Argentine Thumbprint Cookie broken in halfRecently, I have become a keen drinker of Mate. Despite the fact that Mate suppresses the appetite, I always enjoy a sweet accompaniment, just as I do with my tea and coffee. Argentines are famous for their love of intense flavours and their love of dulce de leche, as I mentioned in a previous post. They drink their Mate very bitter. I drink Mate differently from the Latin Americans, with more water and much less yerba, in order to accommodate my sensitive palate.
Yerba Mate I have always thought that 'thumbprint cookies' were cute. I had a browse on the internet and found that there are not many thumbprint cookies with dulce de leche. Argentine alfajores (which I sampled in Barcelona) generally consist of two shortbread cookies joined together with a filling of dulce de leche and dusted with desiccated coconut. I decided to transfer this idea into thumbprint cookies (as they are just adorable).
Argentine Thumbprint Cookies before cookingI followed a shortbread recipe that I found on the internet which called for equal parts of butter and flour. The dough felt extremely oily so I added in some more flour before I shaped the cookies. Unfortunately, the cookies turned out a lot bigger and less 'adorable' than I had anticipated/hoped for.
Argentine Thumbprint CookiesI tried again and this time managed to burn them. They were still worthy of being eaten, but definitely not worthy for the blog.
Dulce de leche centreSo, I tried for a third time and finally I had success! I creamed 125g of butter with 55g of sugar. I then mixed in 180g of flour and shaped the dough into small balls. I coated the balls with desiccated coconut, placed them onto a baking tray and pushed my thumb into the centre to create 'bowls' for the dulce de leche. After baking them until they were golden brown (around 10 minutes at 180°C), I filled the thumbprints with dulce de leche and added an extra dusting of coconut. They were small, cute and very tasty.
Argentine Thumbprint CookieIs anyone else, out there, a Mate drinker?
I have never heard of Mate, so no, not a drinker, yet! Those cookies are awesome, absolutely divine. Quite similar to millionaires shortbread I made, except that chocolate is replaced with coconut.
ReplyDeletethey look really good! I know.. dulce de leche is really the best and they add it in almost every dessert they possibly can, from bread, cookies, ice cream, etc
ReplyDeleteAll of your pictures are so pretty! And these cookies look really good!
ReplyDeleteI know the pain of making a recipe several times to get it right. These were worth it. They came out beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThose look divine! what woderful cookies.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Rosa
I've never drunk Mate, but I'd drink it if it came with these pretty little treats!
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of Mate but have just done some internet research - I hope you are ok drinking this Hazel!
ReplyDeleteThe dulce de leche has been put to very good use and the cookies look a real treat.
You will have to let us know how you achieve such wonderful photographs.
PS give me a shout every time you post!
Never heard of Mate (where do you get it?) but the cookies look delicious!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nic! Unfortunately, I haven't found anywhere to buy it in England. My boyfriend brought some to California and then I brought some more back from Spain!
ReplyDeleteNow to make these three times is true dedication! They look really cute and sound absolutely delicious. i love shortbread anyway and this sounds like a great variation. Am intrigued by mate now and will have to go and find out what it is and yerba for that matter.
ReplyDeleteIt's a type of holly apparently - sounds intriguing. I like the way it's meant to be drunk through a straw to seive out the leaves. Doesn't look as though it's going to be easily available in the UK though.
ReplyDeletewe've got some ridiculous tiny teabags with mate-tea in germany - no comparision to real mate! hazel your cookies look temptingly good, extremely sweet things hah ? :)
ReplyDeleteThe cookies look delicious!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Choclette. Sorry for my rather delayed reply! My boyfriend brought me some yerba from Argentina and then I found some in Spain, but I am yet to find it in England. I think it is only available on the internet but the postage is extortionate! Fortunately, I love many different types of hot drinks, so I haven't ran out of yerba just yet!
ReplyDeleteThese look great!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Mate but I love learning about new things. These cookies look amazing!! I've always wanted to make thumbprint cookies too. Well done for trying 3 times, I probably would have given up before then!
ReplyDeleteMy mom loves thumbprint cookies. I bet she would love these!
ReplyDeleteMmmm, dulce de leche filled thumbprints - my idea of heaven.
ReplyDelete