Holiday favorite Gingerbread Cookies with a chewy center and spiced white chocolate filling. Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies are a favorite for the holiday season and the dough couldn’t be any easier to make.
Gingerbread Cookies are one of the most popular holiday cookies and have been around for decades. Every year I get excited about making a big batch of these cookies to share during holiday parties. This year, I’ve used less added sugar and it’s a dessert recipe I’ll be keeping for the future.
Every year right around Thanksgiving time, I stock up on baking goods and spend Thanksgiving Day weekend baking. It’s a family tradition I grew up with and I look forward to it every year. While many people are out shopping on Black Friday, I spent my day in the kitchen baking my favorite holiday cookies and desserts like these Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies.
Most people are perfectly happy searching for new Thanksgiving Day recipes to make and I spend my time scouring my mom’s old cookbooks for all her cookie recipes. Year after year, I find a way to recreate all of our family’s most traditional holiday desserts. For the next four weeks, I’ll be making batch after batch of classic cookies to share for our family parties.
Most people don’t know that the amount of sugar in a recipe is subjective. In baking, it’s used to add flavor. In cakes, it’s whipped with butter to add air and therefore creating delicate fluffy crumbs. But did you know that you can adapt some recipes to your liking and essentially cut the amount of sugar by half that’s called for in a recipe?
If you’re baking this holiday season, you’ll really love how easy it is to use SPLENDA® Naturals Sugar & Stevia Sweetener Blend in place of sugar. Sometimes as a baker, I’m afraid to change a recipe too much out of fear of another failed recipe. However, I’ve been using a variety of SPLENDA® Naturals and Sweetener Products over the past year and have yet to have a failed recipe!
Cookies are a huge part of the holiday season in our family and I really wanted to demonstrate that it’s possible to bake a cookie with less added sugar and that’s identical in flavor to the traditional recipe. The only ingredient I’ve changed from the original recipe is the sugar. Using this sugar blend has not changed the appearance of the cookie.
The flavor is just as rich and the cookie is chewy, just as I like them! You’ll see in these photos that I didn’t end up with a crumbly dough or one that never formed correctly.
This particular sugar blend comes in granules that are comparable in size to granulated sugar. While the granules remain the same size, only half of the amount of this sugar blend is needed to achieve the same sweetness as desired with traditional sugar.
This sugar blend is ideal because it’s a natural sweetener made with no artificial or genetically engineered ingredients. In fact, only sugar and stevia leaf extract are listed as ingredients.
Each two-pound bag comes with a conversion chart and tips on how to appropriately use the product. I’ve simply followed my mom’s recipe to make these Gingerbread Cookies but swapped out the sugar called for and replaced it with the amount stated on the conversion chart.
Over the past year, I’ve shared recipes that incorporate SPLENDA® Naturals and Sweetener Products. These recipes are a great way to use less added sugar while cooking and baking in the kitchen.
How are you using these products to create #SPLENDASweeties and #SweetSwaps desserts this holiday season?
**UPDATED – I’ve included measurements in the ingredients to include granulated sugar and brown sugar in place of Splenda products since they have been discontinued.
Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar or packed light brown sugar OR 1/4 cup+ 2 tablespoons SPLENDA® Naturals Sugar & Stevia Sweetener Blend
- 2 tbsp packed light brown sugar OR SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar, for dusting OR 1/3 cup SPLENDA® Naturals Sugar & Stevia Sweetener Blend
Filling
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 4½ tsp milk
- 1 tsp molasses
- ⅛ tsp ground ginger
- ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 dashes ground nutmeg
Topping
- ⅓ cup white chocolate chips
- 2 tsp milk
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking soda; set aside.In a bowl fit with a mixer, beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high speed; about 4 minutes. On medium speed, beat in molasses until combined. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Use a spatula to wipe down the sides of the bowl and beat until combined; about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low, slowly beat dry ingredients into wet ingredients until combined. Wipe the sides of the bowl down with a spatula then beat; 1 minute.Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough for at least 1 1/2 hours.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop, scoop dough. I used a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop. Cut cookie scoop dough in half then roll each half into a ball. Each ball is mini; about 3/4 inch or about a little more than 1/2 tablespoon of dough.Roll dough into 1/3 cup granulated sugar then place on prepared baking sheet. Place dough 1 inch apart. Using a teaspoon measuring spoon, carefully indent the cookie in the center and press in just to form the center. Don’t puncture through the dough to the cookie sheet.Bake cookies about 7-9 minutes. I baked mine for 8 minutes but oven temperature may vary. Using a teaspoon measuring spoon, indent the center of the cookie. Allow cookies to cool before filling.To Make the FillingIn a small saucepan over low heat, melt white chocolate chips and skim milk. Stir in ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and molasses. Working in batches, carefully spoon about 1 teaspoon chocolate mixture into the indent. I had about 50-60 mini cookies. Reheat chocolate mixture as needed to spoon easily into indents. Allow to cool; about 10 minutes.To Make the ToppingIn a small saucepan over low heat, melt white chocolate and skim milk until silky smooth. Carefully drizzle cookies with chocolate. Allow cookies to cool then store in airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate and it’s accuracy is not guaranteed to be exact.
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I’m sharing SPLENDA® Sweetener Products in my life as part of a sponsored series for Socialstars™ #SplendaSweeties #SweetSwaps
updated 11/2020
20 Responses
Seriously addicting! The only “negative” is that the indent won’t hold its shape once baked, so you have to “re-indent” after baking.
I love these cookies! What do you think is their shelf life? Also what’s the best way to store them? Thanks,
Vanessa
These were delicious and perfect!
wondering how long the cookies will keep in an air tight container or frozen after made?
Several days. If frozen, a few months.
Can this dough be made ahead & frozen?!
Yes for 1-3 months. Bring the dough to room temperature when ready to use.
i rolled into balls, indented, baked . Came out flat and indentation disappeared. Weighed ingredients not sure what happened everything was refrigerated. Not really sure what happened. May try again.
Renee, the indent does disappear but you should see a faint outline of it and just need to press it back in to flatten it. Also, the dough could use some more refrigerator is they spread too much. I have not had that problem yet. In addition, you may be able to add a little extra flour to the dough. Of course, if all else fails, you can just dip half the cookie in melted chocolate. I have seen many bakers display their cookies this way as well.
These cookies worked well until the white chocolate was combined with the milk. The milk ruined the white chocolate and the recipe should have been to use oil, not milk because that ruined the white chocolate and made it unusable. Otherwise it turned out fine.
I made these today and they were absolutely perfect. Soft and chewy with the white chocolate, just delicious!
These cookies are a keeper, thanks, Shawn!
Can you use the same proportions of white sugar and brown sugar instead of the splenda?
Hi Carlea, 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar.
Thank you so much!
My kids love gingerbread cookies! Look so tasty and fun to eat!
Gingerbread cookies are my all time fave! These are also so pretty!
These cookies look so legit! And perfect for cookie exchanges this month thanks!
These cookies look amazing! I feel like I’m getting 2 treats in one when I take a bite! ginger bread and then a chocolate melt haha! 😀 Delish!
I love the idea of white chocolate inside the gingerbread cookies. This is splendid. I’m making these 🙂