In a bid to make something like turtle-inspired cookies, I started with these. I had not made dulce de leche before, for one thing, and wanted to try that out first… and then see if I could use them in some kind of cookie. I made these, and apparently, the chocolate flavor of the cookies overpowers the dulce de leche flavor. Any filling that is preferred with chocolate would work instead of dulce de leche here (fruit jam or some other flavor). I intend to use my next batch of dulce de leche in a vanilla-bean meltaway sandwich cookie.

Unfilled thumbprint shells.

Halfway filled.

Chocolate thumbprint cookies filled with dulce de leche

2 cups flour
½ cup cocoa
1 cup powdered sugar
230 grams of butter (about 1 cup)
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 300F/150C

Beat butter, add powdered sugar. Add vanilla. Beating at low speed, mix in flour and cocoa, half a cup at a time.

Use a melon baller or spoon, make balls of dough. Press the balls into somewhat thick discs. (You can roll the edges in chopped pistachios or pecans, if desired at this point). Place discs on baking sheets and make thumbprints in the cookies.

Bake for about 20 minutes. When removing from oven, press down on the indentations on the cookies again, as they will have puffed up in baking. Let the cookies cool and fill with dulce de leche.

You can also fill the cookies with jam or some other preferred filling.