Get ready to impress with this easy Turtle Thumbprint Cookies recipe! Decadent chocolate cookies rolled in pecans and filled with soft caramel make any cookie tray look extra special! Perfect for the holidays!
Looking for more delicious cookie recipes? Make sure to try my Linzer Cookies, Thumbprint Cookies and Whipped Shortbread Cookies!
I am seriously in the cookie making mood lately. Bryce got a beagle cookie jar for his birthday and he’s been asking to fill it up almost every day. We have so many cookies recipe that we love to make but these Turtle Thumbprint cookies are something special.
Not only are they gorgeous and oh-so delicious, but the boys love to help make them!
This recipe is terrific in that you can have little helpers for almost every step and that can’t really mess anything up 🙂 The cookies are just beautiful and would be perfect to bring to any party this holiday season and simple enough that you can easily make up a batch for your family any night of the week. I love the classic “turtle”combination of caramel, pecans, and chocolate – it just doesn’t get any better than this!
Their favorite part is making the indentions in the cookie dough. Now, f 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.
Aren’t these the prettiest cookies EVER??? And by the way, these cookies aren’t just pretty on the outside, they’re quite yummy on the inside 🙂
More Christmas Cookies To Try
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Stained Glass Cookies
- Grinch Cookies
- Whipped Shortbread Cookies
- Peppermint Snowball Cookies
Turtle Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 egg divided
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 16 caramels
- 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1¼ cups chopped pecans
- 1 teaspoon shortening
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- 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…
- Heat unwrapped caramels and whipping cream in a small saucepan over low heat until nice and smooth.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. 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.
- 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!
Nutrition
Some of my favorite cookie recipes:
Reese’s Freezer-Friendly Oatmeal Cookies
For all appetizer recipes, go HERE.
For all dessert recipes, go HERE.
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Have a great day!
Ginger says
WE LOVE turtles around here and those look to die for.
I’d love if you linked this up at my Show & Tell party this week. http://www.gingerlymade.com/2012/12/show-and-tell-4.html
Jenn says
Those look insanely yummy!!!
Holly Lefevre says
These cookies look beyond amazing!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thanks Holly!
Kathleen says
Yum! These look absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to give ’em a try!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you Kathleen! Please give them a try – you won’t be sorry 🙂
Jade C. says
Opps, I meant SHARING – not “hosting.” Tee hee, must be the lack of sleep with my newborn! 😉
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I would be saying crazier things than that with a newborn 🙂 Congratulations!
Jade C. says
Oh, man…these look fabulous! Pinning this to my “to-do” board! 🙂 I hopped over from C.R.A.F.T.’s linky party and am so glad I did!! I love your blog! Thanks so much for hosting!
Jade C. @ sweetbabymasonjames.blogapot.com
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you so much Jade!
Michelle at Faith, Trust, & Pixie Dust says
Oh my, I think a little drop of drool just rolled down my chin. These look so delicious! And what a great idea to involve the little ones too.
Warmly, Michelle
Faith, Trust & Pixie Dust
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Reece had a great time making these cookies 🙂 They are really spectacular! Thanks for stopping by Michelle!
Mary says
Yum! Your Turtle Thumbprint Cookies look so good! Pinned! Thanks for the yummy share!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you so much Mary!
Chrissy says
OMGOODNESS! These look sinful! I would LOVE it if you would share these over on my Friday Link-up!
http://www.parloandlogi.com/f-it-friday-4/
Winnie says
These cookies look sooooooooooooooo cute and adorable!
I would simply call them heavenly-treats 🙂
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Works for me! Thank you so much Winnie!
Lindsay says
These thumbprints looks divine! I am half ready to go to the store now and buy all the ingrediants…yum!
Visiting from My Girlish Whims link up party…so glad I found your blog! I love new recipes
xo,
LindsayJEveryday.blogspot.com
Autism Information says
Mel sent me over to you for directions on these Turtle cookies. Wow, they look awesome. Can’t wait to try and see how mine turn out.
Mel Lockcuff says
Oh my gosh, how decadent these look! So beautiful too. Thanks so much for linking up to Inspire Me Wednesday.:)
Jocie@TheBetterHalf says
Trish, These look so yummy. I have already gone to the store and bought the supplies and hope to make them sometime this weekend! 🙂
Thanks so much for linking up and linking back last week at the Humble Brag! Even though its Black Friday, hope to see you back tomorrow to link up more great projects. Don’t forget, we will be giving away more free ad space! 🙂 Also, YOU WERE FEATURED, so grab a button – you earned it!
http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/the-humble-brag-link-party-8/
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you so much Jocie!
Debi @ Adorned From Above says
These cookies look amazing. I have a link party and would love to have you share this and any other posts. It is called Wednesday’s Adorned From Above Link Party. The link to the party is
http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2012/11/wednesdays-adorned-from-above-link_14.html
I hope to see you there.
Have a great week.
Debi @ Adorned From Above