Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies
With soft, chewy insides and a smooth vanilla bean white chocolate filling, these gingerbread thumbprint cookies are ideal for holiday baking! Molasses, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves yield a classic and bold gingerbread flavor that pairs well with the sweet white chocolate.
You are in for a holiday treat!
If you love classic gingerbread cookies over the holidays, I just know you will love these gingerbread thumbprint cookies! They have already earned a spot in my holiday cookies that I bake every year. They would be perfect in Christmas cookie boxes, too!
These cookies are a little addictive! Let me tell you why I can’t get enough of them. The outside has a crispy texture thanks to the turbinado sugar, but the inside of the cookie remains soft and perfectly chewy.
The white chocolate filling adds a little bit of a luxurious feel because you can see specks of vanilla in the white chocolate. White chocolate complements gingerbread so well.
A classic gingerbread cookie always starts with molasses, then you add warm spices like ginger, cinnamon, cloves, & nutmeg. These cookies are sweetened with brown sugar instead of white sugar, which adds a nice depth of flavor.
The secret to these cookies keeping their thumbprint shape is to pre-chill them! To keep the thumbprint shape and prevent spreading, the cookie dough is scooped and then chilled before baking. Rolling the chilled dough in turbinado sugar lends a beautiful sparkle and delicious crunch!
I always use a small measuring spoon to create the perfect thumbprint indent.
What’s nice about this recipe is that you can make the dough up to two days in advance. This is so helpful during the holidays, given our busy schedules.
Don’t skip rolling the dough in turbinado sugar. It adds this irresistible crunch and makes the cookies look extra sparkly. You can use castor sugar instead if you don’t have any turbinado on hand.
I chose white chocolate as the filling for these cookies. I felt they needed a little extra vanilla flavor to make them pop. I used vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract because extract can make the chocolate seize. Plus, the tiny flecks of real vanilla bean give the filling a beautiful look that feels both rustic and elegant.
I hope you try out these cookies this holiday season. I know you won’t be disappointed!
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour
- warm spices like ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, & nutmeg
- sea salt
- unsalted butter
- brown sugar
- unsulphured molasses
- a large egg
- turbinado sugar
- heavy cream
- white chocolate chips
- vanilla bean paste
How to Make Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies
Clear out some room in your fridge for a large plate, platter, or baking sheet. Whisk the flour, spices, and salt together in a large bowl until combined.
Beat the softened butter and brown sugar on medium speed in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy, for a few minutes.
Add the molasses and the egg and beat on medium speed until smooth, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture about half a cup at a time, mixing until the dough is smooth and beginning to clump around the paddle. Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.
Scoop up portions of the dough with a 1.5 tablespoon (0.75-ounce) cookie scoop, then place on a parchment-lined plate, platter, or baking sheet. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and chill for about two hours until completely firm.
After chilling the dough, preheat the oven and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the turbinado sugar on a plate or in a wide, shallow bowl.
Roll each portion of dough into a ball, then roll it in the turbinado sugar. Place the cookies on the lined sheet about two inches apart.
Use the back side of a rounded teaspoon measuring spoon to create the thumbprint indentation in the middle of each cookie, pressing gently.
Bake the cookies in batches (i.e., one baking sheet at a time) for twelve minutes or until just set but still soft.
As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, reinforce the thumbprint indentation gently as needed with the back of the teaspoon. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about fifteen minutes, then move to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before filling.
Once the cookies have cooled, add the cream and white chocolate chips to a double boiler. Stir until fully melted and smooth, then stir in the vanilla bean paste.
Remove from the heat and carefully fill the thumbprint of each cookie with the melted white chocolate using a spoon.
Allow the white chocolate filling to set fully, which takes about an hour, before serving or storing in an airtight container.
How to Store
Keep the homemade thumbprint cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
More Holiday Cookie Recipes
- Chocolate Hazelnut Espresso Slice & Bake Cookies
- Spice Drop Cookies
- Spiced Hazelnut Linzer Cookies
- Chocolate Orange Cookies
- Cinnamon Pecan Shortbread Cookies
What do you think of this amazing gingerbread cookie recipe? What would you serve with these cookies? Let me know in the comment section below.
