These melt-in-the-mouth vanilla thumbprint cookies are filled with silky chocolate ganache and topped with a touch of sea salt. They are perfect for Christmas or any time!
You will need:
For the cookies,
Unsalted butter - ½ cup, softened at room temperature
Sugar - ½ cup
Egg yolks - 2, large
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
All-purpose flour - 1½ cups, sifted
Coarse sea salt - for topping (optional)
For the ganache,
Semi-sweet chocolate bar or chips - 3 oz
Heavy cream - 2 tbsp
Vanilla extract - ¼ tsp
How to:
Cookies: Cream butter, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl on high-speed until pale and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add flour, a little at a time, on low-speed. Mix until all the flour is incorporated and the dough comes together. If you need to refrigerate or freeze the dough, you can do so now by flattening it into a disc and wrapping it tightly with cling wrap. Make sure to soften dough before working with it.
Scoop out a tablespoon of dough and form a smooth ball with your hands. Make a small indentation in the center with your finger or any rounded object like the back of a spoon or pestle.
Place formed cookies on parchment lined baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart. Refrigerate formed cookies for at least half an hour.
Pre-heat oven to 375 deg.F. Bake cookies for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and working quickly, re-define the indentations. Return to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes or till cookies are just beginning to brown at the edges.
Remove cookies from oven and cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to fill and cool completely.
Ganache: Since we are making a very small amount of ganache, this is a shortcut stovetop method.
Take the broken chocolate bar or chocolate chips in a small saucepan and start heating it on low heat. When the chocolate starts to melt, start whisking it. When almost all the chocolate is melted, add vanilla extract and heavy cream, and whisk well to make a smooth ganache. If it feels too thick, add a few more drops of heavy cream. Remove promptly from heat and cool for 5 minutes or so.
Spoon a teaspoon of warm ganache into the center of a baked cookie. Sprinkle a few flakes of coarse sea salt on top. Allow ganache to set and cookies to cool before storing them in airtight containers. Keeps well for several days.
Notes:
Here are a few variations that you can try. 1. Roll the cookie balls in sanding sugar before baking. 2. Try white chocolate instead of dark chocolate. 3. Drizzle leftover ganache over the cookies. 4. Use crumbled candy cane or peppermint candy instead of sea salt as topping.
Recipe by At The Corner of Happy And Harried at https://www.happyandharried.com/2017/12/18/vanilla-chocolate-thumbprint-cookies/