats; set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg, cream, and vanilla, stirring on medium until combined. Scrape the bowl, as needed. Stir in flour mixture until just combined.
Roll balls using 1 to 2 tablespoons (I did 1 1/2 tablespoons or 4 teaspoons) dough for each. If you want a sweeter cookie, roll each in sugar. Place about 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheet. Uding your thumb, a spoon, or the handle of a wooden spoon or small rolling pin, gently press in the center of each cookie to create an indentation.
Bake until the cookies are just set, about 10 minutes. Once you remove the cookies from the oven, gently press centers again to maintain the indentation. Let cool for 2 minutes on baking sheets. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.
Once cooled, place several chopped pecan bits in each cookie. Spoon caramel into center of each cookie, covering the pecans. Drizzle the cookies with melted dark chocolate. Sprinkle with more chopped pecans. Let stand until set, about 15 minutes. Cookies will keep, covered, for up to 3 days.
Recipe by Darla