These Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are buttery, rich, and nutty. With chocolate ganache in the center of each butter pecan cookie, these sweets are going to become your favorite dessert.
If you like these cookies, you’re going to love these Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies and S’mores Cookies.
Table Of Contents
Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies Recipe Details
I love this delicious dessert because it’s perfect for the holidays, but also easy and yummy enough to be enjoyed any time of the year. You just can’t beat these gorgeously simple cookies.
- TASTE: These Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are made with buttery cookie dough and rich chocolate ganache. The addition of toasted pecans is so scrumptious.
- TEXTURE: Crunchy nuts, crumbly cookie, and thick ganache, these cookies are sinfully good. The cookie base and chocolate center strike the perfect balance.
- TIME: This recipe will take about 40 minutes to make.
- EASE: Making these Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies is really simple. The easy to follow instructions will make your bake time a breeze.
What you’ll need
- Wet ingredients- Butter, Granulated sugar, Egg yolk, and Vanilla extract
- Dry ingredients- Salt, All purpose flour, and Pecans (toasted and finely chopped)
- Ganache- Semisweet chocolate chips and Heavy cream
How to Make Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
- Combine the wet ingredients. Using an electric mixer, beat the softened butter with the sugar in a large mixing bowl. Then add the egg yolk and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients. Then, add the flour, salt, and chopped toasted pecans to the cookie dough mixture and mix well until everything is thoroughly incorporated.
- Scoop the dough and shape it. Using a cookie scoop, scrape out mounds for each cookie and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Then, using either your thumb or the back of a teaspoon measure, make a dent in the top of each cookie.
- Bake. In a 350-degree-Fahrenheit oven, bake the thumbprint cookies for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Make the ganache. In a glass bowl, place the chocolate chips and add 6 tablespoons of boiling hot heavy cream. Whisk until it becomes smooth and creamy.
- Pipe the chocolate. Take a piping bag and fill it with the ganache. Snip off the tip and pipe the chocolate into each dent in the thumbprint cookies.
- Let cool. Let the ganache cool for about an hour before serving.
Pro Tip: Use boiling hot heavy cream because you want the chocolate to melt quickly and incorporate with the cream without seizing, creating a smooth and silky ganache.
Recipe Tips
- Use softened butter- This mixes much better with flour and sugar, giving you a well-combined cookie dough. It will also give the cookies some rise so the thumbprint is deep enough to hold the ganache.
- Toast the nuts- This brings out the natural oils of the nut, making them taste and look better, and also making them crunchier.
- Measure flour carefully- Too much flour can result in too-hard cookies, and too little can cause your dough to spread too much while it bakes. So, carefully measure your ingredients.
- Room temperature egg yolks- The ingredients come together better when they are not too cold. If you forget to take out the eggs, you can warm them by placing them in a bowl of warm water 5-10 minutes before you separate the yolks.
Add-ins and Substitutions
- Substitute jam- These traditional Swedish cookies were made with raspberry jam. In place of the chocolate ganache, you can use Strawberry Jam (no pectin), preserves, or any jam you like.
- Add mint- Mint chocolate is an amazing combination, so add some mint extract to the ganache for a minty sweet treat during the holidays.
- Substitute different nuts– Besides pecans, you can also make these with toasted walnuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, or pistachios.
- Make them gluten-free- These Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are really easy to make without gluten. Just substitute the flour for a gluten-free baking flour, 1:1.
FAQs
That depends on what type of thumbprint cookies you are making. If you are making thumbprint cookies with jam in the center, then you will want to fill them before. But for this recipe with chocolate ganache, you should fill them after.
The three things to do for the best homemade ganache is to use hot heavy cream to melt the chocolate and avoid it seizing; whisk continuously to keep the ganache smooth and avoid it burning; and not add too much cream, which will thin it out. Doing these things will guarantee great ganache.
Serving Suggestions
These Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are buttery and sweet with creamy ganache in the center. With such simple and elegant flavors, they can be served with almost anything.
- Meats: These cookies can follow a savory meal of Cast Iron Ribeye Steak, Juicy Thanksgiving Turkey, or Barbecue Pork Ribs.
- Cookies: Add these to a cookie tray for a holiday party along with Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (VIDEO), White Chocolate Florentine Cookies ( lace cookies), and Linzer Cookies with Raspberry Jam.
- Cakes: A slice of cake with Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies would be a perfect dessert. Serve them with Easy Oreo Cheesecake (VIDEO), Tiramisu (VIDEO), or Chocolate Mousse Cake with Raspberry.
