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Let’s talk Christmas Cookies, Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies to be exact. Rich chewy gingerbread cookie dough rolled in sugar, then filled with eggnog and white chocolate. These are easy to make, and once filled will make a beautiful addition to your cookie box.
I first created this recipe in 2018 as a way to blend my love of classic gingerbread cookies with cozy holiday eggnog. Instead of the crisp texture used for gingerbread houses, I wanted a soft, chewy gingerbread cookie, one that stays tender even days later. To make it extra special, each cookie gets a thumbprint filled with a rich eggnog white chocolate ganache.
I’ve happily snacked on them days after baking and they’re still just as soft and chewy as the day they came out of the oven. That makes these gingerbread thumbprints perfect for holiday cookie boxes or edible gifts, you can package them with confidence knowing they’ll stay fresh.
Made these and turned them into bears! They turned out sooo good, the texture of the cookie is absolutely amazing. I didn’t have any eggnog, so I added just a touch of cinnamon to the white chocolate (along with some milk to melt it) and it worked great. These are definitely being added to the annual holiday cookie roster!
Key Ingredients
- All Purpose Flour: Flour with a slightly lower protein level of 10-5-11% protein delivers a softer crumb than one with a higher level protein.
- Note: Weigh the flour for accurate measuring to prevent a dense dough and sift for better mixing into the wet ingredients.
- Molasses: The key to a classic gingerbread recipe is molasses! Make sure to use “unsulphured” molasses and not the overpowering blackstrap molasses.
- Note: I always use Grandma’s Molasses when making gingerbread.
- Eggnog: Holiday eggnog replace cream to make a soft white chocolate ganache filling. Use store bought or homemade, alcohol free is best.
- Unsalted Butter: For tender cookies I like to use European style butter with 82% butterfat. (Careful not to use higher butterfat options that will cause spreading).
- Note: American style unsalted butter at 80% butterfat will also work for this recipe, it just gives a slightly less tender crumb.
- European butter will also lend to a slightly softer dough, even when cold compared to American butter that will chill much firmer.
- White Chocolate: I love the flavor of white chocolate paired with gingerbread, but you can swap out for dark or semi-sweet chocolate if you prefer.
- Note: Choose a white chocolate baking bar, I’m using Lindt Excellence White Chocolate in this recipe. Different white chocolate have varying levels of butterfat and therefore will look slightly cream in color.
- Baking Soda: A 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda allows the cookies to spread just enough, while creating a tender cookie crumb.
A Perfect Thumbprint Cookie Shape
- Chill the dough: Cold cookie dough is needed for firming the butter to maintain the cookie’s shape while baking.
- Make a thumbprint with a ‘half teaspoon’: Use a small measuring spoon to gently press a perfect ‘thumbprint’ into your cookie dough. Super cold dough may crack slightly, if this happens, just roll the dough ball in between your hands again before pressing the thumbprint shape.
- Bake a test cookie. Start with a single cookie to see how many minutes work best in your oven for less time to get a soft cookie or another minute to have slightly chewier cookies.
- Don’t over bake the cookies: Thumbprints won’t spread as much as other cookies and since they are already brown, timing is more important than visual cues. Baking them even an extra minute until they are firm on the cookie sheet will result in dense cookies. Remove cookies from the oven while they are still slightly soft.
- Re-shape thumbprint after baking: Once out of the oven, take your teaspoon and gently press down your ‘thumbprint’ again. Don’t go lower than halfway through the cookie.
Step By Step
- Shape chilled cookie dough into smooth balls, then roll in granulated sugar.
- Take a teaspoon sized measuring spoon and gently press down into the cookie ball about 1/3 of the way down to make an indent. Bake until puffed and mostly set about 9-10 minutes.
- The indent will disappear some while baking. Remove cookies from the oven and immediately press the teaspoon back into the top of the cookies to create room for the filling. Allow cookies to cool completely before adding eggnog white chocolate ganache to the centers.
- Pipe the warm chocolate ganache into cooled thumbprint cookies with a piping bag. Sprinkle cinnamon or nutmeg onto the ganache before it sets.
Eggnog White Chocolate Filling
- Cool Completely: Allow the cookies to cool completely before filling the center with the eggnog white chocolate.
