Dulce de Leche Thumbprint Cookies

Last year, for Mother's Day, I made a Dulce de Leche Pie and everyone loved the Dulce de Leche so much that I wanted to make something with it again.  In fact, it was frequently mentioned that my father-in-law enjoyed that pie so much that he would gladly eat it whenever I chose to make it again!   Rather than do a recipe repeat, I made these Dulce de Leche Thumbprint Cookies for Father's Day this year.

Mike and I love the Strawberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies recipe and they're so simple to make that we have them in the house quite often.  We also loved the S'mores Thumbprint Cookies that I made for a Christmas cookie exchange last year.  So really, it was no surprise that everyone loved these cookies as well.

Dulce de Leche Thumbprint Cookies

Makes 20 cookies

You will need:

1 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2-1/4 cups flour
1 cup dulce de leche (Make your own with 1 can of sweetened condensed milk.)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon butter

1.  In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and salt until smooth.

2.  Slowly mix in the flour until the dough pulls away from the bowl.

3.  Roll the dough into 1-1/2" balls and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Using your thumb, press the center of the ball to create an indentation.

4.  Bake at 325 for 20 minutes, until the edges of the cookie are golden brown.  The cookies will have risen slightly, so repress the indentations if needed.

5.  Cool the cookies completely on a wire rack.

6.  Spoon some dulce de leche into each thumbprint.

7.  Melt the chocolate chips and butter in the microwave and stir until smooth.  Scoop into a pastry bag and drizzle on top of the cookies.

Store in an airtight container.

Source: The Black Peppercorn