Coconut Thumbprints with Salted Caramel
January 12, 2012 in cookie
I have a bone to pick with Martha Stewart.
I looooove Martha. I mean, I really love her. I watch her show almost every day, hers is the only magazine I subscribe to, she’s my “If you could have dinner with anyone…” person. But we have a problem.
There are mistakes all over her cookbooks/magazines!
I pulled this recipe out of her magazine and was so excited to try it that I got working on it the very next morning. The cookie dough, as written, never came together! I mixed it and mixed it and finally got so worried about overworking the flour that I added a couple eggs and it turned into a real cookie dough.
(Edited to add: I’ve had a few readers email and say the cookies have worked and a few who have said they also had to add eggs. So be aware if you decide to attempt this one!)
Anyway, the cookies are fantastic! I had no idea that coconut and caramel would be so good together but they are amazing! I finally had to tell my husband not to let me back in the kitchen after having more than my share.
If you tried (or plan on trying) this recipe as written in Living, please let me know if you have any luck with it.
| Coconut Thumbprints with Salted Caramel |
|
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 eggs, divided
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces sweetened flaked coconut
- 44 small caramel candies (12 ounces), unwrapped
- 6 tablespoons heavy cream
- sea salt
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Beat together butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla and 2 of the eggs.
- With mixer on low, gradually add flour and the 1/2 teaspoon salt, and beat to combine.
- Press dough together in plastic wrap, then roll into 1 1/4-inch balls. Beat the 2 remaining eggs in a small bowl. Dip each ball in the beaten egg and roll in coconut. Place balls on parchment-lined baking sheets, and press an indentation into each with your thumb.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then remove sheets from oven, and re-press indentations. Bake cookies until golden, 9 to 10 minutes more. Let cool on wire racks. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Place caramels and heavy cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the caramels are melted and mixture is smooth, 4 to 6 minutes. Spoon into indentations in cookies, and sprinkle with sea salt. Rewarm caramel if it hardens before all cookies are filled.
Mmm such a classic cookie! Yum!
wow, that’s horrible! i hate when recipes are messed up. i’m not perfect but i’m also not a famous person who has editors upon editors haha, glad you caught it! these look awesome, I love the salted caramel filling :) this whole cookie sounds like a starbucks drink in cookie form ;)
That’s not the only mistake. I think we’ve discussed this before. There are errors and differences when bouncing between publications – online, magazines, cookbooks. It’s insane and totally unacceptable. I’m glad these turned out in the end for you though. They look delicious!
Yeah, I remember that conversation! Crazy that such a big name would have so many issues!
So true! Too many hands in the pot? Weird that nobody caught it though. Glad you fixef it though- they look good! I have noticed differences between her recipes online and in print sometimes.
I know that I’ve made thumbprints before without adding eggs, but usually the dough is able to come together without crumbling.
Good thing you caught the mistake.
Caramel in the middle and with coconut? Oh Im loving these!
too funny-i JUST ripped this recipe out of martha stewart living to make them sometime soon…although now i’m not sure if i should! glad they were still yummy though!
you NEED to make these cookies AS directed. there was no mistake in the recipe. one of the best cookies i have ever made or eaten.
Ooh, I saw these in MS Mag yesterday and ‘m going to make these right now! Literally! Quick question – when the caramel is in the cookies, does it harden or does it stay soft…?
The caramel hardens a bit but doesn’t get as firm as the caramel candies. Thanks for reading and commenting! :)
Thank you! I made them & they were great… I was eating the leftover caramel from the spoon (wish I had a better idea of what to do with it). Here’s a picture of mine! Teehee. http://instagr.am/p/gpzFF/
I love how brown yours got! I’m so scared of burning coconut that I pulled mine out a little earlier. They look amazing!
I JUST made these cookies tonight. i thought they turned out GREAT! theyre amazing! i didnt even realoze they didnt have eggs in them.
They worked for you? So weird! I couldn’t get the dough to come together for anything!
I made these cookies too from the magazine recipe and they are delicious. I didn’t have any problem with them crumbling. Just wrapped the dough in the plastic wrap and made into a ball and then pinched off the dough to roll into the balls. No issues!
I have to agree. Martha’s recipes are so hit or miss. Sometimes you can find multiple versions of the same recipe on her website and they have different ingredient quantities. So confusing.
I can just tell you that by just reading the title I was excited I mean, coconut and salted caramel? delicious
I just received my copy of MSL in today’s mail. In my edition the recipe called for 2 eggs. Glad to hear they tasted good!
I tore this recipe out too, maybe I’ll try half with eggs and half without :)
Cookies and coconut of any sort = total love for me!! :D Eek about all the recipe confusion though! I’ve come across the same situation, just not with Martha Stewart publications as I haven’t tried her recipes yet. I was gritting my teeth in annoyance when a cupcake recipe did NOT turn out right for me and I totally knew why (too little liquid) and it buzzed my biscuits to see the mistakes all across the board. Same thing, you go along with the recipe because you’re like, “well, that’s what it says…” and at the same time you’re thinking, “but wait a minute, this can’t be right…”. Sigh.
But yes, your cookies look delicious! <3
You had me at salted caramel. Gosh, these cookies look delicious. I wish I could reach into my screen and pick one up.
I’ve run into issues with her recipes before too – including differences in the same recipe between magazine/website/etc. I’m glad you were able to save the recipe and make it work! Coconut is one of my favorite flavors but I’ve never thought to pair it with caramel – yum!!
Hey Amanda! I actually posted these on my blog last week too! I didn’t add the egg, thinking that Martha knew best, and mine turned out great. I didn’t notice any problems with the dough- that’s so interesting that others found it crumbly. These are actually my new favorite cookie! Yours look lovely!
FYI the recipe does NOT call for eggs and they are the BEST shortbread cookie i ever made or tasted. and shortbread cookies most often do NOT have egg to hold it together and it makes the cookie even more tender. make the recipe as directed….and btw martha does NOT make that kind of mistake. she is quite anal retentive, you must have never seen her magazine.
Just made these with my young daughters last night. I am not the best baker, and I also struggled with the crumbly dough. We toughed it out, and worked the little dough balls as directed and for the most part it worked….but the next time I am going to cut the flour by 1/4 cup. The cookies were so rich and delicious they more like candies….this from a mom who struggles to make boxed brownies! We shared them with the neighbors, and will make them for Valentine’s day.
I made this exactly as the recipe directed and love them. I have never put salt on a sweet before and you really need to watch and just put a few kernals as I used rock sea salt ungrounded. Very tasty cookie. You think it will be really sweet but it is more like a shortbread taste with a tad of sweet and then that pop of salt. Very different.
I am SO GLAD I found this recipe here as I had lost my original one.
Just made these exactly like the recipe – no eggs in the batter & they were wonderful. Love these cookies and will definitely make again. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve made these twice. First time exactly like the recipe. So dry that when I “thumbed” them, they just cracked. Dough was more like cornmeal. Taste was great, though, so thought I’d try again, this time with 1/2 cup LESS flour (3 cups total). Perfection. Absolute perfection. Tip: I used a melon baller to make the thumbprint (especially better when you do the halfway through baking one).
I have a batch of these cookies in the oven right now! the dough came together fine, so far so good!
[...] to the recipe. There is not much different to the recipe and you should check out their recipe. Coconut Thumbprints with Salted Caramel. The world and my self have really seemed to be on the kick of salted caramel! I love sweet and [...]