Chocolate Caramel Thumbprints

I was flicking through my cookery books and spied these in Martha Stewarts 'Cookies' and thought they looked very inviting. She had made a chocolate filling to place in the little indents but I really wanted some caramel too as I love the combination. I had a jar of dulce de leche so I decided to pop that in too. They are a lovely wee mouthful and very quick and easy to make. I made another batch adding cocoa powder to the dough and they were lovely too. I didn't use a mixer as there was no need. If the butter is nice and soft it can be mixed easily in a bowl.

Ingredients

Makes 41/2 dozen

1 cup 2 sticks /8oz plus 6 tblsps unsalted butter
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 teaspoons corn syrup
Dulce de leche or other caramel if using

Directions

Heat oven to 350.F/180.C/Gas4
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together 2 sticks butter , sugar, salt, and vanilla on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in flour, beginning on low speed and increasing to medium high.
Roll dough by teaspoonfuls into balls, and place 1 inch apart on lined baking sheets .
Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven, and press thumb into tops of cookies to make indentations. Return to oven, and bake until light brown on the edges, 7 to 9 minutes more. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
Combine chocolate, 6 tablespoons butter, and corn syrup in a small heat-proof bowl. Set over a pot of simmering water; stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Allow to cool slightly. When cookies are cool,place a little dulce de leche (if using) in each indent then fill the thumbprints with the chocolate mixture.

How Martha Stewart managed to get 41/2 dozen cookies is beyond me. I managed 28.