Add these Chocolate Turtle Thumbprint Cookies to your favorite Christmas cookie lineup! Each thumbprint is filled with chocolate and gooey caramel flavors, along with a nutty crunch from the pecans. Holiday guests will go wild, not just for the presentation, but because their taste is out of this world! There’s just enough chocolate and caramel filling in every bite, making them the ideal sweet treat!
Cookie trays sure do shine during the holidays, and they wouldn’t be complete without caramel thumbprints! They are rich with a gooey caramel center and even make a nice edible holiday gift! Use the leftover candies to fill your holiday cookie tray and make turtle hand pies, Chocolate Turtles, caramel brownies, or pumpkin bread pudding with caramel sauce. These desserts are also great for the holidays!
You may be wondering what ends up on our cookie trays. We love letting the kids decorate sugar cookies and a few to look like Santa. For those who like a simple classic, we stack up the peanut butter and oatmeal chocolate chip (they are anything but basic!). We add a few Candy Cane cookies, because they just look so festive, along with Martha Washington candy, and Oreo balls for some variety.
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Why You’ll Love This Thumbprint Turtle Cookies Recipe
- Fun and festive for the holidays season.
- What’s better than chocolate and caramel combined?
- Even though it’s a little bit of a process, they are fairly simple to make.
🍪 Ingredients:
- All-purpose flour – unbleached is best
- Baking powder – helps to make these cookies raise
- Unsweetened cocoa powder – the chocolate in the cookies
- Salt – enhances flavors
- Unsalted butter – bring to room temperature
- Sugars – white sugar and light brown sugar
- Eggs – bring to room temperature
- Vanilla extract – just adds that wonderful warm vanilla flavor
- Pecans – diced
- Caramels – store-bought is most simple and quick
- Heavy cream – helps making this cookie creamy and delicious
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips – for chocolate drizzle
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Substitutions and Variations
- You can drizzle with any chocolate you like, milk, dark, semi-sweet, or even white chocolate.
- If you prefer a different nut, we have tried with walnuts and even hazelnuts and it is delicious!
- We love to add a bit of sea salt to the top of the cookie just before the drizzled chocolate has set!
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Preheat the oven and line the cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Step 1: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, and cocoa powder.
Step 2: In a separate bowl, with a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy.
Step 3: Mix in one egg and one egg yolk, reserving the egg whites, and the vanilla.
Step 4: Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, and mix.
Pro Tip: Rolling the cookie dough balls in the egg whites help the chopped pecans to stick better and stay in place while baking.
Step 5: Chill, covered, in the fridge for 1 hour.
Step 6: Use a 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop to make dough balls. These should be about 1-inch balls.
Step 7: Whip the egg white until frothy. Dip each cookie ball into the egg white.
Step 8: Place cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet.
Step 9: Use the back of a spoon to make the indentions in the center of each cookie, pressing halfway down.
Step 10: Bake until the bottom edges are slightly browned. Remove the cookies from the oven.
Step 11: Heat the caramels in the microwave in 30-second intervals and stir until smooth.
Step 12: Fill each thumbprint with melted caramel and allow them to cool.
Step 13: Melt the chocolate chips and transfer them to a piping bag. Once cooled, drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the cookies.
GARNISH/SLICE/SERVE: Wait for the chocolate to set and devour these Thumbprint cookies covered in crunchy pecans!
Recipe Tips for Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
- Don’t over-measure the baking powder. Just a small amount helps to hold their compact shape.
- If desired, use homemade caramel. It needs to be thick enough to set, but not really hard when you bite into them.
- Do not press all the way down on the cookies when making the thumbprints.
- The centers may puff up while baking. Use the teaspoon to gently re-press.
Fun Fact
Thumbprint cookies came from Sweden and were originally made with raspberry jam.
Recipe FAQs
Keep turtle thumbprints in an airtight container for 3 days on the counter or in the freezer for 3 months. Allow the cookies to thaw before serving so the caramel isn’t too hard.
Originally people would use their thumbs to make the indention in the dough to add the filling, jam, or other mixture.
Thumbprint cookies are just those that have a filling on top where you use your thumb or a gadget to make the indention for the filling. These cookies do not have to be shortbreads, but most that are filled with jam are.
More Delicious Cookie Recipes
If you tried this Chocolate Turtle Thumbprint Cookies Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Chocolate Turtle Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups finely chopped pecans
- 30 caramels
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips for chocolate drizzle
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on high speed until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
- Beat in one egg plus one egg yolk (reserve the whites) and vanilla until well mixed.
- Pour dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and beat just until well mixed. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Use a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the dough. Roll into balls between your hands.
- Whisk the reserved egg white in a small bowl until very frothy/foamy.
- Coat the dough ball in frothy egg whites and then roll in the chopped pecans.
- Place each ball on the prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart.
- Using the back of a teaspoon, press about half way down into each cookie to create an indent for the caramel.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes or until bottom edges look slightly browned.
- Remove cookies from the oven. If the centers have puffed while baking, use your teaspoon to gently re-press the indentation.
- Heat the caramels and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl for 30 seconds at a time in the microwave. Stir until smooth.
- Spoon melted caramel in the center of each baked cookie’s indentation. Allow to cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, heating for 30 seconds at a time and stirring between, until melted. Drizzle the chocolate over the cooled cookies.
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Notes
Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months. NOTES: The egg whites help the pecans to stick to the dough ball and stay in place while baking (tip from https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/turtle-thumbprint-cookies/) These are a thumbprint cookie – using just a small amount of baking powder helps the cookies to retain their compact thumbprint shape. You can also use homemade caramel in these cookies – you want a caramel that is thick enough to set, but not hard, which would make it difficult to bite into.
Nutrition
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