When I was pregnant with Elsie, I craved three things: bacon-wrapped, cream cheese-stuffed jalapeños, beef (steak, brisket, burgers, you name it and I craved it), and thumbprint cookies.
Since I had gestational diabetes, though, I had to really watch my sugar intake, so that meant virtually no cookies throughout my pregnancy. Insert frowny face.
I apparently talked a lot about thumbprint cookie withdrawal, because after Elsie was born I had several friends and family members that brought me boxes of them from a favorite local bakery. If that’s not a sign I am surrounded by amazing people, I don’t know what is.
I decided that since thumbprint cookies rank up so high on my favorite cookie list I really ought to work on figuring out how to make them at home.
To me, chocolate is the perfect balance to the mild flavor of thumbprints, so I paired an extra-chocolaty buttercream with the cookies. Colin, our five-year-old, declared that they definitely needed sprinkles. Of course they did! Genius.
What you end up with is a light, crunchy cookie and a sweet, center. A perfect, colorful cookie combo that can’t help but make you smile.
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup shortening
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4-6 tablespoons milk
- 10 oz. melted semi-sweet chocolate chips, cooled to room temperature
- Sprinkles. Lots and lots of sprinkles.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix (on medium speed) the butter, sugar, and salt until smooth. Add vanilla and continue to mix.
- Add in flour ¼ cup at a time and continue to mix until well-incorporated.
- Take about 1 - 1½ teaspoons of dough and roll it in your hands to make a ball. Place 12 evenly spaced on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the cookies and use a ½ teaspoon to make an indentation ("thumbprint") in each cookie. Return the cookies to the oven and bake for an additional 8 minutes.
- Combine the shortening and butter on high speed until well mixed; add vanilla and salt, and continue mixing for an additional minute.
- Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until your filling starts to smooth out; I typically use 4 tablespoons.
- In the microwave, melt the 10 oz. of chocolate 20-30 seconds at a time. Check your chocolate frequently to make sure you don't overheat it - it'll start to seize up if you do! Let the chocolate cool to nearly room temperature. Pour the chocolate into the mixing bowl and mix on medium-low speed; add more milk if needed to get the filling to your desired consistency.
- Spoon your filling into a zip-loc baggie, pressing out the air and sealing the bag at the top. Clip a corner off with scissors and pipe your filling into the center of each (room temperature) cookie.
- Don't forget the sprinkles!
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