Cajeta Thumb Print Cookies

When I lived in Mexico, I learned to like cajeta. It is basically caramelized goat’s milk. It comes in various flavors in bottles and can be used like our caramel sauce. Dulce de leche (sweet of milk) is all the rage in flavors now, so no big surprise, I came across a Dulce de Leche Cookie recipe. Rather than make my own dulce de leche, I bought some cajeta from our local Mexican market.

The cookie is just a basic shortbread cookie and super simple to make. The work is in the steps of thumb printing, putting in the cajeta and piping the chocolate.

Recipe adapted from:

Melissa’s Cuisine

Ingredients:

1½  cups unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
3⅓ cups flour
1½ cups cajeta or dulce de leche, * SEE NOTE
½ cup chocolate chips
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together butter, sugar, and salt until smooth.

2. Slowly mix in flour until the dough pulls away from the bowl.

3. Roll dough into 2-tablespoon balls and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Using your thumb,** press the center of the ball to create an indentation.

4. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes, until the edges of the cookie are golden brown. The cookies will have risen slightly, so re-press the indentations if needed. Cool the cookies completely on a wire rack.

5. Spoon some dulce de leche into each thumbprint.***  Melt the chocolate chips and butter in the microwave and stir until smooth. Scoop into a pastry bag and drizzle on top of the cookies.

Notes:

* Here is a link for various ways to make dulce de leche from sweetened condensed milk. http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Dulce-De-Leche

**I used a cork that was just the right size to make my indentations.

*** Shari was helping me make these. She recommended that we put each cookie, after placing the cajeta, in the microwave for a few seconds until the cajeta flattened and smoothed out a bit. It made them look a lot better.