Thumbprint Cookies: Our Christmas Recipe with Chocolate

Celebrate Christmas with some special Thumbprint Cookies

Thumbprint cookies originate in Sweden and are a traditional dessert that’s been served at Christmas time since the 1800s. The real name of thumbprint cookies is Hallongrotta, which means “strawberry cave” and comes from the vanilla cookie and red jam center of the traditional recipe.  

 

Vanilla Thumb Cookies Recipe

Learn how to make Venchi’s Vanilla Thumb Cookies, which feature an unbelievably soft vanilla cookie filled with chocolate ganache and a splash of Bourbon. If you want your chocolate filling to be perfectly glossy and hard at room temperature, read how to temper chocolate.  

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened   

• 1/3 cup brown sugar  

• 1/3 cup white sugar  

• 1 large egg  

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

• 2 ¼ cup flour  

• Pinch of salt  

• ½ cup coarse white sugar, for rolling  

 

For the chocolate ganache:

• 1 cup dark chocolate  

• ½ cup heavy cream  

• 1 teaspoon bourbon  

 

Step by step instructions

1. Use an electric mixer to beat the white sugar, brown sugar, and butter until pale in color and light in texture.  

2. Mix the egg and vanilla extract until all ingredients are combined.  

3. At low speed, gradually add the flour to the mixture and then, finally, add the pinch of salt.  

4. Shape the dough into about 1” balls and then roll them into the coarse white sugar until fully covered. Then, place them onto a parchment paper-lined plate. With your thumb or the back of a wooden spoon, make an indent in the middle of each cookie and repeat this with the entire dough.  

5. Put the cookies into the freezer for 30 minutes to chill and harden.  

6. Preheat your oven to 370F and cover a baking tray with parchment paper.  

7. Take the cookies from the freezer and place them on the baking tray about 1-inch apart. Bake them in the oven for 10-12 minutes, keeping a close eye on them.  

8. When you’ve taken the cookies from the oven, you can use the back of a wooden spatula to make the middle indent deeper.  

9. Let the cookies cool down while you prepare the chocolate ganache.  

10. Break the chocolate into chunks and put it into a bowl.  

11. On the stove, heat the cream until it’s just about to reach boiling.  

12. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and leave it for 1 minute.  

13. Then, stir the mixture until the chocolate is smooth and melted. Finally, mix in the teaspoon of Bourbon.  

14. In the middle of each cookie, pour about 1 teaspoon of ganache.  

15. Let the chocolate ganache thumbprint cookies set in the fridge for 15 minutes before serving.  

 

Nutrition Facts

per 1 thumbprint cookie: 

• Calories 155kcal  

• Carbohydrates 17g  

• Sugar 9g  

• Fat 9g  

 

Chocolate Thumb Cookies Recipe

Discover Venchi’s Chocolate Thumb Cookies recipe, that puts a chocolate twist on the original recipe. We’ve emboldened the flavor by using the finest quality dark chocolate and cocoa powder that are all things aromatic, nutty, and intense. 

 

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour  

• ½ cup cocoa powder  

• ½ teaspoon salt  

• ½ teaspoon baking powder  

• ¾ cup unsalted butter  

• ¾ cup brown sugar  

• ¼ cup white sugar 

• 2 eggs  

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract  

• 1 cup chocolate  

• ½ cup heavy cream  

 

Step by step instructions 

1. Add the dry ingredients to a bowl: the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder.  

2. Put the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar into a bowl. Use an electric mixer to blend them until combined. Then, add the eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture and whisk until it’s light and fluffy.  

3. On low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and then, finally, the pinch of salt.  

4. From here on, the procedure is exactly the same as the Vanilla Thumb Cookies recipe above. 

The result is an even more chocolatey delicacy, perfect for the Christmas time. 

 

Nutrition Facts 

per 1 cookie  

• Calories 160kcal  

• Carbohydrates 19g  

• Sugar 10g  

• Fat 10g