Sprinkled Chocolate Thumbrint Cookies

Good morning, all! How are your holiday sugar hangovers?

Today I've got some more sugary treats for you in honor of the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, hosted by the fabulously talented Lindsay of Love and Olive Oil and Julie of The Little Kitchen. I have had the pleasure of meeting these two darlings in real life and I couldn't say no when I heard they were putting this fun swap together. 

After some deliberation, I started my search for a great thumbprint cookie recipe, hoping to replicate my favorite sprinkled Christmas cookies from the Oakmont Bakery in Oakmont, PA. My 8-month-pregnant self will unfortunately not be traveling back to PA this Christmas, so I needed a good substitute anyways (wouldn't want to send myself into a nostalgic/hormonal tailspin).

Once I found my base recipe, I then decided that I would use said recipe for another cookie exchange and a weekend get-together.  I ended up making at least 10-12 dozen of these little guys within a week's time. Needless to say, I will be finding tiny sprinkles all over my kitchen for at least the next year.

And let me just say that I will never again participate in two cookie exchanges at one time. One is more than enough. I have dozens upon dozens of cookies on my counter just staring at me, begging to be eaten, talking to me in my sleep (not that I'm actually getting any), making my toddler crazy (since they are just out of his reach) and giving me tummy aches. The cookies I received from my blogger matches were very yummy, though. I got New Orleans Praline Disks from Of Cabbages and King Cakes, Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt from Bonnie the Baker and Peppermint Sables from Daily Nibbles.  My little sprinkled cookies were sent off to The Cookie Monster, Food Victorian, and Sorelle e Cibo.

And while I'm being chatty, can I say that sprinkled cookies are a pain to photograph? Especially with the dark chocolate spot in the middle. These two pictures are all I could salvage from a ton of photos. I'd love any tips if you've got them!

Hope you give these cookies a try this Christmas. They're simple enough to make in large batches (trust me), but special enough to stand out on your cookie tray. Thanks again to Julie and Lindsay for putting this event together!

Sprinkled Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

-by Oven Love, basic recipe via Technicolor Kitchen

 For the cookie dough:

• ½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• ½ cup (70g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cups (175g) all-purpose flour, sifted

For the decoration and chocolate filling:

•  Sprinkles, nonpareils or sanding sugar of your choice for decoration
• 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 56g (2oz) semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 teaspoon light corn syrup

Preheat the oven to 350ºF; line two baking sheets with baking paper or silicone baking mats.
 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in flour, beginning on low speed and increasing to medium high, until a dough forms – it won’t be sticky.

Roll dough into balls. Dip each ball into your sprinkles or other decoration, making sure to get even coverage all around. Place onto prepared sheets. (At this point, you can make a pre-thumbprint to be sure your holes are deep enough, or you can wait to do it after the next step). Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven, and press thumb into tops of cookies to make indentations. Return to oven, and bake until light brown on the edges, 7 to 9 minutes more. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

While the cookies are cooling, combine chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in a small heatproof bowl. Microwave at 30 second intervals until melted or set over a pot of simmering water; stirring occasionally until melted and smooth. Allow to cool and thicken slightly. When cookies are cool, fill the thumbprints with the chocolate mixture. Let the chocolate set before serving.