These soft and thick chocolate peppermint thumbprints are a new favorite Christmas cookie. Combining chocolate cookies, chocolate peppermint ganache, and crushed candy canes, they’re undoubtedly festive and bound to disappear off cookie platters.
This recipe is part of my annual holiday cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. Every year since 2013, I work on a handful of new cookie recipes and publish the 10 best ones for readers to enjoy. It’s the biggest, tastiest event of the year on my website!
These are Chocolate Peppermint Thumbprints.
Tell me About Chocolate Peppermint Thumbprints
These chocolate peppermint thumbprint cookies channel my peppermint bark cookies and Andes mint chocolate cookies with the same irresistible chocolate and peppermint flavor combination. They’re also:
- Adorable 2 bite cookies
- Thick + mega festive
- Super soft in the centers
- Filled with chocolate peppermint ganache
- Topped with crushed candy canes
We honestly COULD NOT STOP eating these. Besides the unbeatable texture and festive flavor, you’ll also appreciate that this Christmas cookie recipe comes together with basic kitchen ingredients like flour, cocoa powder, butter, and sugar. Love that.
How to Make Chocolate Peppermint Thumbprints
- Whisk the dry ingredients together.
- Cream the wet ingredients together.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
- Roll balls of dough + coat with sugar. Use a little less than 1 Tablespoon of dough for each (about 1 inch balls).
- Indent each cookie.
- Chill the indented dough.
- Bake.
- Fill with ganache.
I developed the base of this recipe from my chocolate crinkle cookies. The recipes are different because I needed a slightly sturdier cookie to hold the ganache inside. A higher ratio of brown sugar to white sugar keeps the cookies extra soft and cocoa powder lends all the chocolate flavor in the dough. Remember the difference between dutch-process vs. natural cocoa powder? Use natural cocoa powder here.
Baker’s Tip: Chill the cookie dough AFTER rolling the dough balls in sugar and making indents. Why? Chilling cookie dough at this stage is the most important step. In my recipe testing, I found that chilling the dough before indenting made it a little too firm and difficult to work with. Chilling the dough after indenting was much easier. And if you chill the cookies like this (picture below), they’ll hold their shape much better when baked. Place the whole cookie sheet in your refrigerator for 2 hours or freezer for 1 hour.
Arrange the cold dough 2-3 inches apart on baking sheets, then bake.
My Indent Trick
This is my #1 trick for indenting thumbprints: Instead of using your thumb, use the end of a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. This way you don’t dirty your thumbs or get dough under your nail AND you obtain a perfect uniform indent in each cookie. Are you a control freak/neat freak like I am? Then you’ll totally appreciate this hack.
I do the same thing with my caramel apple spice thumbprints and lemon thumbprint cookies.
Of course, you can still use your thumb if that’s easiest for you.
Bake Without the Filling
Unlike most thumbprint cookies where you bake the cookies WITH the filling inside, you actually bake today’s thumbprints WITHOUT the ganache filling inside. (Baked ganache is not a good idea!) Since the indented cookies are empty, they’re going to puff up in the oven and lose some of that thumbprint indentation. See photo on the left above.
Here’s what you do: When the cookies come out of the oven, grab the wooden spoon or rubber spatula again and press the center of the warm cookies down to make a deeper indent. You’re just reshaping the thumbprints here—very easy. Deeper indent = bigger pool of ganache. See photo on the right above.
Chocolate Peppermint Ganache
Do you remember when I taught you how to make chocolate ganache? We’re doing the same exact thing here! Chocolate ganache requires two ingredients:
- Heavy Cream
- Chocolate
Chop chocolate into tiny pieces. Use chocolate labeled “baking chocolate” that’s sold as 4 ounce bars in the baking aisle right next to the chocolate chips. I prefer Ghirardelli or Bakers brands. TIP: The best tool for chopping hard chocolate is a large serrated knife. Pour warm cream over the chopped chocolate. Let it sit for a few minutes, then stir until thick and smooth. To make this ganache extra special, add a drop of peppermint extract. Start with only 1/8 teaspoon, then taste it. If you want more, add more. Peppermint extract is VERY potent and if you add too much, your ganache will taste like toothpaste.
