Rolo Thumbprint Cookies With Caramel Sauce

I love thumbprint cookies. All the ones that I’ve had usually have a jam-filled center. So I thought why not put a Rolo in the center? And finish it off with some caramel sauce! Rolos combined with coconut and extra caramel on top: heaven in your mouth!

Cookie recipe adapted from foodnetwork.com Caramel sauce recipe from thecafesucrefarine.com

Ingredients:

Cookies:

Cookies:

1 & 1/2 cups unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
3 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
Enough milk to form a stiff dough
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water (for egg wash)
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
30 Rolo chocolates

Caramel sauce:

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream or half & half
1tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt

Method:

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until just combined and then add the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture with the mixer on low speed, and mix well. Add enough milk to the mixture so that a stiff dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit (176 degrees celsius).

3. Roll the dough into 1 & 1/4 inch balls, with a flat bottom. Coat the balls with the egg wash and then roll in the coconut. Place the balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and make a small indentation in the top with your finger. Bake for 20-25 minutes. In the last 3 minutes of baking time, remove the cookies from the oven and place the Rolos in the center of each cookie. Watch that the coconut does not burn.

4. Cool cookies on a wire rack. To make the caramel sauce, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and whisk to combine. Add heavy cream (or half & half) and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add vanilla and a pinch of sea salt. Stir until combined and simmer until the caramel becomes thick (it will also thicken as it cools down). Drizzle caramel over the top of the cookies.