Chocolate Thumbprints With Cherries And Walnuts Food

CHOCOLATE-CHERRY THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour and cocoa; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Shape into 1-in. balls; place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Press a deep indentation in center of each with the end of a wooden spoon handle. Bake 7-9 minutes or until firm. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., For filling, in a small bowl, beat confectioners' sugar, butter and cherry juice. Fill each cookie with 1/2 teaspoon filling. Top each with a cherry. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Drizzle over cookies. Let stand until set.

CHOCOLATE THUMBPRINTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together 1 stick 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.
• Roll dough by teaspoonfuls into balls, and place 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. 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.
• Combine chocolate, 4 tablespoons butter, and corn syrup in a small heat-proof bowl. Set over a pot of simmering water; stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Allow to cool slightly. When cookies are cool, fill the thumbprints with the chocolate mixture.

CHOCOLATE-COVERED CHERRY THUMBPRINTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening, brown sugar and salt until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Gradually beat flour into creamed mixture. Refrigerate, covered, until easy to handle, 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°. Shape dough into 1-1/4-in. balls. In a shallow bowl, whisk egg white until foamy. Place almonds in a separate shallow bowl. Dip balls in egg white; roll in almonds.
• Place balls 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Press a deep indentation in center of each with your thumb. Bake until edges are light brown, 10-12 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks.
• In a small bowl, beat confectioners' sugar, cherry juice, butter and milk until smooth. Fill each cookie with 1/4 tsp. filling. Top with 1 cherry and drizzle with candy coating. Let stand until set.

CHOCOLATE THUMBPRINTS

Steps:

• Beat butter, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla in medium bowl until light and fluffy. In another bowl, stir flour, cocoa and salt. Add to butter mixture gradually until blended. Refrigerate dough until firm (about 1 hour).
• Heat oven to 350. Lightly grease cookie sheet. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Beat egg white slightly with fork. Dip each ball into egg white then roll in nuts (I've also done without the egg/nut mixture due to family preference). Place on cookie sheet. Press thumb gently in center of each cookie.
• Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. While cooking, prepare filling by combining powdered sugar, 1 T. butter, 2 t. milk, and 1/4 t. vanilla until smooth. Remove wrappers from candies. Remove cookies from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool 5 minutes. Spoon about 1/4 t. filling into each thumbprint. Gently press an unwrapped candy in center of each cookie. Cool completely.

CHOCOLATE THUMBPRINTS I

Steps:

• Beat 1/2 cup butter or margarine, white sugar, egg yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine flour, cocoa and salt; gradually add to butter mixture. Cover and chill 1 hour or until firm enough to roll into balls.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, lightly beat egg white.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
• Shape dough into 1 inch balls; dip in egg white, then roll in nuts. Place on greased baking sheets. Make an indentation with thumb in center of each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until center is set.
• To Make the Filling: In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, 1 tablespoon of butter or margarine, 2 teaspoons of milk and 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
• Spoon 1/4 teaspoon of the filling into each warm cookie; gently press a chocolate kiss (unwrapped) in the center. Carefully remove from baking sheet to wire racks to cool.

CHERRY CHOCOLATE THUMBPRINTS

Steps:

• Mix ingredients together to form dough and chill for one hour. Roll in 3/4 inch balls and bake for 5 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350*. Remove from oven and indent the center with your finger or the handle of a wooden spoon. Bake an additional 10 minutes.
• Cool and place 1/2 of a maraschino cherry in the center. Drizzle with melted chocolate.
• Variation: I sometimes add a dollop of chocolate or vanilla buttercream frosting under the cherry -- it makes them super yummy!
• Prep time includes chill time.