Recipe: Chocolate Caramel Thumbprints

Recipe from the Christmas Cookies, 50 Recipes to Treasure for the Holiday Season cookbook.

Ingredients:
2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
16 Tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 c sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Caramel filling:
20 caramels (about 5 1/2 oz) such as Kraft candies, unwrapped
1/4 c heavy cream

Chocolate Drizzle:
4 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped

Whisk together flour, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl.

Beat butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat well until fluffy. Beat in the whole egg and egg yolk. Mix in the vanilla. With the beaters on low mix in the flour mixture until incorporated and the dough comes together. Gather the dough into a ball, then divide it in half. Wrap each half separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Working with half of the dough at a time, roll it into 1-inch balls, arranging them about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Make an indention in the center of each ball using the handle end of a wooden spoon or use your thumb, being careful not to go all the way through the dough.

Bake for about 13 minutes or until the cookies feel just slightly firm.

Transfer the cookies to a rack and immediately depress the centers of the cookies again to reinforce and widen the indention to about 3/4 inch in diameter. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely.

For the caramel filling:
Heat the caramels and the cream in a medium saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring often, until the caramels are melted and the mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes. Using the smallest, most pointiest spoon you have spoon the caramel into the indentions in the cookies, filling just up to the rim. If the caramel becomes too thick place the saucepan back over low heat for a few seconds. Let the caramel set before drizzling the cookies with chocolate.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Drizzle chocolate over the cookies.

Notes: I made twice as much caramel sauce. I just used chocolate chips I had for the chocolate drizzle. Keep the parchment paper under the cookies until you are done with all the steps. Saves time with the clean up.

Pictures of finished cookies to follow.