Cookie Bloghop...Caramel Chocolate Thumbprints~

My December revolves around cookie baking and candy making.  So imagine my excitement when I was asked to co-host a cookie blog hop!  December is #cookielove month! The hosts are all sharing favorite cookie recipes this weekend, then anyone is welcome to link a cookie recipe that was posted in December, 2011.  Don't forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to stop by the #cookielove event!

I made these little gems for a neighborhood cookie exchange a few years back.  The next day, a friend called and told me these were her favorites of the year and asked for the recipe. Chocolate, caramel and pecans...who can resist that combo?

My talented co-hosts are all listed below:

Badger Girl Learns to Cook,  

Baking and Cooking: A Tale of Two Loves, 

BigFatBaker,  

Bloc de Recetas,  

Bon a Croquer,  

CafeTerraBlog,  

Cake Duchess,  

Creative Cooking Corner,  

Easily Good Eats,  

Georgie Cakes,  

Hobby and More,  

Knitstamatic,  

Mike's Baking,  

Mis Pensamientos,  

No One Likes Crumbley Cookies,  

Oh Cake,  

Queen's Notebook,  

Savoring Every Bite,  

Simply Reem,  

Soni's Food for Thought,  

Teaspoon of Spice, 

The Art of Cooking Real Food,  

The Spicy RD,  

The Wimpy Vegetarian,  

Vegetarian Tastebuds,  

Vegan Yack Attack.

Please stop by and visit these lovely bakers. Thanks for sharing the fun!


Chocolate Caramel Thumbprints...adapted from Good Morning America

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg (separate into yolk and white)
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/3 cup Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Penzey's)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup finely chopped pecans

16 plain caramels, unwrapped
1 tablespoon milk

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips


Beat together butter, sugar, egg yolk, milk and vanilla until well blended.  Sift flour, cocoa and salt into batter and mix on low speed till well combined.  

Form dough into two logs, each 8 inches long.  Whisk egg white till frothy.  Paint logs with egg whites and roll in pecans.  Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes.


Preheat oven to 350º.  Line two baking sheets with parchment.  Cut each log into 16 slices (each about 1/2 inch wide).  Arrange on baking sheets, about 1 1/2 inches apart.  Use fingers to reshape each cookie back into a circle if needed.


Bake 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press center of cookies with finger or end of spoon to make an indentation in each cookie (I used the flat end of a whisk).  Allow to cool completely.


Melt caramels and milk in microwave (about 60 seconds or less).  Stir till smooth.  Spoon a bit of caramel into the center of each cookie.  Allow to cool till caramel is set.


Melt chocolate chips and place into a ziplock bag.  Snip off a corner and drizzle chocolate over each cookie.


Makes 32.


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Linked to A Themed Baker's Sunday~ 
Linked to Only Cookies and Cakes Blog Hop~