Dulce De Leche Cookies
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Sep 19, 2024 
Dulce de Leche Cookies – This easy thumbprint cookie recipe includes creamy caramel and/or Nutella, with a sprinkle of sea salt for the perfect sweet and salty treat. You’ll love making these cookies for the holidays!
Dulce de Leche Cookies
Around the holidays, I make batches, and BATCHES…and batches of cookies to share with our neighbors, friends, and family. This year I hope to share them all with you as well! I always stick with a few tried-and-true recipes, then branch out and experiment a little!
This Thumbprint Cookie Recipe with Caramel is one of my favorites.
You just can’t beat the delicate buttery texture of good shortbread cookies. I’m often tempted to think EVERY cookie should start as a shortbread cookie! Make a batch with caramel or even a batch with chocolate-hazelnut Nutella, top them all with sea salt
…and you have something utterly addictive, a swear-worthy cookie!
Ingredients for Dulce de Leche Cookies
- Unsalted butter – at room temperature
- Sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- All-purpose flour
- Nestle La Lechera Dulce de Leche – thick caramel (or swap with Nutella for Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies)
- Sea salt
You can find canned Dulce de Leche
at most large supermarkets (either in the international section or baking aisle) or at a Latin market.
How to Make Thumbprint Cookies with Caramel
Thumbprint cookies are easy to make. Your kids will have a marvelous time rolling the balls and making the thumbprints themselves. Yet make sure an adult adds the hot caramel and chocolate!
Here’s how you make these perfectly sweet and salty cookies…
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. With an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Scrape the bowl with a spatula. Turn the mixer on low and add the flour a little at a time, until it is just combined. Don’t over-mix the cookie dough!
2. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough into 1 oz. balls—about 1 ½ tablespoons. Place them on the cookie sheets and make a deep indention in each cookie, with your thumb. This is typically where the kids have the most fun!
Give each cookie a bit of space on the baking sheets, and be sure to press any cracks that might form from your thumbprint back into place.
This thumbprint cookie recipe yields 48 cookies. I can fit 12 cookies per baking sheet, so I tend to do one set of 24 cookies at a time across two different baking sheets. Just keep the remaining dough in the mixer until you’re ready to use for the next batch.
See the Full (Printable) Dulce de Leche Cookies Recipe Below!
3. Bake the thumbprint cookies for approximately 20 minutes, until soft but no longer doughy. You don’t want these cookies to brown.
It will look like the thumbprint craters have disappeared, but when the cookies cool, they will be back!
4. While the cookies are cooling slightly on the baking sheets, scoop the Dulce de Leche into a quart-size freezer bag or a piping bag. Squeeze the air out of the bag, and seal closed. Microwave the bag for 30-60 seconds until thin, almost like melted peanut butter. The bag may be hot, so wrap it in a small towel. Snip a hole in the corner of the bag and squeeze about 1 ½ tsp of caramel into the center of each cookie, until they are just barely filled. Tap the caramel thumbprint cookies gently to help fill in the entire indention.
5. While the caramel is still a little bit tacky, lightly sprinkle each cookie with some of the course sea salt. You want to add just a nice little salty crunch to balance the sweetness of the caramel, but not so much that the salt overwhelms the cookies.
Pro Tip: You can also fill the cookies with melted Nutella
instead of Lechera, or fill half of the Thumbprint Cookie recipe with caramel and half with chocolate.
Allow the caramel thumbprint cookies and/or Nutella thumbprint cookies to cool for a little while before serving, so the centers can set. You could put them in the refrigerator for a few minutes to speed this up!
Can These Caramel Thumbprint Cookies Be Made in Advance?
Oh yes! Thumbprint cookies with Dulce de Leche and/or Nutella fillings can be made a few days ahead of enjoying, and will keep well in an airtight container at room temp for 4-5 days.
Are Dulce De Leche Cookies Freezer-Friendly?
Absolutely. The caramel thumbprint cookies will freeze well for up to 3 months if properly stored. You’ll want to first cool the cookies completely, and then keep them in an airtight container in a single layer so that the fillings don’t get disturbed.
Looking for More Cookie Recipes for the Holidays?
