Chocolate Mint Thumbprints

Chocolate Mint Thumbprints

Source: Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito
Ingredients
Cookies
2 oz dark chocolate (60-72%)
2 oz mint chocolate (I used Andes)
1 1/2 cups flour (I ended up using about 1/2-3/4 cups more of sugar after dough was made to make it the right consistency)
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into 1″ cubes, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup coarse sugar for rolling
Filling
3 oz white chocolate, coarsely chopped (don’t use white chocolate chips, the don’t melt smoothly)
3 tbsp whipping cream
1/2 tsp peppermint extract

Directions
Melt the dark and mint chocolates together in the microwave or over a double boiler. Whisk until smooth, and set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy.  Add the sugars and beat again until light and fluffy.  Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat again until combined. Add the chocolate and beat until just incorporated.

Add the flour mixture all at once. Beat on low speed until the dough is smooth.
Shape dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in fridge until firm, 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350. Take dough out of fridge and get a little assembly line going: dough, then a shallow bowl or plate with sugar, then cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

Form dough into balls, using a little less than 1 tbsp. Roll in sugar, and place on the cookie sheets.
Use your thumb (we used the end of a wooden spoon) to make an indentation in the center of each cookie. 

Bake for 10 minutes, remove sheets from oven, and use your thumb (or spoon) to make the indentation more visible.  Return to oven and bake for another 4-5 minutes. Pull out cookies at the first sign of cracking, as these cookies can over bake very quickly.

Set cookie sheets on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer cookies to the rack to cool completely before filling.

For filling: place the white chocolate in a glass measuring cup with a spout. Put the cream in a microwave safe bowl or cup, and microwave on high until it boils, about 30 seconds. Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds, then whisk until smooth. Stir in the peppermint extract.  Fill the thumbprint cookies with this white chocolate ganache and refrigerate until set, at least a couple of hours. (I piped in the filling with a pastry bag.)

Cookies can be eaten at room temperature, or straight from the fridge. They can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
I hope your Monday is lovely. Mondays can be rough. Chocolate always makes it better!!

Thank you for stopping by today! I appreciate your support and LOVE reading your comments!
Here are some photos from the other night when we went to the “Polar Express” event that our library was hosting. Santa was there. They dressed up the city trollies as the Polar Express. The kids loved it!

There was Santa. You had to see if your name was on the good or bad list with one of his elves before meeting him. My daughter said, “My name was not really on the list mommy.”

Then my cutie went with his friend Lola and they told Santa what they wanted for Christmas. My daughter said, “Mommy that isn’t the real Santa. I’m not getting my photo with him.” She said that after seeing the back of his head and the really bad wig he had on.  The little ones didn’t seem to care about the bad wig! That’s my son and his friend Lola. Lola had a long list;)

Then my cutie went with his friend Lola and they told Santa what they wanted for Christmas. My daughter said, “Mommy that isn’t the real Santa. I’m not getting my photo with him.” She said that after seeing the back of his head and the really bad wig he had on.  The little ones didn’t seem to care about the bad wig! That’s my son and his friend Lola. Lola had a long list;)