Salted Dulce de Leche Coconut Thumbprints

My husband and our youngest son, Ryan, go nuts for coconut. I have tried several coconut cookies over the years in an effort to please the coconut lovers in our house but I was never completely happy with the results. This is the 5th coconut cookie recipe that I have tried and I am extremely happy with the results. I adjusted the recipe somewhat. Instead of making my own caramel filling, I opted to use a very good jarred Dulce de Leche spread. It is thicker than my own caramel sauce or the jarred ice-cream topping I have found in my super market. I used a jar of Gaucho Ranch Dulce de Leche that I found at Cost Plus. This same brand can be found on Amazon. Trader Joe's also has a very good jarred version that is equally as good and can also be purchased on Amazon.

3 sticks of butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
12 oz sweetened flaked coconut
1 15 oz jar of dulce de leche
fluer de sel (coarse sea salt)

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with silpats or parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour and beat until just combined. Using a cookie scoop, form the dough into 1 inch balls. Place the eggs in a shallow dish and the coconut in another shallow dish. Roll each ball of dough into the beaten eggs and then into the coconut. Place the cookies onto the baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Using your thumb, gently press down onto the center of each cookie to make an indentation. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and using the back of a small spoon, repress the indentation. Return the cookies to the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Spoon a small amount of  dulce de leche into the center of each cookie and sprinkle a small amount of fluer de sel over the dulce de leche. Allow the cookies to cool completely and store in an air tight container, placing waxed paper between each layer of cookies.