These Turtle Thumbprint Cookies are a delicious melt-in-your-mouth cookie combining the flavors of almond, pecan, caramel, and chocolate. Be sure to try my Turtle Cheesecake for another sweet dessert. Looking for more great cookie recipes? Check these out!
Turtle Thumbprint Cookies
There are quite a few variations of turtle cookies on the market. This interpretation is my absolute favorite! The base is a chewy shortbread cookie, filled to the brim with ooey gooey caramel and then topped with chopped pecans and drizzled with milk chocolate. If you love the flavor combination of turtle desserts, I also have Turtle Cookie Cups you will love!
Can I Use Different Ingredients?
Yes, feel free to swap out dark chocolate for the milk chocolate or walnuts or almonds in place of pecans.
How to Store Thumbprint Cookies
You can freeze and store Turtle Thumbprint cookies. You might not want a whole batch laying around the house for fear of devouring them all. After baking, allow the cookies to cool completely, and then place them in a freezer-safe container. I would suggest setting them flat and then adding a layer of parchment paper on top. Some cookie recipes can just be thrown in a bag, but that will not work with this turtle thumbprint recipe. Since the caramel needs to freeze to harden, if you just throw them in a bag it will spill out everywhere and make a huge mess (It will still taste amazing though).
PRO TIP: If you are planning to use these in a cookie exchange, freezing them will be your best bet! Transporting these cookies might prove to be a bit of a challenge due to the caramel center. Another alternative would be instead of using the caramel topping, you could melt down a few caramel candies instead. These will harden as they cool, unlike the caramel topping.
Turtle Thumbprint
Ingredients
Thumbprint Cookie
- 1 cup (2 sticks / 227 g) salted butter, softened
- ⅔ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups (256 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
Toppings
- ¼ cup milk chocolate chips, melted
- ½ cup caramel topping
- ½ cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
Thumbprint Cookie
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, cream together butter and granulated sugar until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Mix in almond extract, flour, and egg yolk until dough comes together.
- Roll dough into 1 ½ inch balls and place on the lined cookie sheet. Using a spoon, (I used a teaspoon) make a small impression in the center of each ball.
- Bake for 14-18 minutes in preheated oven, or until lightly browned.
- Cool completely before filling.
Toppings
- Once the cookies have cooled, fill each impression with caramel sauce, and top with pecans.
- In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate chips. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of each cookie. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate in a plastic bag in the microwave. Just be sure to massage it between heating cycles to make sure it heats evenly.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
I made these for the 1st time for my volleyball team cookie exchange & thd girls absolutely loved them! As a big turtles fan (candy, cupcakes, cheesecake…really anything) these are in my top 5 for sure…awesome cookies!
Question – the video shows vanilla, but the written recipe has almond extract instead?
Hi, Beth! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. The written recipe is correct. Have a great day!
I love all the receipes and all taste yummy. I love making your receipes👍
Hi! I cannot find the video. Would love to see the procedure for these; they sound and looking amazing. All your recipes I’ve made come out DELICIOUS, thx!
Is there a recipe for the caramel? thx!
I have been following and making many of Amanda’s recipe. Always turns out a success and everyone love what I make. Thank you Amanda for sharing.
I love almond flavor but can’t quite put it together with caramel.
I cant find my recipe I used years ago. I dont like almond flavor have you ever used vanilla instead?
How many cookies does this recipe make please?
Loved the cookies!
Under nutrition it reads servings: 24 cookies