Thumbprint Cookies with Chocolate are a classic holiday treat, but we’re making them extra special with a decadent twist. These double chocolate wonders are rich and buttery, featuring a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cookie filled with a luscious chocolate ganache. This easy-to-follow recipe will help you make the best chocolate thumbprint cookies you’ve ever tasted.
As a fourth-generation Southern cook, I’ve been baking cookies for around 50 years! I used to stand on a chair and help my great-grandmother make tea cakes, and even then, I changed the recipe and added ingredients.
These thumbprint cookies with chocolate
Let me tell you something…if you don’t love chocolate, you’re probably on the wrong website! Around here, every single one of us is going for the chocolate dessert first, whether it’s easy brownies, chocolate layer cake, chocolate chip cookies, or these amazing and rich double chocolate thumbprint cookies.
Why you’ll love this recipe
PRETTY: These cookies are GORGEOUS. We finish them with chocolate shavings and sometimes a sprinkle of coarse sea salt.
METHOD: Even though they look complicated, these cookies are easy to put together. The ganache is not difficult, and you fill the cookies with a piping bag.
MAKE-AHEAD: You can make the dough ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for up to two days. You can also freeze the baked cookies.
What to serve with chocolate thumbprint cookies
We love to include these chocolate thumbprint cookies on our Christmas cookie platter. We also make Christmas cookie gift boxes every year, and these cookies are always included, along with our Chocolate Covered Ritz Crackers, Red Velvet Cake Cookies, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, Rolled Sugar Cookies, and my favorite, Old-fashioned Ginger Cookies. (Do you see a chocolate theme here?!!)
I hope you make this recipe. I think you’ll love it!
What you’ll need
➡️➡️➡️ The full ingredient amounts and instructions are listed below on the printable recipe card. Scroll down for frequently asked questions and tips for success.
For the chocolate thumbprint cookies:
- All-purpose flour
- Cocoa powder
- Cornstarch
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
For the chocolate ganache:
- Heavy cream
- Bar of semi-sweet chocolate
How to make chocolate thumbprint cookies
- Mix dry ingredients: Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix wet ingredients: Cream butter and sugar, then add egg and beat until fully combined.
- Combine: Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and fold together to form a soft dough.
- Form cookies: Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Use your hands or a cookie scoop to grab portions of the dough and roll into balls. Place the balls on the baking sheets and use your thumb to make an indentation.
- Chill and bake: Chill the cookies for 30 minutes, then bake for 10 minutes.
- Cool and fill: Allow the cookies to cool completely, and then fill each cookie with chocolate ganache.
Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
For the dark chocolate ganache
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (finely chopped and from a bar not chocolate chips)
- ½ ounce semi-sweet chocolate (finely chopped, to decorate)
Instructions
Cookies
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder and salt until fully combined.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar. Beat until smooth and creamy then add the egg and beat again until fully combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and use a rubber spatula to fold together until a soft dough has formed.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Use your hands or a cookie scoop to pull off sections from the dough. Roll into small balls the size of a tablespoon and set them on the baking sheets leaving some space in between. Use your thumb to press an indent into the center of each dough ball.
- Put the baking sheets with the prepared cookies into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place the baking sheets onto the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Use a measuring spoon to gently press the indents back into shape.
Ganache filling
- Put the finely chopped chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Pour the cream into a small saucepan set over medium heat. As soon as the cream starts to steam and form tiny bubbles remove it from the heat and pour it over the chopped chocolate.
- Put a plate on top of the bowl and leave it for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes gently stir the cream and chocolate until smooth. It should look like a glossy, thick ganache (if not see notes for troubleshooting ganache).
- Transfer the ganache to a piping bag and cut the end off with scissors. Fill each cookie with the ganache.
- To decorate, scatter over the chopped chocolate or add festive sprinkles.
