Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies {Ganache}

These quick and easy chocolate thumbprint cookies with ganache are made from scratch. They are crispy on the outside but soft and tender on the inside. You can also fill them with peppermint or candy canes for a festive touch. No chilling required.

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These cookies are loaded with chocolate! There is cocoa in the cookie dough and once they are baked, they are filled with rich and creamy chocolate ganache. They are addictive and meant for all the peanut butter lovers out there! I like to roll them in granulated sugar, which truly results in the best chocolate thumbprint cookies of all time. They are crispy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside.

This is a classic recipe that everyone should have in their collection. I make these a lot during the Christmas holiday season for parties and even to give to family and friends as a wonderful homemade gift. Check out more of my Easy Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas (food), too. Last but not least, they are quick and easy to make and require no chilling. They are just as delicious as my Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies, Jam Thumbprint Cookies, and these Easy Peanut Butter Blossoms.

Key ingredients

• Flour- Use all-purpose
• Cocoa powder- The higher quality, the better the dessert.
• Granulated sugar- For rolling and sweetening
• Butter-
• Baking powder-
• Baking soda-
• Salt-
• Vanilla extract-
• Eggs- Large
• Ganache filling- This takes the classic cookies to a whole new level.
• Decoration- Chocolate Roughly chopped, Semisweet

Variations

• Cookies can be rolled in powdered sugar to create a crackly appearance. They can also be rolled in green and red sanding sugar or sprinkles for a festive touch.

Other filling options-

• Pretzels
• Nuts- Peanuts, cashews, almonds, pecans, walnuts, and more.
• Hershey's kisses- They come in so many flavors now.
• Candies  (m&m, hard rock candy, Hershey's chocolate Kisses e.t.c)
• Chocolate chips- (dark, milk, white, toffee chips, peanut butter chips)
• Sprinkles
• Dried cranberries and raisins
• Berries (maraschino cherries, raspberries, strawberries e.t.c)
• Salted caramel sauce
• Jams and preserves
• Nutella or any other hazelnut spread.
• Peanut butter
• Melted chocolate (dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate)
• Frosting
• Peppermint- During Christmas time I like to use melted peppermint chocolate for a filling then top them off with peppermint chips. It brings the perfect balance of chocolate and mint flavor in a beautiful way.

How to make chocolate thumbprint cookies

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until mixture is light and fluffy.
2. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix again.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda.
4. Dump the dry ingredient mixture into the wet mixture and mix everything until just combined.
5. Scoop out small portions of the dough and make little balls roll them in a bowl of granulated sugar.
6. Place cookies on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper and press your thumb in the center to make indentations.
7. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 12-15 minutes.
8. Note: When you remove the cookies from the oven, you will notice the indentations are not that deep anymore. Just press the back of a wooden spoon or the round bottom of a measuring spoon into the center again. You must do this quickly before the cookies have a chance to cool down.
9. While the cookies are cooling, prepare chocolate ganache by heating heavy cream and chocolate chips in a nonstick saucepan over medium heat. When the mixture is smooth and glossy, let it cool down and thicken a bit.
10. Then, fill each thumbprint cookie with ganache and decorate with roughly chopped chocolate. Enjoy.

Tips and techniques

• Use unsalted butter- So that your cookies aren't too salty.
• Use room temperature ingredients- To help the batter mix more smoothly.
• You need both baking powder and baking soda- For these to turn out correctly.
• All ingredients must be at room temperature to allow even blending and mixing. 
• Don't over-bake cookies because that cause them to be dry.

Recipe FAQs

Storage

• Refrigerate-
• Freeze-
• Room temperature- not more than 5-6 hours because of the ganache filling.
• Make ahead-

More Easy Chocolate Cookies

• Chocolate Sugar Cookies
• Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies
• Triple Chocolate Cookies
• Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Recipe

Easy Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies (Ganache)

Abeer Rizvi

These quick and easy chocolate thumbprint cookies with ganache filling are crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. You can also fill them with Hershey's peppermint kisses or candy canes for a festive touch. No chilling required.

5 from 1 rating

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 40 Small cookies

Calories 199 kcal

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Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Cookie dough

• 3 cups All-purpose flour
• 1 cup Cocoa powder
• 2 cups Granulated
• 1 cup Butter Unsalted, Room temperature
• ½ teaspoon Baking powder
• ½ teaspoon Baking soda
• ½ teaspoon Salt
• 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 2 Eggs Large, Room temperature
• 1 cup Additional granulated sugar For rolling cookie dough balls

Ganache filling

• 1 cup Chocolate chips Semisweet
• 1 cup Heavy cream

Decoration

• ½ cup Chocolate Roughly chopped, Semisweet

Instructions

 

• In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until mixture is light and fluffy.
• Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix again.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda.
• Dump the dry ingredient mixture into the wet mixture and mix everything until just combined.
• Scoop out small portions of the dough and make little balls roll them in a bowl of granulated sugar.
• Place cookies on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper and press your thumb in the center to make indentations.
• Bake at 350 degrees F for about 12-15 minutes.
• Note: When you remove the cookies from the oven, you will notice the indentations are not that deep anymore. Just press the back of a wooden spoon or the round bottom of a measuring spoon into the center again. You must do this quickly before the cookies have a chance to cool down.
• While the cookies are cooling, prepare chocolate ganache by heating heavy cream and chocolate chips in a nonstick saucepan over medium heat. When the mixture is smooth and glossy, let it cool down and thicken a bit.
• Then, fill each thumbprint cookie with ganache and decorate with roughly chopped chocolate. Enjoy.

Notes

• All ingredients must be at room temperature to allow even blending and mixing. 
• Don't over-bake cookies because that cause them to be dry.
• More filling options include: Peanut butter, Nutella, Biscoff, caramel sauce, Hersey's kisses, jams and preserves. 
• If the cookie dough is too crumbly, add a little water to help bring it together. If it's too sticky, making it hard to roll balls, chill in fridge for 30-40 minutes. 
• Cookies can be rolled in powdered sugar to create a crackly appearance. They can also be rolled in green and red sanding sugar or sprinkles for a festive touch. 
• To make Peppermint chocolate thumbprint cookies, melt 3 peppermint chocolate bars and and spoon a small amount in the center of each cookie and top it off with peppermint chocolate bits.
• Read additional tips and variations above.
• Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

Nutrition

Calories: 199kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 2gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 52mgPotassium: 95mgFiber: 1gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 245IUCalcium: 17mgIron: 1.4mg

An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.

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