- Soft Molasses Cookies
- Lemon Drop Cookies
- Caramel Shortbread
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookie Whoopie Pies
- Mexican Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Brown Butter Sugar Cookies
- Cool Whip Cookies (2-Ingredients)
- Mexican Cookies (Biscochitos)
- Pistachio Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
- 3D Christmas Trees Cookies
Dulce de Leche Cookies Recipe with Sea Salt
Ingredients
- 4 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 26 ounces Nestle La Lechera Dulce de Leche carmel (or a large jar of Nutella)
- Coarse sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. With an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Scrape the bowl with a spatula. Turn the mixer on low and add the flour a little at a time, until it is just combined.
- Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough into 1-ounce balls—about 1 1/2 tablespoons. Place them on the cookie sheets and make a deep indentation in each cookie, with your thumb. Press any cracks back into place.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes. It will look like the craters have disappeared, but when the cookies cool, they’ll be back!
- Scoop the Dulce de Leche into a quart-size freezer bag. Microwave it for 30-60 seconds until thin, like melted peanut butter. The bag may be hot, so wrap it in a small towel. Snip a hole in the corner of the bag and squeeze about 1 1/2 teaspoons of caramel into the centers of 24 cookies. Tap the cookies gently to help the caramel fill in the entire indention.
- While the caramel is still a little tacky, sprinkle each cookie with course sea salt. Repeat this process with the remaining caramel OR with melted Nutella and fill the remaining 24 cookies.
- Allow the Dulce de Leche and/or Nutella to cool for a little while before serving, so the centers can set.
Hi – I am planning to make these tonight for a cookie party, but suddenly it occurs to me these are cookies without flour, baking powder or eggs? How do they rise?
Hi Colleen,
There is flour listed in the recipe, but you are right about the baking powder and eggs. This is a strict “butter cookie” recipe so it doesn’t need them to achieve the desired texture. Happy Baking!! :)
Would you keep these in the refrigerator or outside? I am going to give them away in a couple of days and want to make sure they stay fresh. Thanks
Hi Lillian! I would make them ahead, then fill them the day you plan to give them away. They can stay out at room temperature if they are wrapped well.
I was wondering if this can be cut in half without any flavor change. I know some recipes you can’t halve. I wanna try these as a replacement for the girl scout dulce de leche that they just discontinued and don’t think I need 4 dozen just for myself. Lol. Thanks.
Hi Missy, Yes! Cut away. ;)
These are soooo good! I used Salted Caramel Nutella only but have gotten several compliments already! I added one T. of milk because they were a little dry and wouldn’t hold shape but that was the only change I made and they are sooooo yummy! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
How far ahead before christmas can I make these? Also do you cool the cookies before filling them? Thanks!
Hi there! It’s ok to make them 3-5 days before Christmas, and you can fill them while they are still warm. :)
How far ahead can these be made? I’m attending a cookie exchange on dec. 17 and I wanted to make them on the 15th. Also, how long will they keep?
Hi Maria, That should be fine. :)
I made these and after about 12 minutes i smelled something burning. it was my cookies :( oven was on 350 and i used it earlier without any hiccups. I’m upset because i never burn anything :( what did i do wrong?
Bummer! Any chance you mis-measured the sugar? I did that once with this recipe and they went flat and burnt to a crisp. Just a thought… Hope you give them another go, this is one of my favorites!
Sound super yummy…but just for clarification…recipe makes 48 cookies? 2 dozen with Nutella and 2 dozen with Dulce de Leche? You are not adding Nutella on top of Dulce de Leche-correct?
Hi Mo, You got it!
Am I correct in assuming you melt the caramel, sprinkle with salt, melt the Nutella and sprinkle more salt?
Yep! I fill 2 dozen cookies with Nutella and 2 dozen with Dulce de Leche. :)
These look so good. I’m wondering if you have any experience with freezing them. I’d love to make them ahead of time for Christmas, but I’m wondering how well the caramel and salt would freeze.
You know, I wouldn’t chance freezing the filling. What you could do, is make the cookie-bases early and freeze them. Then thaw and fill the centers the day you want to serve them.
I love a little sea salt on cookies – it tames the sweetness and makes them so much better!
Love it! Dulce de Leche & Nutella oh my.