THUMBPRINTS WITH DULCE DE LECHE, NUTELLA OR JAM

Thumbprints With Dulce de Leche, Nutella or Jam image

Thumbprints are the simplest of cookies, but these are packed with flavor from freshly toasted nuts, each paired with its own filling: pecans with dulce de leche (or homemade caramel sauce, if you have some on hand), hazelnuts with Nutella, or pistachios with a festive pool of red currant jelly in the center. Choose a single combination, or make a batch of each. These cookies benefit from forming the thumbprint halfway through baking, but if you can't take the heat, let the dough soften a bit and then press the thumbprints into the dough before baking.

Provided by Susan Spungen

Categories snack, cookies and bars, dessert

Time 1h

Yield 3 dozen cookies

Number Of Ingredients 9

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Ingredients

3 ounces/85 grams whole hazelnuts (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons), whole pecans (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons), or whole pistachios (about 2/3 cup)
2 1/4 cups/290 grams all-purpose flour, plus 2 teaspoons
1 cup/225 grams unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
2/3 cup/135 grams granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup dulce de leche (for pecan cookies), Nutella (for hazelnut cookies) or red currant jelly (for pistachio cookies), for filling
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

Steps:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the hazelnuts or pecans out on a small baking sheet and cook in oven, shaking several times, until toasted, 10 to 12 minutes. If using hazelnuts, transfer to a bowl to cool, cover with a folded dish towel, then rub off the skins. (No need to toast the pistachios.)
Once cooled, transfer the nuts to a food processor, preferably a mini one. Add 2 teaspoons flour and pulse just until nuts are finely ground, being careful not to overprocess.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping bowl as needed. Add egg yolks and vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until well combined, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl a few times as needed.
Add 1/2 cup ground nuts, the salt and the remaining 2 1/4 cups flour; beat on low speed just until combined, then increase speed and beat until dough starts to clump together. Scrape the bowl and fold a few times to make sure everything is well mixed. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, flatten into a disk, and chill until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Pinch off small pieces of dough the size of a rounded tablespoon (about 20 grams each) and roll the top half of each one in the remaining ground nuts. Place a few inches apart on parchment- or silicone mat-lined baking sheets. Chill in the freezer until firm, about 10 minutes.
Bake for 8 minutes, remove from oven and make a thumbprint in each cookie. Bake until golden brown on the bottom, and nuts are looking toasty but not burned, 6 to 8 minutes longer. Let cool a few minutes on the baking sheets and transfer to wire racks to cool further. While the cookies are still a little warm, fill each one with about 1/2 teaspoon of filling, and cool completely. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.