Salted Caramel Chocolate Thumbprints

The name says it all with these cookies.  The cookie itself is dense and buttery.  The caramel is simple and salt content is per your own desire.  I have said before that I would eat a salted caramel covered shoe and these are much better than that.

I meant to get this blog post out before Christmas, but I also meant to do way too many other things before Christmas too, so here they are.  If you are on a post Christmas sugar crash and need to have a cookie.  Try these!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Thumbprints

Adapted from Cook's Country

INGREDIENTS

• 1cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3cup cocoa powder
• 1/4teaspoon salt, plus sea salt or kosher salt for sprinkling
• 8tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
• 2/3cup sugar
• 
  
• 2tablespoons milk
• 1teaspoon vanilla extract
• 
  
• 14soft caramel candies (you could definitely make your own caramel and I always think that I will, but seriously it is nice to hit the easy button on occasion).
• 3tablespoons heavy cream
  
  
  
  

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in bowl. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until just combined. Refrigerate dough until firm, at least 1 hour.
   2. One at a time, roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using teaspoon measure, make indentation in center of each ball. Bake until set, 10 to 12 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking.
   3. Meanwhile, microwave caramels and cream in bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Once cookies are removed from oven, gently press existing indentations with teaspoon measure. Fill each with ½ teaspoon caramel mixture.  Sprinkle with sea salt or kosher salt.  Cool 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool completely.

I am also excited about the menu that follows.  Some favorite winter dishes and some great disguised left overs so it never gets boring.  I made beef stew on Sunday.  That night we had it with some crusty oven bread.  Monday night I had it with egg noodles- I thought about adding some sour cream to make impromptu stroganoff, so that is an option too.  Then Tuesday night I added beef broth and barley to make an awesome soup.

The Week in Review

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday:  Variants of beef stew.  Served with crusty bread, then with egg noodles as pseudo-stroganoff, then as beef barley soup!

Wednesday and Thursday:  Lemon pesto chicken noodle soup.  A favorite old standby.

Friday and Saturday:  Turkey/beef chili.


I came up with the beef barley soup idea after my weekly shop.  So I ran into Walmart in a mad rush to get barley and get home after work.  Of course I had no idea where barley was.  I spotted the rare Walmart worker and made eye contact.  I got to ask my question, but I quickly realized she was not in the know.  It was definitely not her job to help the wild eyed late mother with barley.  But she sent out an APB on her walkie talkie.  Then when no one else knew where barley was, she started walking with me.  She was like a navy seal for barley "We are going to find this mam", she said.  And we did.