Peppermint Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies Recipes

CHOCOLATE-PEPPERMINT THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl; set aside.
• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
• Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in two batches, beating until just combined after each addition. Mix in the chocolate chips.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough and roll into smooth round balls. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 ̊. Bake the cookies until just set, 9 to 11 minutes. (Don't overbake!) Let cool slightly, then press the handle of a wooden spoon into the center of each cookie to make a small indentation. Remove the cookies to a rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, melt the milk chocolate in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon melted chocolate into the center of each cookie and top with crushed peppermints. Let set.

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT THUMBPRINTS

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl. Set aside.
• In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, add the milk, and mix on low until combined. The cookie dough will be thick.
• Roll balls of dough, a little less than 1 Tablespoon each (about 1 inch balls), and roll each into remaining 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar. Place dough balls onto a large lined baking sheet. Using your thumb or the end of a spatula (see post above), make an indent into each cookie. If you find that the balls are cracking when you make an indent, use your hands to push back together. (Some cracks are bound to happen as the cookies expand in the oven- see my photos. No worries there!)
• Chill the shaped cookies for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator or 1 hour in the freezer (or up to 4 days in the refrigerator). Cover them if chilling for longer than 3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Remove chilled and shaped cookies from the refrigerator. Divide between both baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 2-3 inches apart. This recipe yields about 30 cookies, so you'll have a 3rd batch with only a few cookies on the sheet.
• Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are set. The cookies will still look and feel a little soft. Remove from the oven. The indents will have lost some shape or have puffed up, so use the end of a spatula to make an indent again into the warm cookies.
• Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before filling with ganache.
• Place chocolate into a heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it begins to gently simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil- that's too hot!) Pour over chocolate and let it sit for 2-3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate. Slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted. Stir in the peppermint extract. Taste and add another drop if desired. (It's potent so don't go overboard!) Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before spooning into cookies.
• Spoon 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of ganache into each indentation. I fit about 3/4 teaspoon into each. Sprinkle ganache with crushed candy canes. Ganache will thicken inside the cookies and set on the tops after a few hours, but will still be creamy when you bite into the cookies.
• Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

KETO CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• In a stand mixer combine dry ingredients.
• Add egg, extract and cream cheese.
• Combine until a soft dough forms.
• Add half of the chocolate chips and mix.
• Use a small cookie scoop to place walnut size balls of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
• Use your thumb to create an indentation in the centre of each cookie.
• Bake for 12 mins at 350.
• Repress thumbprints if needed.
• In a small pot melt remaining chocolate chips and add cream. Mix until completely combined and smooth.
• Spoon chocolate into centre of cookies.
• Top with crushed peppermint.

DARK CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT PATTY THUMBPRINTS

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar. Cream until light and fluffy.
• Beat in egg yolk, milk, vanilla, and peppermint extract.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, and salt. Blend well.
• Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the mixing bowl. Mix until well-blended.
• Refrigerate for 1 hour or until dough easily forms into a ball.
• Shape into balls slightly larger than 1-inch.
• Pour the sprinkles into a small bowl, and roll each ball in the sprinkles until well-coated.
• Place each ball 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets.
• Press an indentation in the center of each dough ball using your thumb.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until set when you lightly touch an edge (carefully).
• Remove from oven and allow to cool on pan for 1-2 minutes.
• Press a peppermint patty into the middle of the cookie, into the indentation.
• Remove cookies from pans with a spatula, and cool completely on wire racks.

CHOCOLATE-PEPPERMINT THUMBPRINTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together flour, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Beat together sugar, butter, oil, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended, about 3 minutes. Add egg, and beat until combined. Add flour mixture; beat on low speed until just combined.
• Shape dough into 36 balls (1 tablespoon each). Arrange dough balls 2 inches apart on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Lightly press each dough ball to flatten slightly, and make a "thumbprint" impression in dough balls by gently pressing your thumb or the handle of a wooden spoon in center of each ball. Bake at 350°F until set, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and cool on baking sheets set on a wire rack for 3 minutes. Transfer cookies directly to wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place chocolate chips in a medium microwavable bowl. Microwave at high until chocolate melts, about 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds. Whisk tahini into melted chocolate until smooth. Spoon about 1 teaspoon chocolate mixture into impression of each cookie. Sprinkle with crushed peppermints. Let stand until set, about 1 hour (or chill 20 minutes to quickly set filling). Store in an airtight container up to 3 days.

