These homemade Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are an elevated twist on the classic using a fun cookie stamp set. They're soft and chocolatey with a fudgy, chewy jam-filled (or hazelnut spread filled) center! It's an easy recipe to make that gives you really delicious, sophisticated cookies.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
2 cups All-Purpose Flour, ½ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, 1 teaspoon Salt
Using your hand mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment on medium speed, beat together the unsalted butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the egg yolk and vanilla extract.
1 cup Unsalted Butter, 1 cup Granulated Sugar, 1 Large Egg Yolk, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Switching the mixer speed to low, gradually add in your dry ingredients, then mix until well blended.
Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 1 hour in the refrigerator. You can, alternatively, chill the dough overnight as well. If you choose this option, you may want to shape the dough into discs, like you would for pie crust, so it's easier to roll out the next day. When ready to bake, bring the dough out to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Roll out the dough (¼ inch - 5/16 inch thickness) onto a floured surface. Using the lightly floured cookie stamps, stamp out each cookie and place it on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. For a well-defined cookie shape, I highly recommended chilling the cookies in the refrigerator or freezer for 15-20 minutes before placing in the oven to bake.
Once chilled, bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes (my oven did well at 10 minutes). The cookies will be slightly puffy, but will settle as they cool. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Use a spatula to transfer them as they'll be very soft.
Fill each cooled thumbprint cookie with either hazelnut spread or jam of your choice. You can use either a spoon or small piping bag, and I recommend heating up both fillings to make it easier to add to the center. Plastic bags can be used in place of piping bags. Just snip the corner when ready to start filling the cookies.
Hazelnut Spread and/or Jam of your choice
Cookies can be stored at room temperature in a well-sealed container for up to 4 days or chilled in the refrigerator for a week.
Notes
If you don't have thumbprint cookie stamps, you can roll the chocolate cookie dough into small 1 to 1.5 inch balls, then press your finger into the center to create a cavity for where the jam or nutella will go. Fill the centers with hazelnut spread or your favorite jam after they have cooled.
Chill the cookie dough for 30-45 minutes before you rolling it out or shaping them into balls.
Cookies can be stamped out and kept in the freezer for up to a month. Add 1-2 minutes to your baking time. Do not defrost the cookies before baking.