Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies Recipe

These soft chocolate thumbprint cookies are filled with chocolate ganache and topped with Christmas sprinkles! If you are looking for cookies to make for Christmas and the holiday season, look no far, these are incredible.

These chocolate thumbprint cookies are my new favorite Christmas cookie to make and eat! These definitely disappear quickly because they are so addictive and chocolaty.
These chocolate thumbprint cookies will melt in your mouth. These are soft and fudgy and every chocolate's lover dream. Honestly, I can't stop thinking about these cookies every day.

If you like making cookies in the holiday season and especially at Christmas time, you should check out our favorite cookies recipes like our chewy chocolate chip cookies, chocolate crinkle cookies, no-bake cookies, snowball cookies, and our M&M cookies!

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These chocolate thumbprint cookies are:

• Extremely easy to make.
• These chocolate thumbprint cookies will melt in your mouth.
• Every chocolate lover's dream cookie!
• Extra soft and filled with chocolate ganache.
• Easily satisfies your cookie craving.
• Fits perfectly in your cookies tray for Christmas.
• Made with simple ingredients!

Chocolate thumbprint cookies ingredients:

Before you start to make this chocolate thumbprint cookies recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of these delicious cookies.
Dutch cocoa powder– we like to use Dutch-process cocoa powder for our brownies because we like the deep and rich chocolate taste, but the natural cocoa powder will work great as well!
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe. cake flour will work great as well.
Baking powder – baking powder helps the cookies rise and spread. Make sure that your baking powder isn’t expired. Don’t replace the baking powder with baking soda!
Granulated sugar– we like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Brown sugar- adds a caramelly flavor and chewy texture to the cookies. use either light brown sugar or dark brown sugar.
Eggs- you will need 1 large egg for this recipe. Make sure that your egg is at room temperature.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor.
Kosher salt- you will need about ⅓ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
Milk- we used whole milk in this recipe, but you can feel free to use your favorite type of milk.
For the chocolate ganache:
Chocolate- use the best quality semisweet or dark chocolate bars for the best flavor. using the best quality dark chocolate is very important in this recipe. The chocolate is what gives this hot chocolate the flavor so it’s very important to use high-quality dark chocolate.
Heavy cream- use full-fat heavy cream for this recipe. the heavy cream makes this french hot chocolate extra creamy and silky.
Christmas sprinkles- you can use any type of sprinkles in this recipe, but we wanted these to be extra festive so we used our favorite Christmas sprinkles.

How to make chocolate thumbprint cookies:

In a big mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder. Mix with a whisk until combined and set aside.
Into a big mixing bowl, or in a bowl of a stand mixer, add the room temperature butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar, and cream it for 2-3 minutes or until it’s creamy and light in color.
Add the egg, vanilla extract, milk, and salt. Mix until well combined.

Sift half of the dry ingredients and mix until almost combined. Add the other half of the dry ingredients. Mix until the mixture is just combined and you cant see pockets of flour.
Cover the dough bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in the fridge for at least an hour. We let the dough rest in the fridge overnight but it’s not a must.
Using an ice cream scooper, scoop out balls and roll them into balls. Using your thumb or a teaspoon, make indents to each cookie.

Bake the cookies in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10 minutes. Don't overbake these cookies so they will stay soft!
We bake these cookies without the ganache, unlike other thumbprint cookies recipe that usually uses jam, so the cookies may lose shape in the oven. When you take the cookies out of the oven, immediately reshape the cookies using a spoon or your thumb.

How to make chocolate ganache:

Melt dark chocolate and heavy cream in a small to medium mixing bowl in the microwave for about 50 seconds.
Let the chocolate and the cream sit for 10 minutes for the chocolate to melt, then mix until the chocolate ganache is smooth and silky.
Fill each cookie with a teaspoon of chocolate ganache and top with sprinkles! Enjoy!

Tips for this chocolate thumbprint cookies recipe:

• Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
• Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
• Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
• Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
• Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cookies release easily from the pan.
• Use a cookies scoop to scoop out the cookies, that way you will have even-sized cookies, plus it ensures that your cookies bake evenly
• Sift your flour! sifting your flour is a very important step when baking and making cookies. Use a fine-mesh sifter to sift out the flour. e also recommend sifting your cocoa powder. Cocoa powder tends to have big lumps, so we always sift the cocoa powder to make sure that there won’t be any cocoa lumps in the mixture.
• Make sure that you are using fresh ingredients! One of the most common mistakes in baking and making cookies is not noticing that your baking powder or baking soda is expired. This can ruin your cookies and waste your time and money on the ingredients. So every time you bake anything, make sure that the ingredients are not expired.
• Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
• Chill the dough! This step is crucial and prevents the cookies to spread out too much. After making the cookie dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean towel, and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
• Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat these cookies as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cookies cool for at least 15 minutes so they will be more firm and won’t crumble up. We suggest letting these cookies cool for 5 minutes and then transferring them to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 more minutes. This step ensures that the bottom of your cookies will not be soggy from the steam.

Chocolate thumbprint cookies frequently asked questions:

Do I have to chill the thumbprint chocolate cookies dough?