The chocolate ganache will eventually set, making these chocolate peppermint thumbprints easy for packing, gifting, and traveling. It’s still creamy when you take that first bite, though—perfectly messy just like all the best Christmas cookies are. 🙂
If you can’t get enough peppermint cookies try these candy cane kiss cookies, peppermint snowball cookies, or peppermint mocha cookies next.
Chocolate Peppermint Thumbprints
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 30-32 cookies
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Combining chocolate cookies, chocolate peppermint ganache, and crushed candy canes, these chocolate peppermint thumbprints are extra festive and bound to disappear off cookie platters. Chill the shaped dough for at least 2 hours to help guarantee the cookies hold their shape.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 cup (41g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2/3 cup (135g) granulated sugar, divided
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2 teaspoons milk
Ganache
- one 4 ounce semi-sweet chocolate bar (113g), finely chopped
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
- 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1/4 cup crushed candy canes (2 large candy canes)
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, add the milk, and mix on low until combined. The cookie dough will be thick.
- Roll balls of dough, a little less than 1 Tablespoon each (about 1 inch balls), and roll each into remaining 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar. Place dough balls onto a large lined baking sheet. Using your thumb or the end of a spatula (see post above), make an indent into each cookie. If you find that the balls are cracking when you make an indent, use your hands to push back together. (Some cracks are bound to happen as the cookies expand in the oven—see my photos. No worries there!)
- Chill the shaped cookies for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator or 1 hour in the freezer (or up to 4 days in the refrigerator). Cover them if chilling for longer than 3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Remove chilled and shaped cookies from the refrigerator. Divide between both baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 2-3 inches apart. This recipe yields about 30 cookies, so you’ll have a 3rd batch with only a few cookies on the sheet.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are set. The cookies will still look and feel a little soft. Remove from the oven. The indents will have lost some shape or have puffed up, so use the end of a spatula to make an indent again into the warm cookies.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before filling with ganache.
- For the ganache: Place chocolate into a heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it begins to gently simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil—that’s too hot!) Pour over chocolate and let it sit for 2-3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate. Slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted. Stir in the peppermint extract. Taste and add another drop if desired. (It’s potent so don’t go overboard!) Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before spooning into cookies.
- Spoon 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of ganache into each indentation. I fit about 3/4 teaspoon into each. Sprinkle ganache with crushed candy canes. Ganache will thicken inside the cookies and set on the tops after a few hours, but will still be creamy when you bite into the cookies.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Store any leftover ganache in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can make and shape the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, as noted in step 4. Baked and filled (or unfilled) cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Troubleshooting Chocolate Ganache: See my Chocolate Ganache post if you need more information on the ganache. I answer a lot of ganache FAQs there!
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Made these tonight and they were perfect! I didn’t have any peppermint extract so I left it out and still have a delicious soft chocolate cookie with perfect consistency chocolate ganache. I filled some of them with white chocolate ganache which was also so good! Thank you!
Omg, these are soooo good! The cookies are soft but sturdy and so flavorful. I knew you couldn’t go wrong with chocolate and peppermint, but combined with the soft ganache and crushed candy canes, these create a myriad of textures that is just amazing! Perfect holiday treat that are so pretty looking! Will be baking another batch soon, thank you Sally!
Hi Sally, just wanted to ask what could be the reason the yield was only 19 cookies for me. Measured everything out in grams so I’m just scratching my head as to what might have happened. Regardless I’m still looking forward to finishing making this batch tomorrow!
Made 7 dozen of these cookies for a cookie exchange and they were the stars of exchange! I made the dough, shaped and refrigerated the night before. The ganache set up beautifully. I filled the cookies 30 minutes before the exchange and they were already pretty set. I didn’t do a trial run before the exchange bc I always trust your recipes implicitly! Thank you for all the work you do to make sure these recipes are perfect!
I used Bob’s Red Mill 1 for 1 gluten free baking powder (everything else the same) and they turned out great!
