Salted Caramel Thumbelina Cookies

Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies

Today I will give the recipe for these amazing cookies as I had promised earlier in the week.  I made a batch of these for my retreat last weekend and there were NONE left.  On to the recipe..... 

First I start with a basic thumbprint recipe that was given to me in 1983 after the birth of my first child.  I had her by C-Section and was in the hospital for several days.  I was nursing her and it seemed like I was ALWAYS hungry!!!  Another intern's wife brought me these cookies!!  Heavenly!!!  Her mother was French and this was her recipe.  I remember eating these straight from the box in the middle of the night.  Good memories!!  I treasure this recipe so when I found a recipe for Salted Caramel Thumbprint cookies I used my base recipe and tweaked the filling to come up with a winner!!

Thumbelina Cookie Recipe 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients:

1/2 c butter, room temperature

1/4 c sugar

1 egg yolk, well beaten

1 tsp almond

1 c flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg white, unbeaten

1 c crushed walnuts

Homemade caramel

Directions:

1.  Cream butter and sugar together until light yellow in color.

2.  Beat in egg yolk and almond flavoring.

3.  Sift flour and salt together.  Mix into wet mixture.

4.  Shape into 1 inch balls.  You should get about 3 dozen.

5.  Dip balls into egg white and then roll in walnuts.

6.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Dent center of cookie with thumb.

7.  Bake 5 minutes.

8.  Remove from oven, dent cookie with thumb again.

9.  Fill the dent with 1/2 tsp of caramel.  ( You can find the recipe 

for Homemade Caramel here.)

10.  Bake 12 - 15 additional minutes.  Be careful not to overfill the centers or the cookies will leak.  A little leakage happens no matter how careful you are....it's OK!!





11.  Remove cookies to racks to cool completely before serving.  The caramel is VERY hot at this point.

Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies

(Recipe to copy and paste for printing)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients:

1/2 c butter, room temperature

1/4 c sugar

1 egg yolk, well beaten

1 tsp almond

1 c flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg white, unbeaten

1 c crushed walnuts

Homemade caramel

Directions:

1.  Cream butter and sugar together until light yellow in color.

2.  Beat in egg yolk and almond flavoring.

3.  Sift flour and salt together.  Mix into wet mixture.

4.  Shape into 1 inch balls.  You should get about 3 dozen.

5.  Dip balls into egg white and then roll in walnuts.

6.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Dent center of cookie with thumb.

7.  Bake 5 minutes.

8.  Remove from oven, dent cookie with thumb again.

9.  Fill the dent with 1/2 tsp of caramel.  ( You can find the recipe 

for Homemade Caramel here.)
10.  Bake 12 - 15 additional minutes.  Be careful not to overfill the centers or the cookies will leak.  A little leakage happens no matter how careful you are....it's OK!!
11.  Remove cookies to racks to cool completely before serving.  The caramel is VERY hot at this point.

Hope you enjoy these great cookies as much as my friends did!!
Also don't you love the name used on the basic recipe....Thumbelina Cookies.....makes me think of fairies and magical places!!!  AHHHHHH....life is GOOD!!




Speaking of cookies....I picked up the 2013 Taste of Home Christmas Cookie book at Sam's today.

It's never too early to plan for Holiday cookie baking at the Smith House!! 

Happy Trails,

Mtn Mama