DULCE DE LECHE AND NUTELLA THUMBPRINTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. With an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Scrape the bowl with a spatula. Turn the mixer on low and add the flour a little at a time, until it is just combined.
• Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough into 1 oz. balls-about 1 ½ tablespoons. Place them on the cookie sheets and make a deep indention in each cookie, with your thumb. Press any cracks back into place.
• Bake for approximately 20 minutes. It will look like the craters have disappeared, but when the cookies cool, they'll be back!
• Scoop the Dulce de Leche into a quart-size freezer bag. Microwave it for 30-60 seconds until thin, like melted peanut butter. The bag may be hot, so wrap it in a small towel. Snip a hole in the corner of the bag and squeeze about 1 ½ teaspoons of caramel into the centers of 24 cookies. Tap the cookies gently to help the caramel fill in the entire indention.
• While the caramel is still a little tacky, sprinkle each cookie with course sea salt. Repeat this process with melted Nutella and the remaining 24 cookies.
• Allow the Dulce de Leche and Nutella to cool for a little while before serving, so the centers can set.
• *You could put them in the refrigerator to speed this up!