I want to try these but could I fil l them with Nutella instead of the ganache? I’ve never missed with one of your recipes, thank you!
Sure can! But the Nutella won’t set like the ganache does.
Thanks! I was Feeling lazy and was going to try a shortcut but I’ll try the ganache. I just finished baking the snowballs and now looking for a place to hide them from my husband! So good!
I’ve now made 2 batches of these cookies in the last week. They are safely tucked in our freezer until Christmas arrives. They are nothing short of perfect ….wonderful texture, the mint is not too over powering, they have a rich chocolate flavour & best of all easy to make!
My modifications: I added a generous pinch of espresso powder to my dry mixture & used Dutch Process Cocoa.
Hi Sally,
I’ve made these twice today, and each time the bottoms burned! Any suggestions? I baked the first batch for the time you said, and the second for 5 minutes less. The only ones that didn’t burn are the ones that are slightly under baked.
Hi Margaret! It could be a matter of your baking sheet, oven, and/or oven placement. Line the baking sheets and try baking only 1 sheet at a time in the center of the oven. Check your temperature with an oven thermometer, too. I hope this helps!
I was just looking over the Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprints recipe from your recipe book, and then saw this recipe on the 75+ Christmas cookies list. The recipes are quite different. Are they supposed to be different types of cookies, or is this recipe an improvement over the previous one? The previous one didn’t use brown sugar and didn’t need to be chilled.
Hi Carole! No, they are completely different recipes. One is not an improvement over the other. 🙂
Thanks! Now I’m going to have to make both recipes and compare. 🙂
These were good, but I had a tough time with the ganache the morning of the cookie exchange! They were pretty time intensive, and the candy cane topping was sticky…Next time I would just add a Hershey’s peppermint kiss and call it good.
Made these for my family and they ate the entire batch in just one weekend!! I chilled the shaped cookies for 24 hours before baking and they turned out perfect. These cookies are absolutely delicious, and I’m planning on making a second batch this week.
Can the dough be made, the cookies formed, and then frozen? If so, can you bake them frozen like your other cookies?
Absolutely! And yes, you can bake them straight from the freezer. They may take an extra minute or 2.
Delightful cookies. Light from the peppermint, but rich from the chocolate at the same time. They have 3 textures: crunchy, creamy, and chewy and are so adorable, festive, and addictive! ❤️
Hi Sally! I love your recipes. Would you recommend using the same technique of rolling the dough before chilling for you raspberry almond thumbprints? I like this idea a lot as that dough is sometimes hard to work with right out of the fridge.
The raspberry almond thumbprints cookies dough is soft right after you make it, but you can definitely try rolling into balls and indenting before chilling. I’m going to try them that way next time too. 🙂
Just finished making these and I so wish I had doubled the recipe! These should be outlawed they are that good! The chocolate and peppermint together-oh, my goodness!!! These will go on my list for next year too!!
Adorable, fun to make and delicious!
As Always, thank you Sally.
Cheryl
Omgosh Sally. I just finished eating TWO of these cookies. I had to put them away and walk out of the kitchen cause I wouldn’t have stopped. LOL! I baked them yesterday but made the ganache a few minutes ago. I love peppermint so even though I only made half of the recipe I did land out putting 1/8 of a tsp in it. I did start off with less because of how strong it can be but I just went for the full amount. I’m going to make these again next week (in the past few days I’ve made too many things that I’m losing out of places to put them, lol). I’m about to look up your recipe for the cookies that taste like the Peppridge (sp?) farm ones so I can make those at the same time. Thanks yet again for another great recipe… xoxo
Hi Sally – I just made these and followed all the steps in the recipe exactly. Unfortunately, my cookie, while overall had great flavor, was a bit dry. Any ideas on why? Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Sara! Sounds like the cookies may have been over-baked. They should still be pretty soft and moist. If you decide to try the recipe again, bake for 1-2 minutes less. The ganache in your cookies, however, should moisten them a bit.
