Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies will be the highlight of the holidays! These tasty cookies are easy to make and perfect for a cookie exchange!
Serve these Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies on a platter and watch how quickly they become the talk of the night! If you’ve been searching around for an easy thumbprint cookies recipe, then look no more! Our decadent cookie confections are loved by all ages and can be enjoyed all year long.
Especially during the winter season, when many are looking for a warm pick-me-up or a sugary treat, these thumbprint cookies come in handy.
Why You Will Love These Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
- They’re made with ingredients easily found in your pantry
- Nut-free
- Refrigerator & freezer friendly
And I’d like to think that the vanilla + cocoa + brown sugar mixture has something to do with it. The vanilla has a smooth yet heady aroma that blends perfectly with the cocoa, as vanilla already has a hint of cocoa in its flavoring. Topping it off with the warm tones of brown sugar, you can see why our Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are quickly gobbled up.
Pairing these thumbprint cookies with icing, or in our case- Ganache- adds even more excitement to this dish! The ganache is made up of chocolate chips and heavy cream, which melts in your mouth on the first bite. Which is perfect should you be feasting on these while awaiting dinner or playing with the kids, as they are guaranteed to stick with you for a long time.
And speaking of the kids, you won’t have any problems getting them to try these bite-sized chocolate delights. They are kid-approved! As a holiday treat, I like to pair these with our Fall Thanksgiving Cookies, as the kiddos have a blast decorating and painting them while munching on thumbprints. They have the option of designing turkeys or pumpkins or pie, which becomes so much fun that you’ll be tempted to join in.
How to Make Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Now a question we get a lot is, does the type of chocolate used matter? The type of chocolate doesn’t matter— as long as it’s fresh! We used traditional chocolate chips; however, you can make Hershey Kisses Thumbprint Cookies with this same recipe! You will only need to swap out the chocolates to recreate them, which is a blessing for the baking substitution department.
Thumbprint Cookie Ingredients
- Butter
- Sugar
- Brown sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Flour
- Cocoa
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Chocolate chips
- Heavy cream
- Corn syrup
Tips
- You may want to slightly underbake these cookies so that they don’t become hard or tough to chew after cooling. 3-5 minutes should be fine without any worry.
- When making the chocolate ganache, we recommend using an immersion blender instead of whisking to get a smooth consistency w/o any lumps.
Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Description
Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies will be the highlight of the holidays after getting a taste of our signature chocolate chip syrup!
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ⅔ cup flour
- ½ cup cocoa
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Ganache
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Add the butter, sugar and brown sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- Beat together on high speed for 2 minutes.
- Add in the eggs and vanilla and beat together.
- Add in the remaining ingredients and beat together for 30 seconds or until completely incorporated.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place into the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.
- Once chilled, remove from the fridge and uncover.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Roll the dough into 2-3 Tbs sized balls.
- Place onto a parchment lined baking sheet, about 3 ½” apart.
- Use your thumb to press the dough down in the center to create a well where the chocolate ganache will go once the cookies are baked.
- Place the cookies into the oven to bake for 9 minutes. The cookies will still be soft to the touch.
- Remove from the oven and place onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once the cookies are cooled, make the chocolate filling.
- Place the chocolate chips and butter in a medium sized mixing bowl.
- Heat the heavy cream in a heat safe bowl, in the microwave for 1 minute.
- Pour over the butter and chocolate chips. Let set for 2 minutes to allow the chocolate chips to melt.
- Mix together until smooth.
- Add in the corn syrup and vanilla and whisk until incorporated.
- Spoon the mixture into a piping bag. Cut the end of the piping bag to make a nickel sized hole.
- Pipe the chocolate into the center wells of the cookies.
- Let set for 20 minutes to allow the chocolate to firm up slightly before serving.
