Holiday Cookies: Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies with Eggnog Filling

This is not my original recipe.  I found it online, or on Instagram, or somewhere (Two Cups Flour ) but the combination of eggnog and gingerbread spoke to me.  Now that I have made it I can tell you that you aren’t going to get a lot of eggnog flavor out of it but it’s pretty good cookie anyway! And the best part is that you can make Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies with Eggnog Filling or you can skip the eggnog and white chocolate altogether (but why would you?) and make straight-up gingerbread cookies.

Now, since it is the holiday season and there are a million other things to do, let’s just cut to the chase!

The first thing you have to do is realize that you forgot to take the butter out of the fridge to soften.  No worries!  Cut it into small cubes and leave it on your cutting board while you get the rest of the ingredients ready. It should be ready to use in about 15 minutes.

Forgetting to take the butter out to soften is no excuse!

Put the flour, spices and baking soda in a bowl and whisk them together.  This will lighten the flour and distribute the baking soda throughout which means you don’t have to work the dough as much.

Beat the butter together with the brown sugar until it is very light and fluffy.  This may take as long as five minutes.

Next add the egg, molasses and maple syrup and mix it together well.

Add the flour in three installments, making sure it is well mixed in before adding more each time.

Once the dough is made, cover it and put it in the refrigerator to chill for about 35-40 minutes.

When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and put the Demerara sugar in a small bowl.

Using a cookie scoop (if you have one) or a tablespoon (if you don’t have a cookie scoop) measure out 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of dough, roll it into a circle and then roll it in the sugar.  Place it on your prepared tray.   You can stop right here if you are making a plain gingerbread. For the thumbprint cookies, take a rounded teaspoon measure and use it to make a depression in the center of each cookie.  Don’t push it too far down, halfway is good.  If the spoon gets sticky and hard to use, dip the back in the Demerara sugar.

Bake the cookies until just barely done.  The surface should not look wet but you want the cookies to come out of the oven soft.  They will harden as they cool.  Mine took about 8 minutes.

As soon as the cookies are out of the oven, use your teaspoon to press down on the centers again.  Just halfway!  Let the cookies cool on the tray for about 3 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack.

Let them cool on the tray for 3 minutes or so

Once the cookies are completely cooled, make the eggnog filling.

Warm the eggnog first for about 15 seconds in the microwave then add your white chocolate and microwave it for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until you have a smooth mixture.  Place it in a piping bag and pipe a little into the center of each cookie.  If you don’t have a piping bag there’s an app for that! (Just kidding, put the icing in a baggie, squish it down to the corner and cut the end off.  Twist the baggie at the top and squeeze the icing through the hole).

Now, put some bourbon in the remaining eggnog, pour it over some ice in a small glass and dust with nutmeg!  Enjoy your cookies.

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HOLIDAY COOKIES: GINGERBREAD THUMBPRINT COOKIES WITH EGGNOG FILLING

Servings 2 dozen

Author Two Cups Flour, https://twocupsflour.com/eggnog-gingerbread-thumbprint-cookies/

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ¼ tsp salt
• 10 tbsp butter softened
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ cup molasses
• 1/3 cup demerara sugar
• 3 tbsp maple syrup

For the Filling:

• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup eggnog

Instructions

Make the Cookies

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and spices and set aside.
2. Beat the brown sugar together with the softened butter until it is lighter in color and fluffy.
3. Add the egg, molasses and maple syrup to the butter mixture and beat together until well combined.
4. Add the flour in three batches, making sure the flour is well incorporated before adding the next batch.

5. Once it is all mixed, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
7. Measure 1-1 ½ tablespoons of batter and roll into balls. Roll the balls in the demerara sugar and place on the prepared sheet about two inches apart. Using the back of a rounded teaspoon measure, make a small indentation about halfway deep in each ball.
8. Bake the cookies 6-8 minutes until they are just set but still soft.
9. Remove the cookies from the oven and use your rounded teaspoon to repress the “thumbprint” again. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for about three minutes before removing to a rack to cool.

Make the Filling

1. Gently heat the eggnog to room temperature in a microwave proof bowl. Add the white chocolate chips and stir.
2. Heat the chocolate and eggnog in the microwave in 30 second segments, stirring after each one, for about 1 ½ minutes or until the chocolate melted and smooth.
3. Pipe the filling into the center of each cookie.
4. Allow to cool and sprinkle with a little nutmeg.