Description
Delight in these festive Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies, featuring a rich cocoa sugar cookie base filled with melted chocolate almond bark and topped with crushed candy canes. Perfect for holiday celebrations, these cookies combine buttery texture, refreshing peppermint flavor, and a crunchy candy cane topping for a delicious treat.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 17.5 ounce package sugar cookie mix
- 0.5 cup salted butter softened (1 stick)
- 0.5 cup cocoa powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1.25 teaspoon peppermint extract
Topping
- 8 ounces chocolate almond bark chopped (about 1 cup or 4 squares)
- 0.25 cup crushed candy canes
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit to prepare for baking the cookies.
- Mix Dough: In a large bowl, use a beater to combine the sugar cookie mix, softened salted butter, cocoa powder, eggs, and peppermint extract until the mixture is fully combined.
- Prepare Baking Sheet: Line a sheet pan with parchment paper to prevent sticking and for easy cleanup.
- Form Dough Balls: Scoop 1-inch balls of cookie dough using a 1 tablespoon measurer. Roll each ball between your hands to create a smooth surface and place them evenly spaced on the prepared sheet pan.
- Make Initial Indentations: Use your thumb or a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon to press an indent into the center of each dough ball. If cracks appear, gently mold the dough back together.
- Bake Cookies: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10 minutes or until the centers begin to set.
- Refine Indentations: Remove the cookies from the oven and carefully press into the center of each cookie again with a teaspoon to ensure the wells are prominent for filling.
- Cool Cookies: Allow the cookies to cool while you prepare the topping.
- Melt Chocolate Almond Bark: Place chopped chocolate almond bark in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 20-second increments, stirring between each, until fully melted and smooth.
- Fill Cookie Wells: Spoon the melted chocolate almond bark into the indentations of each cooled cookie, filling them completely.
- Add Candy Cane Topping: Before the chocolate sets, sprinkle crushed candy canes evenly over the chocolate fill on each cookie.
- Set and Serve: Let the chocolate cool and set for 3 to 5 minutes. Serve the cookies warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- To store, keep cookies in an airtight container on the countertop for 2-3 days or refrigerate for 4-5 days.
- Freeze fully cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
- Crush candy canes easily by placing them in a plastic bag and smashing with a rolling pin; avoid using a food processor if you want chunkier pieces.
- Make slightly smaller dough balls to yield more cookies; cookies will expand a bit during baking.
- For dough that holds its shape during baking, chill dough for 2-3 hours before baking.
- Using a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon to make indentations helps create perfect thumbprint wells.
- Follow this recipe instead of the package instructions on the cookie mix for best results.
- You can make just one indentation after baking, but pre-indenting prevents cracks.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 160 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 95 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
