Ganache Filled Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
If you love chocolate, you’ll love this double dose of chocolate. A fudgy chocolate thumbprint cookie is filled with rich chocolate ganache for the perfect holiday or anytime treat.
Servings: 32 cookies
Calories: 203kcal
Ingredients
Thumbprint Cookie
- 2-1/4 cups (281 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup (90 grams) dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1 cup (200 grams) packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 16 tablespoons (227 grams) unsalted butter cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 large (100 grams) eggs
Optional Toppings
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) turbinado or demerara sugar
- 1-1/2 cups (188 grams) toasted chopped pecans
- 1 (30 grams) large egg white
Ganache Filling
- 12 ounces (340 grams) bittersweet chocolate chopped or chocolate chips
- 12 ounces (340 grams) heavy cream
Instructions
For Both Methods
- Cut the cold butter into 1/2-inch cubes and refrigerate it until ready to add to the dry ingredients.
Food Processor Method
- Place the flour, cocoa, dark brown sugar, salt and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor. Process the dry ingredients for 20 seconds until the dry ingredients are well combined.
- Add the cubed butter and pulse the dough 25-30 times until it’s crumbly and resembles large bread crumbs. Do not let it form into a ball. Beat the eggs in a glass measuring cup and with the food processor running, slowly stream in the beaten egg, just until the dough starts to come together and forms a ball of dough.
- The dough will be a little sticky. Use a kitchen scale to weigh out 25-gram pieces of dough and form the dough into balls. You can also use a #50 cookie scoop to measure out the dough. You may need to occasionally lightly flour your hands to keep the dough from sticking too much.
Stand Mixer Method
- Place the flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, and ground cinnamon in the bowl of the stand mixer. With the paddle attachment mix the ingredients on low speed for 30 second until they are well combined.
- Add the cubed butter to the other ingredients. Mix on medium-low speed until the mixture resembles large breadcrumbs and there are no large pieces of butter, about 7 minutes. Add both eggs and mix on low speed until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and starts to form a ball.
- Repeat the steps above for shaping the dough into balls.
Cookie Toppings
- The cookies can be rolled in either turbinado sugar or chopped pecans. You can also leave the cookies plain if that’s your preference.
- Roll the dough balls in the turbinado sugar and place them on a sheet pan or board lined with parchment paper.
- If rolling them in the chopped pecans, brush them with egg white and then roll the cookie in the nuts. The egg white helps the nuts stick to the cookie dough. Place the cookies on a sheet pan or board lined with parchment paper.
- Whether rolling in sugar or nuts, use the back of a rounded teaspoon measuring spoon to create a dent in the cookie. Chill the unbaked cookies for 10 minutes. This short chill time will help them hold their shape better.
- At this point the unbaked cookies can also be frozen. Freeze the cookies in a single layer on a sheet pan or board. When the cookies are frozen place them in a freezer storage bag. Bake the cookies directly from the freezer.
Make the Chocolate Ganache
- Chop the chocolate into 1/4-inch pieces and place it into a medium-sized bowl. In a saucepan heat the cream over medium heat just until bubbles form around the edges of the cream and steam starts to rise from the surface of the cream.
- Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate. Let the mixture sit undisturbed for 1 minute. Slowly stir the mixture with a whisk until all the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth.
- Cool the ganache until it reaches a temperature of about 77-80°F (25-27°C). At this point, it will be solid enough to pipe or spoon into the middle of the cookie.
Bake the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Place 15 cookies on a half-baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until they are slightly firm. If baking the cookies straight from the freezer, you may need to add 2 minutes to the baking time.
- Remove the cookies from the oven, and immediately take the same teaspoon and press the center of the cookie to reset the indent. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes and then place them on a cooling rack.
Assemble the Cookies
- Place the ganache in a piping bag with #805 Wilton tip. With the cookies on a flat service pipe a dollop of the ganache into the center of the cookie just until it rises above the edge of the cookie.
How to Store the Cookies
- Unfilled Cookies. Store the unfilled cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 week.Filled Cookies. Store the filled cookies at room temperature for 2 days in an airtight container. Because of the amount of sugar in the ganache, it's safe to store it at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Notes
The unfilled cookies actually taste better on the 2 and 3 day. The texture becomes more fudge-like the longer the cookies sit.
Weigh the Ingredients: You will get the best results by weighing the flour and the cocoa to ensure you have the right amount. If the ratio of dry ingredients to butter is off the cookies may spread too much and not hold their shape.
Dutch Processed (DP) Cocoa: DP Cocoa is different from natural cocoa in that it has gone through a process to neutralize the acidity. This process results in a darker color, a smoother texture, and a more mellow, less bitter flavor compared to natural cocoa powder. It's one of the reasons I prefer DP cocoa to natural cocoa.
Freezing the Cookies: To freeze the cookies, take them all the way up to the point where a dent is pressed into the cookie. Freeze them on a baking tray in a single layer for 24 hours. Once frozen place them in a freezer bag. Bake them directly from the freezer following the recipe instructions.
Using a Stand Mixer: For the stand mixer, the time may vary for mixing the dough after adding the butter to the dry ingredient based on the size of the mixer. I use a 7-quart mixer, if you’re using a 5-quart mixer stop mixing once the dough resembles large breadcrumbs and there are no big pieces of butter even if it is less time than indicated in the recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 203kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 47mg | Potassium: 104mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 301IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg