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.
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