Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies with Salted Caramel and Peanuts (Snickers?!)

Okay, I've had a major sweet tooth the past couple weeks. It's so hard not to be when you live in a city (or country I guess...it's like this all over Spain) where there are bakeries basically every other store! I have been also on a huuuge chocolate kick. I cannot explain my sudden obsession (it's really getting terrible), but it happened when I got here definitely! Everything I've baked here so far I have wanted to drown it in chocolate-y goodness. Weird, because back in the states, it's not usually my first thought. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love chocolate. But here, it's been on like over-drive. 

These cookies are pretty scrumptious. I was trying to think about things that are notoriously American...I guess I'm kind of getting to the home-sick missing food stage of study abroad. I've been here in Spain for over 2 months now! CRAZY.

But I wanted to play with flavors to make it like a typical American candy, so I thought hmm chocolate and caramel and nuts... Snickers! They totally have them here, but I don't know, it made me feel home-y. Turtles, snickers whatever ya wanna call it.

I had originally made Butterscotch Brownie muffins with hazelnuts for the Chocolate Blog Party, but I wasn't really happy with how they turned out so I wanted to do something better!

These are quite tasty! And it's not difficult to conjure up. I even made the cookie dough and caramel the night before I actually assembled the cookies, so they can totally be prepped in advance if you're short on time!

Here we go:

For the Caramel Sauce: I got the recipe from here but I reduced it/tweaked it a bit:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp water
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp butter
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, heat the sugar and water (after whisking together slightly) over high heat until it turns an amber color (about 8 minutes on the stove), swirling the pan occasionally to get the sugar moving a bit. 

Keep an eye on the sugar because it seriously is a FINE line to being perfect or being burnt. I didn't use a candy thermometer for this batch, but if you want to the recipe I used said you want the sugar to get to 350 degrees.

Once you've reached the color, remove from heat and whisk in the butter. Then slowly pour the cream in a small stream, whisking as you go. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with your whisk so the sugar doesn't clump. Once everything is combined, whisk in the salt and vanilla. Pour into a container, and store in the fridge. (Can be kept for about a month!)

For the cookies: Somewhat adapted from Martha Stewart

1 cup flour
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temp
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

For topping (optional/can be changed to your liking):
1 ounce dark chocolate (melted in microwave) for decorating
1/4 cup chopped peanuts

In a medium bowl cream together the sugar and butter. Add the egg, milk and vanilla, and mix until combined. 

Then add the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Mix until just integrated. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (I did mine overnight, and it made the scooping a lot easier!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare baking sheet with foil or parchment. Scoop one tablespoon of cookie dough per cookie and roll into a ball. Then using the end of a wooden spoon (dipped in cocoa powder to avoid sticking), or your thumb make an indent for the filling. Bake for 8-10 minutes rotating half way through.

Once the cookies have cooled, add your fillings. I did probably a heavy 1/4 tsp of caramel per cookie. 

Then using a small spoon, drizzle the melted chocolate over, and top with the peanuts!

Thumbprints are super fun because you can change them up super easily, and make fun delicious combinations! These, I definitely loved. Though, maybe next time I'd try to play around with the Snickers nougat...hmm.

So, as part of the Chocolate Blog Party, here are the rules of the game:

Pairing seasonal/fun ingredients with chocolate by the month!

1.) Blog about your chocolate treat. Your recipe must include the two ingredients we choose. It can be a simple no bake treat or a sophisticated layer cake, the complexity level of the recipe is totally up to you.

2.) Include a link back to this post or the Chocolate party page. Optional, add the Chocolate Party logo in your blog post or on your sidebar.

3.) Your recipe must be published during the current month. Please do not link old recipes, they will be deleted.

It's a fun way to come up with new recipes and try new ideas! And the group of bloggers involved are all full of amazingly delicious looking recipes! Give it a go, and join us!