Yes! we baked these cookies plenty of times when we were in a rush and couldn’t wait for the cookie dough to chill, and they tasted good of course, but when they are chilled, they taste AMAZING! Here is why you should chill your cookie dough:

• The first and the most important reason to chill the cookie dough is to let it cool. This step stops the cookies from spreading too much in the oven. Cold dough results in thicker cookies.
• The second important reason to chill the cookie dough is to let all the amazing flavors come together and create a rich cookie flavor.

How do I store these chocolate thumbprint cookies?

It’s okay to store these cookies at room temperature. Make sure that you store them in an airtight container.

Why are my chocolate thumbprint cookies flat?

If your chocolate thumbprint cookies come out flat, that may be from a few reasons:

• You didn’t chill the dough for long enough. It is very important to chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. This step is crucial and prevents the cookies to spread out too much. After making the cookie dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean towel, and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
• You didn’t add enough flour. One of the most common mistakes when making cooking is not adding enough flour or adding too much flour. This step is crucial and prevents the cookies to spread out too much. After making the cookie dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean towel, and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
• Your baking powder may have expired. It is very important to make sure that you are using fresh ingredients when baking. So before starting to make any recipe, make sure that your ingredients are fresh and not expired.

How long will these chocolate thumbprint cookies last?

These chocolate thumbprint cookies will last for up to 5 days stored at room temperature in an airtight container.

What cocoa powder do you use for these cookies?

We wanted to make these cookies extra chocolaty and rich in chocolate flavor, so we used dutch cocoa powder in this recipe. When using dutch cocoa powder, you will need to swap the classic baking soda with baking powder so the two won’t crash.
If you want to use the regular cocoa powder you can definitely do that and these cookies will still turn out amazing!

Baking chocolate thumbprint cookies without ganache:

Most thumbprint cookies bake with the filling in it like jam. But these cookies are different because baking chocolate ganache will simply cook and burn the ganache and that's not a pretty thing. So we bake the chocolate thumbprint cookies without the filling.
Since the cookies are baking without filling in them, they may rise and lose their shape. The simple solution is immediately when you take the cookies out of the oven, using your thumb or a teaspoon (probably a teaspoon is a better idea because they will be hot) and press the center down to create an indent.

Can I freeze chocolate thumbprint cookie dough?

Yes! we love freezing this chocolate thumbprint cookies dough, and we do it all the time. Simply, follow the instructions as written and make the dough balls, then transfer the dough balls into a freezer-friendly airtight ziplock bag, and freeze the cookie dough ball for up to 3 months. When ready to bake the cookies, bake them right away, no need to thaw. Add an extra minute or so for the baking time.

Can I make this chocolate thumbprint cookies recipe dairy-free?

Yes! it’s easy to make this chocolate thumbprint cookies recipe dairy-free. Simply replace the butter with vegan butter. Do not margarine! margarine has a bad flavor and it can ruin the flavor of these cookies.

How to make a chocolate ganache for chocolate thumbprint cookies:

Making chocolate ganache is super simple and takes only 2 ingredients to make. There are two ways to make the chocolate ganache. Either on the stovetop or in the microwave.
If you are making the chocolate ganache in the microwave, simply chop or cut the chocolate bars into small pieces so it will be easier for the chocolate to melt, and add the chocolate and the heavy cream into a medium heatproof bowl.
Microwave for 30 seconds and mix, repeat if needed. We do about 3 30 second bursts.
If you are making the chocolate ganache on the stovetop, fill a small saucepan and fill it halfway with boiling water. Place the chopped chocolate and heavy cream in a heat-proof mixing bowl, and place the bowl on top of the saucepan. (bein marine)
Mix constantly until the chocolate is melted into the heavy cream and a chocolate ganache is formed. Mix well and take your time until the chocolate ganache is smooth and silky.

What flour do you use for these hot chocolate cookies?

We use all-purpose flour for these cookies. Cake flour will work great as well.

Can I add different toppings to these chocolate thumbprint cookies?

YES! Use your favorite toppings or sprinkles in this recipe! To make these cookies your own, you can add your favorite kind of toppings to these cookies.
Here are some topping ideas:

• Chopped nuts.
• Caramel bits.
• White chocolate chips.
• Milk chocolate chips.
• Dark chocolate chips.
• Chocolate chunks.
• Pretzels.
• M&M’s

Tools in this chocolate thumbprint cookies recipe:

• Mixing bowl (set of 3)
• Whisk Set (pack of 3) to whisk the ingredients together
• Baking sheet and rack set (our fave)
• Cookies scoop set of 3 (the best cookie scoop we used)

More Christmas cookie recipes to try:

Chewy chocolate chip cookies- These chewy chocolate chip cookies are soft and chewy and loaded with chocolate chips. This chewy chocolate chip cookies recipe is our dream dessert that we never get sick of.
White chocolate cranberry cookies- These white chocolate cranberry cookies are soft, chewy, have crispy edges, and are the perfect cookies for Christmas and the holiday season.
Hot chocolate cookies- These chewy and soft hot chocolate cookies are made with mini marshmallows and will remind you of a cup of hot chocolate!
No-bake cookies- These no-bake cookies are probably the easiest cookies to make, they are made with the best chocolate and peanut butter combo, and have the most amazing chewy and fudgy texture.
Chocolate crinkle cookies- Chocolate crinkle cookies are soft and fudgy chocolate cookies covered with crispy powder sugar outer layer.
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