- Coffee: Enjoy these cookies with hot coffee or a homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte. Or for something cold, try this Iced Caramel Macchiato.
Make these Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies in Advance
Make-Ahead: You can make these cookies ahead of time and store them at room temperature or in the fridge. They can also be frozen and defrosted when needed.
Storing: Store these Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies in an airtight container, with a piece of parchment paper in between each layer, at room temperature or in the fridge. They will last for up to 1 week.
Freeze: Freeze these cookies once they have completely cooled by placing them on a baking sheet to freeze solid. They transfer them to a ziplock bag or airtight container with parchment paper between layers to avoid them sticking together. They can be frozen for up to 3 months.
More Decadent Cookies!
- Monster Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- White Chocolate Florentine Cookies
- Meringue Cookies with Berries and Cream
- Double Chocolate Cookies (VIDEO)
Full Recipe Instructions
Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
Thumbprint cookies
- 1 1/2 cups butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup pecans toasted and finely chopped
Ganache
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 6 tbsp heavy cream
Instructions
- Beat the softened butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer.
- Then mix in the egg yolk and vanilla extract.
- Lastly, mix in flour, salt, and chopped toasted pecans. Mix those ingredients until well incorporated.
- Using a cookie scoop, scrape out mounds of the cookie dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Using your thumb or the back of a teaspoon to press into the center of each cookie. Then Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Now place 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips into a glads bowl and pour 6 tablespoons of boiling hot heavy cream over the chocolate. Then stir with a whisk until it becomes a creamy consistency.
- Fill a piping bag with the ganache, snip the tip and pipe the chocolate into the center of each cookie.
- Let the ganache set in a cool place for about 1 hour before serving.
Notes
- Use softened butter. This mixes much better with flour and sugar, giving you well-combined cookie dough.
- Toast the nuts. This brings out the natural oils of the nut, making them taste and look better, and also making them crunchier.
- Measure flour carefully. Too much flour can result in too-hard cookies, and too little can cause your dough to spread too much while it bakes. So, carefully measure your ingredients.
- Room temperature egg yolks. The ingredients come together better when they are not too cold. If you forget to take out the eggs, you can warm them by placing them in a bowl of warm water 5-10 minutes before you separate the yolks.
Nutrition
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Gabby says
Hello.
I have a question.
I want to do this recipe but I can’t find heavy cream. I live in France and my sister said there isn’t any. So what can I substitute heavy cream with??
Dina says
Hi Gabby, I believe in Europe, heavy cream is also known as double cream. Do you have access to that? If not, I heard there is a way to make heavy cream by melted butter into milk.
Cmp says
Too dry. I measured the flower and nuts carefully but the dough was pretty crumbly and when baked too dry
Dina says
The texture is not supposed to be moist. It has more of a shortbread cookie texture. So not like a soft baked cookie. I hope that makes sense 🙂
Meghan says
Is this really 3 and 1/3 cups of flour? I just put all the ingredients together and I e got nothing that could pull together to bake? What did I I do wrong? Thanks!
Dina says
Hi Meghan, how did you measure your flour? If you scooped it right into the measuring cup, you might have ended up with too much flour which could have made the dough too dry. Instead, try spooning the flour into the meaning cup and leveling it off with the back of a knife. I hope that helps. Also, if the dough is too cold, it might not take shape right away.
Dina says
Hi – the raspberry pecan thumbprint cookie recipe says to refrigerate the dough for 30min before baking. Would you recommend doing the same with this recipe that uses chocolate ganache? Also, do you recommend shopping the dough into cookies before putting it into the fridge? Does it become very stiff in the fridge?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Dina, you can refrigerate before or after the cookie are formed. I find it easier to make the cookie shape, then refrigerate after. I hope this helps! Let me know how they turn out 🙂
Dina says
They turned out really yummy. I made both the jam variation and this one with chocolate ganache and they were both great!
simplyhomecooked says
Very happy to hear you loved both of those thumbprint cookies! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback, it really helps me 🙂
Madison says
Can you substitute cream for milk?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Madison, no you can’t substitute the cream for milk in this recipe. It will make the ganache to runny and it won’t stiffen enough. Hope you get a chance to make these chocolate thumbprint cookies 🙂
Nelli says
These were a hit!! I do have to say though that baking them for just 15 minutes was plenty and still resulted in a delicious crispy buttery cookie.
Will definitely make again! 👍🏻
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you Nelli! Glad to hear that these chocolate thumbprint cookies were a success 🙂 Good thing you kept an eye on the cookies during baking, thanks for letting me know 🙂