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Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

Chocolate thumbprint cookies are rich and chewy dark chocolate cookies with velvety smooth chocolate ganache centers.
4.97 from 89 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour
Servings 34 cookies

Ingredients
 

For the Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

  • 1 ½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled see notes
  • ½ cup (40 g) cocoa powder Dutch process
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ cup (168 g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup (165 g) light brown sugar, packed
  • ¼ cup (50 g) granulated white sugar
  • 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
  • 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract

For the Chocolate Ganache

  • 1 cup (200 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • ½ cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream
  • nonpareils for sprinkling on top optional

Instructions
 

For the Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

  • Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Add flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder to a medium sized bowl. Whisk to combine, then set aside.
  • Add butter, brown sugar and granulated white sugar to a large bowl. Cream together with an electric mixer for two minutes.
  • Add the egg yolks and vanilla to the butter/sugar mixture and mix until pale in color and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
  • Add in the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
  • Scoop the dough into 34 portions, then roll into balls. (About 1 tablespoon of dough.)
  • Transfer the dough to the baking sheets.
  • Using a ¼ tsp, press down on the dough balls to create an indent.
  • Chill the prepared indented dough balls for at least one hour. (You can chill all the dough together on one baking sheet and then separate it out on multiple baking sheets when ready to bake.)

Baking the Cookies

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Arrange the prepared dough about 1 ½ inches apart on the baking sheets.
  • Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes. (I think 10 minutes is perfect.)
  • When the cookies are done baking, lightly press down on the centers again with a ¼ tsp. (They may have lost their indent a little as they baked.) Go around them in a circular motion with a circular cookie cutter/biscuit cutter while they are still hot to give them a perfect circular shape, and to get them back to their original smaller size.
  • Then let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer them to a cooling rack to completely cool.

For the Chocolate Ganache

  • Add the chocolate chips to a small bowl.
  • Heat the heavy cream in the microwave, or on the stove, until just about boiling.
  • Pour the heavy cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for 1 minute.
  • Stir to combine the cream and chocolate together.

Assembling the Cookies

  • Fill each well of the cookies with about 1 teaspoon of ganache, more if it'll fit.
  • Sprinkle sprinkles over the cookies if you wish.
  • Chill the cookies in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to allow the ganache to set.
  • Store left overs in an air tight container for up to three days.

Notes

Measure your flour properly. This is always my #1 baking tip. Do not ever scoop a measuring cup into your flour. This will always lead to using too much flour. (Trust me, I've learned the hard way that I need to measure properly!) Instead, sprinkle spoonfuls of flour into your measuring cup and swipe excess flour off with the back of a knife. Or better yet, weigh your flour. 1 cup of flour equals 125 grams.
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