Description
These Salted Caramel Turtle Thumbprint Cookies combine rich cocoa cookie dough rolled in crunchy pecans with a gooey salted caramel center and a drizzle of melted chocolate, offering a decadent treat perfect for any occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Cookie Dough
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 1 large egg, yolk and white separated
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp buttermilk
Coating and Filling
- 1 1/4 cups finely chopped pecans
- 15 caramels (such as Kraft)
- 2 1/2 Tbsp heavy cream
- Flaky or coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
Chocolate Drizzle
- 3 oz chopped milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate
- 2 tsp shortening
Instructions
- Prepare dry ingredients: In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and salt; set aside.
- Mix wet ingredients: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high speed until slightly pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the egg yolk and vanilla extract.
- Combine dough: Blend in buttermilk. With mixer on low speed, slowly add dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
- Chill dough: Shape dough into a ball and place on plastic wrap. Flatten into a 6-inch disk, wrap tightly, and chill for 45 minutes until slightly firm (or up to 1 day; if chilling longer, let rest at room temperature before shaping).
- Preheat oven and prepare coatings: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Whisk egg white until frothy for coating. Place chopped pecans in a bowl.
- Shape and coat cookies: Shape dough into 1-inch balls (~18 grams each). One at a time, dip dough balls into egg white, let excess drip off, then roll in pecans to coat evenly.
- Indent and bake: Transfer coated dough balls to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Press a deep indentation in the center of each ball with your thumb. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until set.
- Enhance indentations and cool: Remove from oven. Gently press down indentations with the bottom of a rounded teaspoon to create more space for caramel. Cool on baking sheet for several minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare caramel topping: Place caramels and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on HIGH in 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth.
- Fill cookies: Spoon the warm caramel into the indentations of each cooled cookie. Sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt.
- Melt chocolate drizzle: In a separate microwave-safe bowl, combine chopped chocolate and shortening. Heat at 50% power in 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until smooth and melted.
- Drizzle chocolate and set: Pour melted chocolate into a piping bag or a zip-top bag with a cut corner. Drizzle chocolate over cookies. Allow chocolate to set before storing.
- Store cookies: Store cookies in an airtight container to keep fresh.
Notes
- Chilling the dough overnight enhances flavor and texture; if chilled longer than a few hours, bring dough to room temperature before shaping.
- To make rolling in pecans easier, press nuts gently into dough with your fingers if they don’t stick well.
- Use high-quality caramels and chocolate for best flavor.
- Flaky sea salt adds a nice contrast to the sweet caramel, but can be omitted if preferred.
- If shortening is unavailable, unsalted butter can be used as a substitute in the chocolate drizzle.
- Ensure indentations are deep enough for caramel filling but not too thin to cause breakage.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 180 kcal
- Sugar: 15 g
- Sodium: 85 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg
