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These Peppermint Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are soft, chewy Christmas chocolate cookies topped with peppermint Hershey kisses – one of my favorite little holiday candies! They are delicious and will make you the hit of your holiday cookie exchange!
If you like thumbprint cookies as much as I do, you should also try these delicious Peanut Butter Blossoms!
Table of Contents
How to make Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies with Hershey Kisses
Get the Recipe
There are few things that I’ve been loving more than peppermint for the holidays. When I was pregnant last year, all of sudden I craved all things peppermint and that hasn’t really gone away. I’m still totally in love with peppermint flavored things for Christmas!
So when I decided to make a chocolate thumbprint cookie, I knew they needed to be topped with the candy cane Hershey kisses. I think of all the little peppermint candies out there, those might be my fave. Such great flavor and I love the little crunchy things in them. So good!
Naturally when you combine a delicious chocolate cookie with a delicious peppermint kiss, you’ve got a fabulous cookie on your hands that’s totally worthy of your cookie tray!
How to make Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
To get started making these little drops of Christmas cookie heaven, you’ll want to cream the butter and sugar together until it’s lighter in color and fluffy in texture. I used both regular and brown sugar in these cookies. I often find that brown sugar offers a deeper flavor and more moisture and they definitely add to these chocolate thumbprint cookies.
Next up you’ll add your egg and vanilla extract, then the dry ingredients. When the cookie dough is ready to go, roll it into large tablespoon sized balls, then roll the balls in a little sugar. After placing the ball onto a cookie sheet, press a little indent into the center of the cookie – a “thumbprint”. It will fill back in a good bit when baking, but it’ll give you a spot to add your hershey kiss later.
The cookies bake for just 6-7 minutes and once they are done, you can add your peppermint kiss.
Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies with Hershey Kisses
The final Peppermint Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are not only pretty, but delicious! So wonderfully soft to bite into, with the crunch of the hershey kisses. I love the chocolate and peppermint flavor combination – just perfect!
You might also like: Candy Cane Cookies Peppermint Cheesecake Brownie Trifle Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies Peppermint Chip Layer Cake Peppermint Espresso Brownie Cheesecake Chocolate Peppermint Biscotti Peppermint Chocolate Pancakes Peanut Butter Blossoms
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Recipe
Peppermint Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.7 from 7 reviews
Author:Lindsay
Prep Time:45 minutes
Cook Time:25 minutes
Total Time:1 hour 10 minutes
Yield:26-28 cookies
Category:Dessert
Method:Oven
Cuisine:American
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Description
Peppermint Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are soft, chewy Christmas chocolate cookies topped with peppermint Hershey kisses. Perfect for cookie exchanges!
Ingredients
10 tbsp (140g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (112g) brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup (104g) sugar, plus 3 tbsp for rolling
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups (163g) all purpose flour
1/2 cup (57g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
26–28 Candy Cane Hershey’s Kisses
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. 2. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. 3. Cream butter and sugars (minus the 3 tablespoons of sugar for rolling) together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. 4. Mix in egg and vanilla extract. 5. Add the dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated and thick. 6. Roll one tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough. (NOTE: If you make larger balls of cookie dough, the cookies will spread more.) 7. Put the 3 additional tablespoons of sugar into a small bowl and roll each ball of cookie dough in it, coating the ball fully, then place the cookie dough balls on the lined cookie sheet. 8. Bake the cookies for 6-7 minutes. 9. Remove the cookies from the oven and press an unwrapped hershey kiss into the top center of each cookie. Allow cookies to cool for 2-3 minutes, the remove to cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
The cookie dough can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days. While you don’t have to refrigerate the cookie dough before baking, I do find that if you refrigerate it for about 24 hours first, the cookies bake even more soft, thick and chewy.
The dough should be chilled for at least 30 minutes, so that you can shape it into balls and indent without falling apart. Check that your oven temperature isn't too high.
Also, don't make your cookies too big, thumbprints are smaller cookies. And most importantly, make sure you you chill the dough! After you form the cookies, place the unbaked cookies in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before baking. This will prevent them from spreading.
Do I fill thumbprint cookies before or after baking? Thumbprint cookies should be filled before baking. This gives the jam time in the oven to firm up and set a little.
To avoid this, try using as little flour as possible while preparing to roll your dough. Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.
Too much butter makes cookies turn out just as you'd expect: very buttery. This batch of cookies was cakey in the middle, but also airy throughout, with crispy edges. They were yellow and slightly puffy in the middle, and brown and super thin around the perimeter.
“For the best results, choose a silicone baking mat or parchment paper to line your pan,” Dawn recommends. “Simply greasing your pan — basically adding fat to it — will encourage your cookies to spread.” (Check out our side-by-side test baking to see for yourself.)
What is the Shelf Life of Thumbprint Cookies? You can either store your cookies at room temperature or in the refrigerator. They will stay fresh for up to 3 days on the counter and for up to 5 in the fridge. Whether you chill them or choose not to, you should keep them in an airtight container.
Stuff the tin or container with tissue paper (here's a festive option!), crumbled newspaper, or packing peanuts to keep the cookies snug. Place the tin or container into a shipping box and use more crumbled newspaper or other shipping materials if needed. Then send off!
Pull the cookie sheet out of the oven when the cookies are just set: underbaking is better than overbaking. Baking cookies quickly in a hot oven – at 375 degrees F as opposed to a lower temperature – will make for soft results.
Oven temperatures are a crucial factor in baking. If your cookies consistently come out flat, you may have selected the wrong baking temperature. If you bake cookies using too much heat, the fats in the dough begin to melt before the other ingredients can cook together and form your cookie's rise.
Temperature. Dough that is too warm or soft will spread more than dough that is cooler, so if you're working in a very warm kitchen, putting your dough in the fridge for 15 minutes or longer before using it will help prevent spread. Butter that is too warm or soft is also a major culprit.
If you overmix the dough, the cookies will be dry and crumbly. The best way to fix this is to add more liquid to the dough. This can be done by adding milk, water, or even melted butter. You may also need to add more flour to the dough if it is too wet.
Too Much Flour: One of the most common reasons for crumbly cookies is using too much flour. Excess flour leads to dry, crumbly cookies as it absorbs the moisture. To fix this issue, accurately measure your flour using the spoon and level method or a kitchen scale.
Measuring is key in baking. If your cookie contains excess sugar or fat, it will spread while baking. If your first batch of cookies spreads, try adding a few tablespoons of flour to help thicken the remaining dough.
Introduction: My name is Velia Krajcik, I am a handsome, clean, lucky, gleaming, magnificent, proud, glorious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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