Turtle Thumbprints
With barely a week to spare (and prompting an unusual, mid-week post), we have come to the final recipe for my holiday goodie trays. Deep chocolate cookies, toasty pecans, gooey caramel and a flourish of more chocolate drizzled over the top, these turtle thumbprint cookies are one of my personal favorites.
This recipe, or very similar variations, has been floating around the internet for at least as long as I’ve been including these cookies on my trays (a bit over a decade). I can’t really say that there is anything that sets my version apart, but there are a couple of very minor tweaks I like to make when I’m baking these:
- Use toasted and lightly salted pecans to roll the cookies in (always toast your nuts!)
- Use homemade caramel in place of the store bought and make it salted caramel
- Use a dark, robust cocoa powder in the cookie dough
I think these small changes provide greater depth and nuance to the flavor. Whether you choose to try out my small changes or stick with the original recipe, I know that you won’t be disappointed.
I think we’ll be keeping it short and sweet tonight – I’ll be back over the weekend to do a better wrap up for this holiday baking series.
Turtle Thumbprints
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Electric mixer
- shallow bowls/containers for dipping/rolling
- baking sheets
- microwave safe bowls small and medium
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 cup flour
- ⅓ cup cocoa
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 stick butter room temperature
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 large yolk
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 ¼ cup finely chopped pecans
- 2 large egg whites
For the caramel filling:
- 24 soft caramels (I like the Werther's soft caramels for this)
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
For the chocolate topping:
- 1 tsp shortening
- 2 oz semisweet chocolate
Instructions
For the cookies:
- In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cocoa and salt; set aside.1 cup flour, 1/3 cup cocoa, ¼ tsp salt
- In another mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.1 stick butter, 2/3 cup sugar
- Add the egg yolk, milk and vanilla; continue mixing until well incorporated.1 large yolk, 2 tbsp milk, 1 tsp vanilla
- On low speed, add flour mixture just until combined. Wrap the dough tightly and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- In a wide, shallow bowl or other container, whisk the egg whites until frothy. Place the chopped pecans in another shallow bowl or container.1 ¼ cup finely chopped pecans, 2 large egg whites
- Roll dough into 1” balls. Dip each ball in the egg whites, shake off excess and then roll in the pecans.
- Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Using ½ tsp measuring spoon, make an indentation in the center of each cookie.
- Place the baking sheets in the preheated oven and bake until set (about 10-12 minutes).
For the filling:
- While the cookies are baking, place the caramels and cream in microwave microwave safe bowl, heat in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until full melted and smooth.24 soft caramels, 3 tbsp heavy cream
- Once cookies are removed from oven, fill each Indentation with caramel.
- Allow cookies to cool completely.
For the topping:
- Place the chocolate and shortening in a small microwave safe bowl. Heat in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until fully melted.1 tsp shortening, 2 oz semisweet chocolate
- Drizzle the chocolate mixture over the cooled cookies in a decorative pattern
Notes
Nutrition
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