Chocolate Turtle Cookies

I've been looking for another sweet recipe to bake after making the Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats three times in the past two weeks at Mikey's request. As delicious as they are, it's a bit repetitive, hah.
As soon as I saw these turtle cookies over at Closet Cooking, I knew that they would be great with some home-made cajeta. I decided to make another batch of the gooey goodness especially for these cookies!
These cookies turned out amazing! The pecans and the cajeta marry so well together- I love the contrast between the crunch of the nuts and the creaminess of the cajeta.
I highly recommend them, whether you bake them for a holiday party, or just for you and yours to snack on .

Chocolate Turtle Cookies

recipe slightly adapted from here

ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp coarse salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tbsp milk (I used goat's milk to compliment the cajeta)
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1 cup pecans, finely chopped
• 2 large egg whites
• 24 tsp cajeta
• 24 pecan halves, toasted

1. Mix the flour, cocoa, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk, milk, and vanilla.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Lay plastic wrap directly over the dough and refrigerate for at least an hour.
4. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
5. In a small bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy.
6. Form the dough into 1 inch balls (I weighed each of mine out at 0.8 ounces). Dip the balls into the egg whites and then in the chopped pecans.
7. Place the balls of dough onto the lined baking sheet, pecan side up. Indent the center of the balls with a spoon or finger. 
8. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, rotating halfway through.
9. Fill each cookie with about a teaspoon or so of the cajeta, and top with a toasted pecan half.