Notes
- Be sure to use spooned and leveled flour. Do not scoop your measuring cup into the flour or risk the flour becoming compacted. If this recipe has too much flour, the cookies will become dry and crumbly. If you’d like to weigh your flour, it should be 187.5 grams.
- We recommend Dutch-processed cocoa powder, as it tastes smoother and more mellow than other cocoa powders. This, combined with the semi-sweet chocolate ganache, is a match made in heaven for dark chocolate lovers. If you are not the biggest fan of semi-sweet chocolate, you can make the ganache with milk chocolate instead.
- Remember to leave some space between your cookies on the baking sheets, as they will spread slightly when baking.
- It’s important to chill the dough before baking, or it will spread too much.
- Pressing the indent into the dough adds a little bit of memory to the dough. It will puff up, but you can easily press it down once baked. We press the cookies before and after they’re baked, as this helps to eliminate cracking.
Ganache tips:
- We recommend you use a bar of high-quality chocolate for the ganache instead of
chocolate chips or baking chips. A finely chopped bar of chocolate is more likely to melt at an even rate and will result in a better ganache. - When heating the cream for the ganache, it’s important not to overheat it. If your milk is too hot, the ganache can split.
- If your chocolate hasn’t melted completely, put the bowl on top of a saucepan filled with an inch of water and allow it to melt. Do not overheat it, or it might split.
- If your ganache does split (e.g., it looks greasy, watery or grainy), it is salvageable, so don’t panic. Try the following:
- Heat the bowl over a Bain Marie as described above;
- If that doesn’t work, whisk the ganache vigorously until it comes back together;
- If that doesn’t work, remove the ganache from the heat, add one teaspoon of room-temperature milk or water, and whisk it in until the ganache comes together.
Nutrition
Questions and tips
How do you store the cookies?
Store your chocolate thumbprint cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days.
Can you freeze these thumbprint cookies with chocolate?
You can freeze these cookies after baking. Be sure you allow the ganache to set.
To freeze the baked cookies: Once the ganache has set, place the cookies on a baking sheet in the freezer for a few hours. Then, place the frozen cookies in a freezer-safe container or bag and store them for up to three months. Separate the layers of cookies with parchment paper or wax paper.
Tips for chocolate thumbprint cookies
- We recommend Dutch-processed cocoa powder, as it tastes smoother and more mellow than other cocoa powders. This, combined with the semi-sweet chocolate ganache, is a match made in heaven for dark chocolate lovers. If you’re not a fan of semi-sweet chocolate, you can make the ganache with milk chocolate instead.
- Be sure to spoon and level your flour. If you scoop the measuring cup into flour, you risk
compacting it. If this recipe has too much flour, the resulting shortbread will be too dense and crumbly. If you would like to weigh your flour, it should be 187.5 grams. - Leave space between your cookies on the baking sheets, as they will spread slightly when baked. It’s important to chill the dough before baking, or it will spread too much.
- Pressing the indent into the dough adds a little bit of memory to it. It will puff up a bit while baking, but you can easily press it down again once baked. We do a double press, as this helps eliminate cracking.
Tips for the chocolate ganache:
- We recommend you use a bar of high-quality chocolate for the ganache instead of chocolate chips or baking chips. A finely chopped bar of chocolate is more likely to melt at an even rate and will result in a better ganache.
- When heating the cream for the ganache, it’s important not to overheat it. If your milk is too hot, the ganache can split.
- If your chocolate hasn’t melted completely, put the bowl on top of a saucepan filled with an inch of water and allow it to melt. Do not overheat it, or it might split.
If your ganache does split (e.g., it looks greasy, watery or grainy), it is salvageable, so don’t panic. Try the following:
- Heat the bowl over a Bain Marie as described above;
- If that doesn’t work, whisk the ganache vigorously until it comes back together;
- If that doesn’t work, remove the ganache from the heat, add one teaspoon of room-temperature milk or water, and whisk it in until the ganache comes together.
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