Coconut Thumbprint Cookies with Salted Caramel

I wanted to share these cookies with you because I think they are incredibly rad. I'm not even that much of a fan of coconut, not at all actually, but I still enjoyed these treats quite a bit. I'm pretty much a sucker for anything oozing with caramel and judging from the reaction my fella gave me after trying one, these might be the best thing I've baked in a while. 

The awesome thing about these cookies is that they aren't at all difficult to make, though they do tend to be a bit time consuming. I warned you, remember that. The strangest part of preparing these cookies was the process of dipping them in the egg wash and then rolling them in the coconut. It was weird, don't ask me why. Moving on, the salted caramel turned out to be easy to prepare as well. The hardest part about the sauce is unwrapping the caramels and making sure it doesn't burn while you're cooking it. When the recipe says to constantly stir, you seriously need to constantly stir. This sauce will burn and stick to that pot of yours and then you will be cursing my name while you are trying to clean it out. Trust me, I figured this part out the hard way and my pot is still soaking. Hope you get a chance to try these out. Enjoy!

Coconut Thumbprint Cookies with Salted CaramelRecipe from Martha Stewart Living Feb 2012 

3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup white sugar

1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs beaten

12 ounces sweetened flaked coconut

44 small soft caramel candies (12 oz.)

6 tablespoons heavy cream

Flaky Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 350. Beat together butter and sugar with  mixer on medium speed until it is pale and fluffy, then add vanilla. With your mixer on low, gradually add flour and 1/2 tsp salt and beat to combine. Using plastic wrap, press dough together, and roll into 1 1/4-inch balls. Dip each ball into the beaten egg, shake off any excess egg, and then roll in coconut.

Place balls on parchment-lined baking sheet and press and indentation of your thumb into each cookie. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove sheet from oven and re-press indentations. After that, put the sheet back in the oven and bake for another 9-10 minutes or until golden. Let cool on wire racks. Repeat with remaining dough.

For caramel: Place unwrapped caramels and heavy cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the caramels have melted and the mixture is smooth, 4-6 minutes. Spoon caramel into the indentations of each cookie and sprinkle with sea salt. If the caramel starts to harden, rewarm it on low heat! (Store in airtight containers for up to 2 days.)

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