- Pipe the chocolate filling for neatness: Transfer the eggnog white chocolate to a piping bag, snip off just the tip of the bag and fill in the thumbprint of each cooled cookie. Warm eggnog chocolate will pipe smoother! (A spoon works too, but it’s messier.)
- Top with spice: Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg before the chocolate filling sets.
- Allow white chocolate time to set: Before stacking or packaging, the filling needs time to firm. You can speed the process up by placing the cookies in an even layer in an airtight container in the fridge or just let them sit at room temp until the center is firm to the touch.
Make Ahead
The cookie dough can be made up to two days in advance and stored in the fridge. I like to pre-scoop out the dough balls and place them in an airtight container while the dough is still soft.
You can also shape the dough into a disc, wrap twice in freezer safe plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Set it on the counter to soften before measuring out your dough balls and baking.
★★★★★ Please leave a star rating and review below if you make this recipe! THANK YOU!!
Eggnog Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies
Chewy molasses gingerbread thumbprint cookies rolled in sugar with a soft eggnog and white chocolate center. Perfect holiday cookie recipe!
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Equipment
- Stand or Handheld Electric Mixer
Recipe Video
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 375 grams (3 cups) all purpose flour, 10.5-11% protein
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 140 grams (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter *European style butter (82% butterfat), softened to room temperature (*American style butter will also work)
- 147 grams (⅔ cup) light or dark brown sugar, packed
- 50 grams (1 large) egg, room temperature
- 170 grams (½ cup) unsulphered molasses, *not blackstrap (can swap for treacle)
Topping
- 50 grams (¼ cup) granulated sugar
Eggnog White Chocolate
- 170 grams (1 cup) quality white chocolate baking bar, or quality white chocolate chips, roughly chopped
- 60 grams (¼ cup) eggnog, alcohol free
Instructions
Make the Cookie Dough
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Hand whisk to evenly distribute ingredients and set aside.375 grams all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, (or a large bowl using a handheld mixer) beat together softened butter with brown sugar until a creamy paste is formed. 1-2 minutes.140 grams unsalted butter *European style butter (82% butterfat), 147 grams light or dark brown sugar
- Add the egg and molasses to the butter mixture. Mix on medium until smooth, scraping sides and bottom of bowl with spatula as needed.50 grams egg, 170 grams unsulphered molasses
- Next, spoon in the flour mixture a third at a time. Mixing in between each addition until all is incorporated and a smooth cookie dough is formed. Scrape bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
Scoop and Chill
- Pre-measure cookie dough balls before chilling. Take a 1.5 tablespoon capacity cookie scoop and measure out dough into 1 ½ inch balls. Place the cookie balls on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet or dish, cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight to develop flavor.
- Scooping the dough before chilling is much easier than after the dough is cold. Chilling allows the dough to rest and the butter to firm, preventing cookies from spreading too much in the oven.
Shape and Bake
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃) and line a rimmed cookie sheet with a double layer of parchment paper. Bake in batches.
- After cookie dough has properly chilled, roll the cookie dough balls in between the palms of your hands to pack and smooth. Place a cookie ball in the bowl of granulated sugar, gently roll to coat completely. Repeat with remaining dough balls.50 grams granulated sugar
- Place dough balls on prepared baking sheet and space them 2-inches apart. One baking sheet should be able to fit 9 cookies at a time.
- Shaping: Use a rounded 'half teaspoon' measuring spoon to gently press a perfect 'thumbprint' into your cookie dough. (only press 1/3 of the way down) **If the cookie cracks slightly roll in your hands again and then reshape.
- Transfer baking tray to the middle rack of the oven and bake for 9-10 minutes until they are set but still soft.
- Don't over bake cookies until they are hard. They will firm as they cool into tender cookies, but not a crisp gingerbread.
- Place the baking sheet on a wire cooling rack. After removing cookies from the oven, immediately take your teaspoon and gently reshape the 'thumbprint' while cookies are still warm. **Just enough pressure to adjust the shape, as the indent will disappear some when baking, since they are being baked without a filling.
- Let cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Then, transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before filling with eggnog white chocolate.
Eggnog White Chocolate Filling
- Combine the eggnog with the white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 1.5 minutes in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until melted and smooth.(You can also use a double boiler if preferred.)170 grams quality white chocolate baking bar, 60 grams eggnog
- Transfer eggnog white chocolate to a piping bag. Pipe into thumbprint of cooled cookies.
