Dark Chocolate Mint Thumbprints

This recipe is one of 25 confections I make each Christmas to share with friends and family. The green sugar makes them festive on the trays and they are a favorite of anyone who loves chocolate and mint.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword chocolate, christmas, cookie, holiday, mint, nut free

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 10

Resting Time 1

Total Time 2 10

Servings cookie

Calories 109kcal

Equipment

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bowls (small and medium mixing bowls, shallow bowl for rolling)
stand mixer
cookie scoop (1 tablespoon)
whisks
baking sheets

Ingredients

For the cookies

57 gram extra dark chocolate 72% - 78%
57 gram dark chocolate and mint candy I like Dove Dark Chocote Mint Swirl, Andes dark chocolate mints are another good choice
210 gram flour all-purpose
48 gram dark unsweetened cocoa powder
5 gram salt
220 gram butter unsalted, room temperature
48 gram sugar
60 gram brown sugar firmly packed
2 egg yolks large, room temperature
5 milliliter vanilla extract
coarse sugar for rolling (I like to use green for a splash of color and to hint at the mint flavor)

For the filling

113 gram dark chocolate and mint candy
45 milliliter heavy cream

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To make the cookies:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
In a small, microwave safe bowl, melt together the dark chocolate and the chocolate and mint candy, set aside to cool slightly.
57 gram extra dark chocolate, 57 gram dark chocolate and mint candy
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and salt until uniform in color and no lumps of cocoa powder remain, set aside.
210 gram flour, 48 gram dark unsweetened cocoa powder, 5 gram salt
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
220 gram butter, 48 gram sugar, 60 gram brown sugar
Add the egg yolks and vanilla, beat until well combined.
2 egg yolks, 5 milliliter vanilla extract
Scrape the chocolate mint mixture into the stand mixer bowl and beat just until incorporated.
Scrape down the bowl, add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed just until the mixture comes together in a smooth dough.
Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm (at least 30 minutes).
Pour the coarse sugar into a shallow bowl or dish. Form tablespoon sized balls of the dough making sure there are no cracks or lumps. Roll each ball in the coarse sugar and place on the prepared baking sheets. Using a small dowel or the handle of a wooden spoon to make an indentation in the center of each cookie.
coarse sugar
Bake the cookies for approximately 10 minutes, remove from the oven and use the dowel or spoon again to make the indentation more visible. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

To make the filling:

Place the chocolate and mint candy in a heat proof bowl.
113 gram dark chocolate and mint candy
Heat the cream to a simmer and pour over the chocolate and mint candy.
45 milliliter heavy cream
Allow the mixture to stand for about a minute then whisk until smooth.
Fill the indentation of each cookie with the dark chocolate mint ganache. Refrigerate the cookies until the filling is set.
Store cookies in an air tight container.

Notes

All the recipes I use for my holiday baking are in metric measurements. This allows me to quickly and accurately measure my ingredients using primarily my kitchen scale. It also ensures that the products of the recipes are consistent from year to year. The US customary measurements are available, but I do recommend using the metric measurements for best results with these recipes.

The total servings on my holiday recipes may seem high to anyone with baking experience. That is because I size the confections on my trays smaller so no one feels guilty if they sample a few different options (or several of the same option, no judgement :))

Nutrition