Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies
Serves — 24
Made with a sugar cookie mix and 6 simple staples, then topped with crushed candy canes, this recipe for Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies is a holiday classic!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 17.5 ounce package sugar cookie mix
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter softened
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1¼ tsp peppermint extract
- 8 ounces chocolate almond bark chopped (about 1 cup or 4 squares)
- ¼ cup crushed candy canes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Use a beater to mix the sugar cookie mix, salted butter, cocoa powder, eggs and peppermint extract together in a large bowl until completely combined.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Scoop 1-inch balls of the cookie dough (I used a 1 Tablespoon measurer). Roll each ball in between hands to create a smooth surface and place on the sheet pans.
- Use your thumb or a 1 teaspoon measurer to press an indent into the center of each cookie. If the cookie starts to crack, mold it back together.
- Bake the cookies in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until the middle begins to set.
- Take cookies out of the oven and carefully make another indent in the center with your teaspoon measurer to make sure the hole is nice and prominent.
- Allow to cool while preparing the chocolate almond bark.
- Melt chocolate almond bark in the microwave by placing chopped bark in a microwave safe bowl. Heat the bark in 20 second increments, stirring in between intervals until all the chocolate bark has melted.
- Pour melted chocolate almond bark into the wells in the cookies with a spoon until it fills the wells completely.
- Before the almond bark sets, sprinkle crushed candy canes on top.
- Let the almond bark cool for 3-5 minutes before plating and serving while the cookies are still slightly warm.
Notes
Storage:
- To Store: If left on the countertop, you can keep your cookies in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Otherwise, keep them in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
- To Freeze: Once completely cooled, you can store your cookies in an airtight container in the freezer for about 3 months. When thawing frozen cookies, put them at room temperature until they have warmed.
- The easiest way to crush the candy canes is by placing them in a plastic baggie and smashing them with a rolling pin. You can also use a food processor, but it creates more pink powder than candy cane pieces.
- To get more cookies out of this mix, make the dough balls slightly smaller. They will expand a little bit in the oven, so even small balls of dough will be able to hold the melted chocolate. This recipe is slightly different from other thumbprint cookie recipes, because it is made with a premade cookie mix, which is why the cookie expands a little bit. Keep that in mind when making your dough balls and make them on the smaller side.
- To save a step, you can choose to make only one indent into the cookies after they are done baking. You can simply roll the dough into balls and bake as usual. However, I have found that the cookies tend to crack when there’s no indent before baking, but it doesn’t affect anything else.
- If you would like the dough to keep its shape throughout the entire baking process so that you don’t have to make an indent twice, chill the dough for 2-3 hours before baking.
- For perfect thumbprints, don’t actually have to use your thumb! Instead, I find a round measuring spoon (about 1 teaspoon in size) is perfect for making indentations.
- Make sure to follow my recipe and NOT the instructions on the back of the cookie mix.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 182kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 100mg | Potassium: 61mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 138IU | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg