Turtle Thumbprint Cookies

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Chocolate caramel and nuts are the ultimate trio in these turtle thumbprint cookies. Cocoa cookie dough gets rolled in pecans, filled with silky smooth caramel and drizzled with chocolate! Once you try them, you’ll wish you made them sooner!

Why you’ll love these turtle cookies:

These delicious cookies are just like turtle candies! The fudgy cookie dough, gooey caramel and crunchy pecan coating get you all the same flavors just in cookie form!

Ingredients you’ll need:

• butter, softened
• Granulated sugar
• Egg
• Milk
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Pecans , finely chopped
• Kraft caramels, unwrapped
• Heavy cream
• Chocolate chips, melted

How to make the best turtle cookies:

• In a large mixing bowl, cream together softened butter, sugar, egg yolk (reserve the egg white for later), milk, and vanilla extract.
• Sprinkle in flour and cocoa powder. Mix to form a dough. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Whisk egg white 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 the baking sheets, then use your thumb to make an indentation in the center of each dough ball. Bake for 10-12 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 the caramel mixture.
• Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheets. Microwave chocolate in a small bowl for one minute. Transfer to a ziploc bag and snip off one end. Drizzle the chocolate over each cookie, then let set before enjoying!

My top tips!

• Be sure to reserve the egg white when you’re making the cookie dough. You’ll use the yolk in the dough to give richness and moisture but the white will be used for adhering the pecans to the cookie balls later on!
• You’ll want to chill this cookie dough for 1 hour to firm up the butter. This will ensure the cookies don’t spread too much in the oven. You’ll most likely still need to touch up the indentations in the center of the cookies after baking but the cookies will still be thick and fudgy!
• Finely chop your pecans! Even if you buy the pecans that are pre-chopped, you’ll still want to chop them into smaller bits. This makes it easier for the pecans to coat every inch of the cookies!
• I like using the store-bought Kraft individually wrapped caramels here for convenience but feel free to use the Kraft caramel bits as well! You’ll need about 2/3 cup of caramel bits to equal 20 of the individually wrapped ones.
• I recommend adding the melted caramel and chocolate to ziploc bags for filling and drizzling the cookies. It’s a small step that really makes the process less messy and just overall easier in my opinion!