These Salted Caramel Almond Thumbprint Butter Cookies will quickly become your favorite. Light, buttery and crisp and topped with the most perfect salted caramel sauce and crunchy almonds.
Combine butter, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add flour; beat at low speed, until well mixed. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm.
Heat oven to 350°F.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Make indentation in center of each cookie with thumb (edges may crack slightly).
Bake 14-18 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let stand 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to cooling rack. Cool completely.
Scoop ½ teaspoon of cooled caramel sauce to fill the center each cookie, top with an almond and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.