These chocolate brownie based cookies rolled in pecans and filled with delicious caramel will be the star of your next cookie delivery!!
Long time, no hear!!! 🙂 I hope you enjoyed the bonus recipe for Yummy Frosted Sugar Cookie Popcorn this week. I guess I’ve been in a Christmas Cookie kinda mood lately. Probably because I attend a Christmas Cookie Exchange every year at the beginning of December at my local hair salon. I always get some great ideas for yummy Christmas Cookie confections. Last year, I fell in love with these cute little Turtle Thumbprint Cookies. How cute are these guys?!?!? They’re practically bite-sized…we’ll for me that is! They remind me of the Katydids that we use to sell in grade school. Do you remember those cutie patooties?
There was a time when I used to bake over 25 dozen Christmas cookies for family and friends every year. I would even hand deliver them to boot. I won’t tell you about the blizzard of 2007 where I drove a couple hundred miles just to get my hard work into the hands of everyone before Christmas. Not the best idea guys!!! I had to be dug out of several ditches along the way in my tiny little Saturn Ion at the time. 🙂 I was certainly determined. I think I’d been in the kitchen for close to 16 hours and I couldn’t stand the thought of my delicious homemade cookies going to waste.
It’s been a couple years since I’ve done the cookie blitz. Last year, I decided to share these decadent Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls and this year, I’ll probably end up delivering cookie mix mason jars instead and let everyone else do the work. Lol!! We shall see! Or I could just whip up these cute little Turtle Thumbprint Cookies and call it a day. I’m sure everyone would be quite happy with them!! Do you participate in a cookie exchange? I think it’s a great way to get out into our communities and share life together. For God commands us to, “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. -Romans 12:10-11 (NLT). Say Grace and enjoy!!
Turtle Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 egg separated
- 2 T. milk
- 1 T. vanilla
- 1 c. all purpose flour
- 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 16 Kraft caramels
- 3 T. heavy whipping cream
- 1 1/4 c. chopped pecans
- 1 tsp shortening
- 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Beat together butter and sugar and blend until creamy.
- Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and beat until well combined.
- In a separate small bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, and salt together. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture a little at a time and beat until well combined.
- Wrap cookie dough in plastic wrap and chill for a couple hours or even overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place pecans in a shallow bowl.
- Heat unwrapped caramels and whipping cream in a small saucepan over low heat until smooth. You could also use my Salted Caramel Goodness(just omit the salt).
- Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and roll the balls in slightly beaten egg white. Then roll in pecans until well coated.
- Place balls on a lightly greased cookie sheet about one inch apart.
- Use a 1/2 tsp. measuring spoon to press in the center, making an indention.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are set.
- If the indention has disappeared during baking, use the measuring spoon to re-create the indention.
- Spoon hot caramel mixture into the center of the cookies and remove to a wire rack and let cool. DON'T overfill the cookies.
- Once the cookies have cooled, melt chocolate chips and shortening in microwave by heating in 10-15 second intervals, stirring in between.
- Drizzle the chocolate over the tops of the cookies. Say Grace and enjoy!!
Adapted from fellow cookie exchanger, Nina Bowman
Felesha, those thumbprint cookies are exactly what I would go for! My family is crazy about Christmas baking! Every year my mom + granmother + auntie bake unbelievable amount of cookies and other sweet treats so there is enough for every single family member, friend, neigbor…Sometimes it’s crazy 🙂
Wow!! Sounds like so much fun with the whole family! I would love that, Julia! Enjoy!! 🙂