Eggnog Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies
Eggnog Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies made with molasses, spices, eggnog, and white chocolate. Perfect holiday cookie recipe!
Servings: 25 cookies
Equipment
- Stand or Handheld Electric Mixer
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 375 grams 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 unsalted butter *European style butter (82% butterfat) softened to room temperature (*American style butter will also work)
- 147 grams light or dark brown sugar packed
- 50 grams egg room temperature
- 170 grams unsulphered molasses *not blackstrap (can swap for treacle)
Topping
- 50 grams granulated sugar
Eggnog White Chocolate
- 170 grams quality white chocolate baking bar or quality white chocolate chips, roughly chopped
- 60 grams 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.
Video
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.
*Weighing flour is how I test all my recipes. The measurement I use: 1 cup of flour = 125 grams. Please note that this amount can change based on a different baker’s recipe or using a conversion tool. The weight listed in the recipe is how it was tested and should be used for accuracy. *Different brands of flour are made with soft or hard wheat and have varying levels of protein, ranging from low to high. This can change the final result of a baked good, giving different outcomes on the same recipe. I list the level of protein in the ingredients, the brand of flour tested with and a link to My Baking Ingredients for additional details. When choosing a flour, look at the protein level on the back of the bag and consult the recommended amount for the recipe.
- 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.
*Weighing flour is how I test all my recipes. The measurement I use: 1 cup of flour = 125 grams. Please note that this amount can change based on a different baker’s recipe or using a conversion tool. The weight listed in the recipe is how it was tested and should be used for accuracy. *Different brands of flour are made with soft or hard wheat and have varying levels of protein, ranging from low to high. This can change the final result of a baked good, giving different outcomes on the same recipe. I list the level of protein in the ingredients, the brand of flour tested with and a link to My Baking Ingredients for additional details. When choosing a flour, look at the protein level on the back of the bag and consult the recommended amount for the recipe.