Hi Sally,
Last year a woman in my home schooling co-op made your lace cookies for our Christmas party. They weren’t that pretty, but I decided to taste one AND MY MIND WAS BLOWN. She said she wasn’t a baker, but loved your site and it was super helpful when I asked for the recipe. That started a year long obsession with your blog and I!! I have made so many things and your name is a household topic. Anytime I make something new, my 5 and 7 year old ask me, “Is this one of Sally’s?” When we had our Christmas party tonight, I brought these cookies because my 7 year old loves chocolate and peppermint. These were a hit! But I had to let you know that as we were all walking in, we were looking at each other’s plates of goodies, and I recognized your mocha peppermint cookies. I asked, “are those a Sally recipe?” My friend replied yes, and two other friends jumped in and said they also used your recipes!! So unknowingly we had 4 of 11 desserts from your blog at our party which of course meant it rocked!! I thought it might make you smile to know that
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!
That is too funny and yes, definitely brings a smile to my face! I’m so happy to be part of so many bakers’ holidays each year!! 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Sarah. I appreciate it!
I just made these, holy moly! Delish!
I made these cookies yesterday and they were amazing! So fun to make, cute, and delicious! The only thing I would change is the amount of peppermint extract. I LOVE peppermint, so I’d like it to be a little stronger, but that’s just a personal preference! This recipe is perfect in itself. For those who really love peppermint, I’d suggest increasing the peppermint in the dough to 3/4-1 teaspoon (depending on how strong you like it), and increasing the peppermint in the ganache to 1/4 teaspon or perhaps even 1/4 + 1/8, as I did the 1/4 teaspoon and still would’ve liked a teensy bit more peppermint. But overall, this recipe is wonderful and I’ll definitely be making it again! I can’t wait to try your gingerbread sandwich cookies next 😀
Made these last night and covered them in Saran Wrap. Unfortunately the peppermint chips melted- so that’s my tip….don’t cover them in Saran Wrap! I spruced them up with fresh peppermint chips from the candy canes, while not as pretty as they were last night still delicious.
SO GOOD!!! highly recommend. we didn’t do the candy cane for the topping because we didn’t have any in the house and they were still so good!
Hi. Will whipping cream work for the ganache?
Hi Patty! Heavy Cream or Heavy Whipping Cream will work– “whipping cream” without “heavy” in the name isn’t thick enough.
I’m in Toronto and the heaviest cream we have is 35% Whipping Cream. So does that mean I can’t use that for this recipe? The ganache won’t set properly and it’ll be runny?
I would like to make these cookies tonight but have half and half in the fridge. Will that work for the ganache. Thank you .
It won’t unfortunately– you need cream.
I just made the cookies from yesterday and today. My chocolate cookies flattened out like a pancake. Any suggestions. I chilled for 2 hours before I baked and my egg and butter were room temperature.
Hi Dawn! Even after chilling in the thumbprint shape? Sorry you had trouble! Make sure you only use 2 teaspoons (not Tbsp) of milk and follow the recipe closely. I’m going to refer you to my 10 Tips to Prevent Cookies from Spreading post. I think you’ll find a lot helpful.
Do you think the candy cane kisses would work for this?
Absolutely! You could bake the cookies like my peanut butter blossoms.
Will definitely do this! My kids aren’t too crazy about peppermint so I’ll skip that and make it all chocolatey. Thx for the recipe!
They are still so good without the peppermint! I hope your kids love them!
Oh no, Sally, it’s a snow day here in Boston….and you have completely ruined my plans to have a productive morning! Not going out in the mess to buy candy canes, but I think these cookies will be just fine without them; my kids don’t need to know, right?????!!! I suppose I could fill them and top them with candy canes tomorrow- just melt the ganache slightly with a blow dryer? (Assuming there are any left!) What do you think?
They are certainly just as good without the candy canes! You will still get the peppermint flavor from both the cookie dough and the ganache from the peppermint extract. Enjoy your snow day!
I love the chocolate cookies and the ganache, but am not a huge fan of peppermint desserts. Any substitute for the peppermint in these cookies Sally?
Hi Renee! You can just leave out the peppermint in both the cookies and ganache. No other changes necessary. 🙂