- Allow chocolate to set for 30 minutes to an hour after filling. You can also pop the cookies in the fridge to speed things up, just don't store them in the fridge.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon or grated nutmeg!
- Store cookies in an air tight container at room temperature.
Notes
Ingredients Used:
Troubleshooting: If the cookie dough cracks when you press down to make the thumbprint impression, the dough may be too cold. Simply roll the dough ball between your hands again, as the heat from you hands will warm it slightly and then press the teaspoon down once more for a perfect thumbprint cookie shape. Shaping Tip: I prefer to shape the cookie dough into round balls while the dough is cold, then coat in sugar and press the indent before baking. If you roll the cookie dough balls in sugar and create the thumbprint before chilling, the shape will be off due to the softer dough. The sugar coating also gets absorbed by the soft dough and doesn’t stay as sparkly and crunchy like it does with colder dough. Storing: Baked and decorated cookies should be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Or, freeze cookies without the eggnog white chocolate filling in airtight freezer safe bag or container for up to 3 months.
- Flour: Gold Medal All Purpose Flour 10.5-11% protein
- Butter: President Unsalted European Style Butter 82% butterfat
- Molasses: Grandma’s Unsulphured Molasses
- White Chocolate: Lindt Excellence White Chocolate Bar
- Medium #40 scoop: yields 25 cookies: cookie dough balls weigh 34 grams each (bake 9-10 minutes)
- Small #50 scoop: yields 34 cookies: cookie dough balls weigh 24 grams each (bake 8-9 minutes)
Troubleshooting: If the cookie dough cracks when you press down to make the thumbprint impression, the dough may be too cold. Simply roll the dough ball between your hands again, as the heat from you hands will warm it slightly and then press the teaspoon down once more for a perfect thumbprint cookie shape. Shaping Tip: I prefer to shape the cookie dough into round balls while the dough is cold, then coat in sugar and press the indent before baking. If you roll the cookie dough balls in sugar and create the thumbprint before chilling, the shape will be off due to the softer dough. The sugar coating also gets absorbed by the soft dough and doesn’t stay as sparkly and crunchy like it does with colder dough. Storing: Baked and decorated cookies should be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Or, freeze cookies without the eggnog white chocolate filling in airtight freezer safe bag or container for up to 3 months.
Tried this recipe?Mention @twocupsflour or tag #twocupsflour!
I love the way these cookies turned out! The flavour and texture are perfect – rich and spiced with a soft chew. I didn’t have eggnog on hand so I added a touch of cinnamon to my white chocolate filling which worked great! I also shaped them into bears, using the thumbprint as the snout (picture posted in a comment on Pinterest), so they were not only delicious but also adorable 🙂
Hi Julia, thanks so much for trying the recipe and giving feedback! I love your little bears so much, I added the photo to the post above. I’m going to have to try making them too. So glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
The cookies expanded and basically lost the thumbprint shape which I fixed when they were still hot but they just don’t quite look like your average thumbprint. Chilled overnight too. Maybe the recipe needs to be more adjusted to a shortbread texture with gingerbread flavoring?
Hi Sam, thank you so much for trying this recipe and for sharing your experience! Since these cookies aren’t baked with the jam inside, the thumbprints do need a quick re-shape while the cookies are still warm. The molasses in the dough (an invert sugar) is what gives these cookies their soft, chewy gingerbread texture, which is different from a classic shortbread thumbprint that’s more buttery and crumbly.
This recipe was intentionally designed as a blend of chewy gingerbread and a thumbprint style cookie, so they won’t be exactly like a traditional shortbread thumbprint but the flavor and texture are part of what makes them special. I really appreciate you giving them a try and for taking the time to leave a comment.
I’m a very experienced cookie baker and this recipe does not work. Followed exactly and they went flat when put in oven. Not only unable to fill as their was no well remaining, but the cookie never firmed even with extra bake time. Just a big mess. Had to throw it all away. Very disappointing.
Hi Donna, I’ve never had these cookies bake flat before, they always stay thick. Was the dough chilled before baking? If the thumbprint shape isn’t as pronounced once baked, I do recommend reshaping slightly with the teaspoon while the cookies are still warm. Also not sure about cookie firming? As cookies cool they go from tender to more firm, but not firm like a ginger snap.