If you share across social media, make sure to tag #aclassictwist, so I can see your beautiful creation come to life!
Happy holiday baking, friends!
Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookie Recipe
Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies
With soft, chewy insides and a smooth vanilla bean white chocolate filling, these gingerbread thumbprint cookies are ideal for holiday baking! Molasses, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves yield a classic and bold gingerbread flavor that pairs well with the sweet white chocolate.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons unsulphured molasses
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ½ cup turbinado sugar, for rolling
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Clear out some room in your fridge for a large plate, platter, or baking sheet. Whisk the flour, spices, and salt together in a large bowl until combined.
- Beat the softened butter and brown sugar on medium speed in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the molasses and the egg and beat on medium speed until smooth, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture about ½ cup at a time, mixing until the dough is smooth and beginning to clump around the paddle. Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.
- Scoop up portions of the dough with a 1.5 tablespoon (0.75-ounce) cookie scoop, then place on a parchment-lined plate, platter, or baking sheet. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and chill for 1 ½ - 2 hours until completely firm.
- After chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the turbinado sugar on a plate or in a wide, shallow bowl.
- Roll each portion of dough into a ball, then roll it in the turbinado sugar. Place the cookies on the lined sheet about 2 inches apart. Use the back side of a rounded teaspoon measuring spoon to create the thumbprint indentation in the middle of each cookie, pressing gently.
- Bake the cookies in batches (i.e., one baking sheet at a time) for 8-12 minutes or until just set but still soft. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, reinforce the thumbprint indentation gently as needed with the back of the teaspoon. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes, then move to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before filling.
- Once the cookies have cooled, add the cream and white chocolate chips to a double boiler. Stir until fully melted and smooth, then stir in the vanilla bean paste. Remove from the heat and carefully fill the thumbprint of each cookie with the melted white chocolate using a spoon. Allow the white chocolate filling to set fully, about 1 hour, before serving or storing in an airtight container. Keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
- A 1.5 tablespoon (0.75-ounce) cookie scoop will yield uniform cookies and is ideal for pairing with the teaspoon measuring spoon for the thumbprint indentation.
- Make sure to use unsulphured molasses, NOT blackstrap molasses, as the flavor will be too overpowering.
- To make a double boiler, nest a heat-safe bowl over a small pot of simmering water. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the surface of the water.
- During testing, I ended up preferring the batch rolled in turbinado sugar over the one rolled in granulated sugar. It produces a prettier, sparkly texture and delicious crunch that pairs well with the chewy texture of the cookies.
- You need to avoid cracks when creating the thumbprint in the cookie dough, as the filling will leak out. In order to avoid cracks, make sure to roll the dough in your hands to warm it slightly, then press down gently and evenly with the teaspoon. If cracks appear, re-roll the dough in your hands, then try again.
- The cookie dough is scooped and portioned before being chilled. In testing, this proved ideal since the dough is very hard to scoop once chilled!
- Resist the urge to overbake the cookies! Due to the combination of molasses and brown sugar, if you overbake them, they will be very crisp once they cool. Baking them until they are just set and still soft (8-12 minutes) means that they will firm up as they cool and have a crisp exterior with a chewy and soft interior.
FAQ's
How far ahead can I make the cookie dough? You can make it up to two days in advance. Once the cookie dough is fully mixed, go ahead and pre-scoop the dough as directed in the recipe. Make sure to wrap well with plastic wrap before placing it in the fridge so the dough doesn’t dry out.
Can I use vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean paste? I prefer vanilla bean paste in the white chocolate filling as it doesn’t have the tendency to make the chocolate seize up once it is added like traditional vanilla extract can. The added bonus is that you can see the beautiful flecks of vanilla bean in the set filling!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 147Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 46mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 1gSugar: 10gProtein: 3g