SALTED CARAMEL ALMOND THUMBPRINT COOKIES

By ctozzi

Ingredients

• Cookies:
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups cake flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 cup sliced almonds, crushed
• Caramel:
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, small cubes
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon sea salt flakes

Details

Servings 30
Preparation time 30mins
Cooking time 55mins

Preparation

Step 1

FOR THE COOKIES:



Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, with a paddle attachment on medium speed, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

With speed on low, add almond meal followed by the lightly beaten egg and almond extract.

Scrape sides of the bowl and add flour and baking powder.

Mix together, with a wooden spoon until fully incorporated. Do not overmix the dough.
Roll 1” balls of dough and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet until all of the shortbread dough has been used.

Gently coat each ball in the egg white and then roll balls in the crushed almonds.
Divide the balls between 2 parchment-lined baking sheet, about 15 per sheet. Using your thumb, gently press down into the center of each ball, creating a "thumbprint" in the cookie dough.

Place baking sheets into a refrigerator and allow cookie balls to chill about 30 minutes

Remove baking sheet from refrigerator, place in oven and bake 16-20 minutes or until the tops of the cookies just begin to brown. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool.



FOR THE CARAMEL:

While cookies cool, begin making the caramel by combining granulated sugar, brown sugar and corn syrup in a medium sauce pan. Bring mixture to a boil on med-high heat.

Once mixture reaches 240°F on a candy thermometer remove from heat and whisk in the butter, cream and evaporated milk until fully incorporated.

COOK'S NOTE:

Be careful, the mixture will begin to bubble violently.

Stir in vanilla and allow the hot caramel to cool slightly, about 15 minutes.

Place 1-2 teaspoons of the warm caramel into each thumbprint (depending on the size of the thumbprint indentation) on each cookie.

Once all of the cookies have been filled, allow the caramel to set, about 1 hour.
Sprinkle tops of each cookie with the sea salt flakes and serve or store in an airtight container.