Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

Prep Time: 15m + 1h cooling

Total Time: 27m + 1h cooling time

Vegetarian

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are chocolate, caramel, pecan crunchy delights that will disappear quickly. I hide them and they still disappear, I bet it will be the same at your house, so make sure you make enough.

These are one of my youngest sons favorite cookie recipes. When he was younger he saw that someone else had posted a picture of their thumbprint cookie and he was distressed and outraged that someone had stolen my cookie recipe.

I had to explain to him that I wasn’t the original writer of the recipe. When I told him he had a look of devastation on his face, until I reminded him mine were better than everyone else’s because mine were made with more love. Sometimes a mother must tell a white lie to continue looking like a hero to her babies.

I have made this recipe for several years, and love to give it as a gift to friends, family, and neighbors, and I always get many thank you’s. I hope you will try the recipe and share it with your family.

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

Recipe Type: Cookie

Author: Amy Stafford via America’s Test Kitchen

Prep time: 1 hour 15 mins

Cook time: 12 mins

Total time: 1 hour 27 mins

Serves: 30

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are chocolate, caramel, pecan crunchy delights that will disappear quickly.

Ingredients

1-cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1stick) unsalted butter, softened
2/3-cup sugar
1 large egg, separated, plus 1 egg white
2-tablespoon milk
1-teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cups pecan chips
15 soft caramel candies
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

Combine flour, cocoa and salt in bowl. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add egg yolk, milk and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until just combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm. At least 1 hour or overnight
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whisk egg whites in bowl until frothy. Place pecans in another bowl. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, dip in egg whites, and then roll in pecans.
Place balls 2 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Using ½ teaspoon measure, make indentation in center of each ball.
Bake until set about 12 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking.
Microwave caramels and cream in bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.
Once cookies are removed from oven, gently re-press existing indentations (gently). Fill each with ½ teaspoon caramel mixture. Cool 10 minutes, than transfer to wire rack to cool completely.