Description
Delicious Salted Caramel Turtle Thumbprint Cookies featuring a rich cocoa cookie base coated with chopped pecans, filled with smooth salted caramel, and drizzled with melted chocolate. Perfectly balanced with a touch of flaky sea salt for a sweet and salty treat.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 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
- 1 1/4 cups finely chopped pecans
Toppings
- 15 caramels (such as Kraft)
- 2 1/2 Tbsp heavy cream
- Flaky or coarse sea salt
- 3 oz chopped milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate
- 2 tsp shortening
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and salt and set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: 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.
- Add Egg Yolk and Vanilla: Mix in egg yolk and vanilla extract until combined.
- Add Buttermilk and Dry Ingredients: Blend in buttermilk; with mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
- Chill Dough: Shape dough into a ball, drop onto plastic wrap, flatten into a 6-inch disk, wrap tightly, and chill for 45 minutes until slightly firm.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Egg White: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit; whisk egg white vigorously until frothy and place chopped pecans in a separate bowl.
- Shape and Coat Cookies: Shape dough into 1-inch balls (18 grams each), dip each ball into egg white to coat, let excess drip off, then roll in chopped pecans, pressing gently to adhere if needed.
- Form Thumbprints and Bake: Place coated dough balls on parchment-lined baking sheets, make a deep indentation in the center of each with your thumb, and bake for 12 minutes until set.
- Press Indentations and Cool: Remove from oven and gently press down indentations again with the bottom of a rounded teaspoon to make room for caramel, cool on baking sheet for several minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
- Melt Caramel Filling: Place caramels and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl, heat on high in 30-second intervals, stirring between, until smooth and melted.
- Fill Thumbprints and Add Sea Salt: Spoon caramel into cookie indentations, then sprinkle with a small pinch of flaky sea salt.
- Melt Chocolate Drizzle: In a separate microwave-safe bowl, combine chopped chocolate and shortening; heat on 50% power in 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. Pour into piping or ziplock bag, cut tip corner, and drizzle over cookies.
- Set and Store: Allow chocolate drizzle to set completely before storing cookies in an airtight container.
Notes
- If chilling dough for more than a few hours, let it come to room temperature slightly before shaping to avoid cracking.
- Use high-quality caramels for best flavor and smooth texture.
- Press gently when coating with pecans to ensure nuts stick well without breaking dough balls.
- Ensure indentations are deep enough to hold the caramel filling without spilling.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 180 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 90 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
