Chocolate Turtle Thumbprint Cookies
These soft brownie-like chocolate turtle thumbprint cookies are filled with a thumbprint of caramel, pecans and sea salt.
Equipment
- Hand or stand mixer
- 2 Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups and spoons
- silicone spatula
- 1-2 Cookie sheets
- cookie dough scoop (optional, but recommended)
Ingredients
For the chocolate cookie dough
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the caramel topping
- 12-15 Kraft baking caramels or 1 cup Kraft caramel baking bits
- ¼ cup milk or heavy cream
Additional toppings
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- coarse sea salt
Instructions
To make the chocolate cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (use convection bake if you have it).
- Add the softened cream cheese and softened butter to a medium or large mixing bowl and beat on medium to high speed until they are well combined.
- Add the sugar and beat until combined. Scrape down the bowl once complete.
- Add in eggs and mix until just combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt).
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 2-3 portions, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the bowl once complete.
- Use a small cookie dough scoop to spoon the cookie dough on to a greased cookie sheet (or lined with parchment paper). Place the cookie dough 2-3 inches apart to allow for spreading.
- Bake the cookies for 14-16 minutes or until they just begin to crack.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately use the back of a tablespoon measuring spoon (or a regular spoon) to make indents in the center of all of the cookies.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheets while you make the caramel thumbprint filling.
To make the caramel topping.
- Place the caramels and milk in a medium microwave-safe mixing bowl. Heat them in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between each one, until the caramels are melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Spoon the caramel into the indents on the cookies.
- Immediately sprinkle chopped pecans and coarse sea salt over the caramel. Allow the cookies to cool for 15 minutes total on the cookie sheets before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.