Turtle Thumbprint Recipes

TURTLE THUMBPRINT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a medium bowl, cream together butter and granulated sugar until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Mix in almond extract, flour, and egg yolk until dough comes together.
• Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Using a spoon, (I used a teaspoon) make a small impression in the center of each ball.
• Bake for 14-18 minutes in preheated oven, or until lightly browned.
• Cool completely before filling.
• Once the cookies have cooled, fill each impression with caramel sauce, and top with pecans.
• In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate chips. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of each cookie. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate in a plastic bag in the microwave. Just be sure to massage it between heating cycles to make sure it heats evenly.

TURTLE THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl combine flour, cocoa, and salt.
• With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
• Reduce speed to low and blend in flour mixture. Cover dough and refrigerate for one hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Whisk egg whites in a bowl until frothy. Place chopped pecans in another bowl. Roll chilled dough into 1-inch balls, dip in egg whites, and then roll in pecans, coating evenly.
• Place cookies about 2 inches apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Using a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon, make an indentation in the center of each dough ball. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until just set.
• Meanwhile, microwave the caramels and cream together in a small bowl for one minute. Stir and return to the microwave in 20-30 second increments, until caramel is melted and smooth.
• Once cookies are removed from the oven, gently re-press the indentations. Fill each indentation with about 1/2 teaspoon of the caramel mixture.
• Cool on the pan for about 10 minutes before transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Prepare the Chocolate Drizzle (optional). Place chocolate in a small zip-top plastic bag. Set bag in a bowl of warm water to soften. Gently knead the chocolate with your fingers until melted and smooth, placing back in the warm water for a minute or two as needed.
• Alternately, chocolate can be melted in the microwave at 50% power. Snip a small corner from the bag and drizzle chocolate over cookies.

TURTLE THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine the butter, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour. Beat until well mixed. Cover; refrigerate until firm, about an hour.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 7-10 minutes. Cool completely.
• Combine caramels and whipping cream in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until melted and smooth, stirring after every minute. Spoon about 1/2 t caramel mixture into the center of each cookie. Top with a pecan half.
• Place chocolate chips and shortening in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute; stir. Continue microwaving 30 seconds or until melted; stir until smooth. Drizzle over cooled caramel cookies. Let stand until set, about 2 hours.
• Enjoy!

TURTLE THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add sugar and continue beating until combined and creamy. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and beat until well combined.
• Sift flour, cocoa powder, and salt together in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture a little at a time {trying to avoid a cocoa cloud - quite messy!} and beat until well combined.
• Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and chill for a couple hours.
• Chop the pecans pretty fine...
• Enlist helpers to unwrap the caramels.
• Heat unwrapped caramels and whipping cream in a small saucepan over low heat until nice and smooth.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and roll the balls in slightly beaten egg white. Then roll in pecans until coated. Reece did an entire tray all by himself and he's six. Bryce's balls were not exactly round per se, but who cares!
• Place balls on a lightly greased cookie sheet about one inch apart. Use your thumb to press in the center, making an indention.
• If you have a helper with smaller fingers, you may want to secretly use your thumb or else there won't be a lot of room for the caramel and that, my friends, would be a catastrophe.
• Bake for 10 minutes or until edges are set. If the indention has disappeared during baking, use a measuring spoon to re-create the indention. {I actually used a carrot - LOL!}
• Spoon caramel mixture into the center of the cookies and remove to a wire rack and let cool. {If the caramel has thickened too much, just reheat on low until it reaches a thinner consistency.}
• Be careful not to overfill the cookies...
• Once the cookies have cooled, melt chocolate chips and shortening in microwave by heating in 15 second intervals, stirring in between.
• Drizzle the chocolate over the tops of the cookies and get ready to enjoy!