Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies
Dec 04, 2018, Updated Feb 25, 2020
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Thick, soft, chewy, and gooey Thumbprint Cookies filled with caramel, drizzled with chocolate, and sprinkled with salt. An easy and delightful Christmas cookie recipe.
EASY THUMBPRINT COOKIES FOR CHRISTMAS
Perfectly delicious and rich Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies will become your most favorite cookie recipe ever! Caramel and chocolate lovers won’t be able to resist these awesome treats… with salt on top! ?
Friends, it’s very unlike me to share a rich and buttery cookie recipe, but Christmas is on its way and I GOT to have me some cookies. You, as well. Thus, I present to you this wonderful sweet and salty combination. It is a cookie recipe that incorporates caramel, chocolate, and a finishing sprinkle of salt. ?
The cookies are fabulous, and everyone will be asking you for the recipe.
HOW TO MAKE SALTED CARAMEL THUMBPRINT COOKIES
- To make the batter, we’re going to combine our flour with creamed butter and sugar – this takes all of 5 minutes.
- When ready, shape dough into 1-inch balls and place onto a cookie sheet. If dough is too soft to handle, put in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- Using the back of a 1/2 teaspoon measure, press down into the middle of each dough ball to make a well.
- We will bake these cookies at 350F for 16 minutes, and up to 20 minutes. We’re looking for browned edges and dry tops. I recommend to start checking at the 15 minute mark.
- Once they are done baking, remove from the oven and let completely cool; about 20-ish minutes.
- In the meantime, melt the caramels, then spoon melted caramel into indentation of each cooled cookie.
- Drizzle cookies with melted chocolate, sprinkle with salt, and let stand about 10 minutes or until chocolate is set. FYI: Coarse or flaky sea salt works best.
These are an all-time favorite cookie recipe, and the filling options are absolutely endless, but for the Season, I think caramel is the best choice.
Alright, run to your kitchen and make some already!
HOW TO MAKE THUMBPRINT COOKIES AHEAD
- Baked, unfilled cookies can be frozen for 1 month. Arrange the cookies in single layers, divided by waxed paper in an airtight container.
- You can also keep unfilled cookies on the kitchen counter at room temperature for 5 days.
- Cookies can be filled up to 3 days ahead; once filled, arrange on a sheet pan in one layer and cover with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap isn’t touching the caramel. Store at room temperature.
MORE CHRISTMAS COOKIE RECIPES:
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Chai Spiced Snowdrop Cookies
- Black and White Meringue Cookies
- White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies
ENJOY!
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Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
FOR THE COOKIES
- 1 cup (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter,, softened
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
FOR THE FILLING
- 12 (11-ounces bag) caramels unwrapped
- 2 tablespoons half & half
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips,, melted
- coarse sea salt,, for topping
Instructions
FOR THE COOKIES
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute.
- Lower speed to medium and add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt; continue to beat until combined. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed. Turn the mixer off and pour in the flour; with mixer on low speed, beat mixture until soft dough is formed.
- Pinch off 1 tablespoon of cookie dough and shape into smooth balls. If the dough is too soft to handle, put in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- Arrange dough balls about 1-1/2 inches apart on the lined cookie sheets. Using the back of a 1/2 teaspoon measure, press down into the middle of each ball to make a well. If the edges crack, reroll the cookie dough ball.
- Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are dry and edges are golden brown.
- Cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet; transfer from cookie sheet to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare the filling.
FOR THE FILLING
- In microwavable bowl, microwave caramels and half-and-half uncovered on High 1 to 2 minutes, stirring once or twice, until caramels are melted.
- Spoon caramel into indentation of each completely cooled cookie; let stand about 10 minutes.
- Drizzle each cookie with melted chocolate; sprinkle with salt.
- Let stand about 10 minutes or until chocolate is set.
- Serve.
Notes
- Baked, unfilled cookies can be frozen for 1 month. Arrange the cookies in single layers, divided by waxed paper in an airtight container.
- You can also keep unfilled cookies on the kitchen counter at room temperature for 5 days.
- Cookies can be filled up to 3 days ahead; once filled, arrange on a sheet pan in one layer and cover with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap isn't touching the caramel. Store at room temperature.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
I made these for the first time and I have made another batch and will probably make a third. So delicious and perfect combo with sweet and salt and the base cookie is mouth watering. Just follow recipe and you can’t go wrong. Highly recommend making…
That’s great! I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
The caramel was hard as a rock when cooled
Hi! I am so sorry these didn’t turn out for you! 🙁 I think the caramel was hard because it cooked too long in the microwave. This is why I suggest to cook it for 1 to 2 minutes. Everyone’s microwave heats differently. Caramel can go from soft ball stage to the hard ball stage very quickly. If it heats for too long, the sugars start changing state and they will harden when the caramel cools.
These kept cracking and cracking no matter what I tried!
Oooh, these look heavenly! These are mouth watering!