CHEF DALE'S CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• In stand mixer or if using hand mixer, beat butter for 1 minute. Add egg and vanilla; beat for another 2 minutes.
• Add in all dry ingredients except for candy canes. Beat until the dough starts to come together, for about 1 minute. Form into ball; knead once or twice until smooth.
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for 1 hour. While dough is resting, finely chop up your candy canes for later.
• Roll dough by 1 tbsp into 20 balls.
• Place, about 1-inch apart, on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Press a thumb mark in the middle of each ball about halfway down to form wells.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) until no longer shiny, about 6-8 minutes.
• When cookies have just come out of the oven, sprinkle each thumbprint well with candy cane pieces. Let cool and enjoy.

PEPPERMINT CHOCOLATE GANACHE THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375F
• Mix the butter and sugars together
• Add the eggs, vanilla, and salt
• Stir in the flour and baking powder gradually until a dough forms
• Grab 1 tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball then flatten
• Use thumbs to make a large indent in the cookies
• Bake for about 12 minutes then let sit on the pan for another 5
• Transfer to a wire cooling rack until completely cool
• Combine chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl and melt, 30 seconds at a time, until they are fully melted
• Let the ganache rest for about 5 minutes, then drop a spoonful on each cookie
• Top with crushed peppermint candies

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Place the vegan butter and powdered sugar into the bowl of a stand alone mixer or a large mixing bowl if using a handheld mixer. Beat the butter and powdered sugar together until well combined, about 1-2 minutes. Add in the vanilla extract and mix until combined. Mix in the flour and sea salt until a dough forms.
• Seaparte the dough into 14 evenly sized balls and place them on the baking sheets about 1 -2 inches apart. They won't spread. Use the back of a teaspoon sized measuring spoon to press the balls down and make an indent in the center. Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to continue cooling.
• Once cooled, melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a heat proof bowl over a small pot of simmering water. Stir the chocolate every so often until completely melted and then remove it from the heat.
• Fill the cavities of the cookies with chocolate. Let them cool at room temperature for 10-15 mintues before topping with peppermint candies to ensure the candies won't sink into the chocolate.
• Allow the chocolate to continue to cool at room temperature until solid, about 1 hour.

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• In a stand mixer (or by hand in a large bowl) cream together butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla.
• Add flour, cocoa, and salt to butter and mix until just combined.
• Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes to an hour.
• When dough has chilled, shape it into 1 inch balls. I like to use a small cookie scoop to make sure they're all evenly sized.
• Roll each ball in powdered sugar until it's lightly coated. Place 1 inch apart on a lightly greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet (you can also use a Silpat or nonstick baking mat for this!)
• Lightly press down on each cookie with your thumb to make an indent.
• Bake cookies at 350 degrees F for 9 minutes.
• Remove cookies from oven and let cool on a wire rack until they're cool to the touch, about 30 minutes. If the indents in the cookies puff up in the oven, gently push them back down with the back of a spoon.
• Melt semi sweet chocolate in a double boiler (or in the microwave, just be careful to stir frequently so chocolate doesn't burn) until it's smooth.
• Spoon a dollop of semi-sweet chocolate into the center of each cookie.
• Sprinkle a few pieces of crushed candy cane on top of the chocolate cookie centers while the chocolate is still warm. Let chocolate set for 30 minutes to an hour.
• Melt dark chocolate over a double boiler (or in the microwave) until smooth.
• Place melted dark chocolate in a pastry bag with a small tip. (You could also put it in a plastic bag and snip a small piece of the corner off).
• Pipe dark chocolate over cookies in a zig-zag motion. Let set until chocolate has cooled and serve!
• Store cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week.