These Peanut Butter Turtle Thumbprint Cookies are a new twist on a classic Christmas cookie — with a peanut butter cookie base, a simple caramel filling, a drizzle of chocolate and a sprinkling of peanuts, they’re sure to be a new holiday tradition!
INGREDIENTS
Cookie
1 cup peanut butter
½ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups all purpose flour (fluffed, scooped and leveled)
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
Filling
15 chewy caramel candies, unwrapped (about 115 grams)
3 tablespoons milk
½ cup chocolate, chopped (about 75 grams)
¼ cup finely chopped peanuts
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine peanut butter, butter, and sugars and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
Add flour, baking soda and salt and mix until combined — you may have to do this with a spoon or your hands.
Roll into 1″ balls and place about 2″ apart on baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes (I bake mine for 9) until puffed and dry looking on top. After removing from the oven, use the back of a ½ teaspoon measuring spoon to make an indent in the center of each cookie. Set aside to cool completely.
In a small pot, combine caramels and milk over low heat. Cook, stirring regularly, until melted and smooth. Spoon ½ teaspoon into the center of each cookie.
In another small pot, heat 1″ of water over medium heat until simmering. Place a glass bowl over top, ensuring that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water (you are making a double boiler). Place chocolate in the glass bowl and heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth.
Pour chocolate into a plastic bag and snip one of the corners. Drizzle chocolate over cookies and immediately sprinkle with chopped peanuts.
Let set until chocolate is set before storing in an air tight container on the counter for 1 week or in the freezer for 3-4 months.
