Red Velvet Thumbprint Cookies

Red velvet thumbprint cookies mark Day 4 of my Advent holiday delights.  The bright red hue of these festive cookies makes them a standout for any holiday cookie contest, but it’s their chocolatey flavor combined with white chocolate-sweetened cream cheese that makes them a real contender. The creamy center melds with the moist cookie making each bite a winter’s dream.

Day 4- Red Velvet Thumbprint Cookies

Difficulty: Piece of Cake!
I managed to wake up at 7 am to whip up a batch (and I made it to work on time!).  I wanted to make them this morning so that I could bring them to work.  Someone asked me yesterday, “Where are all of these goodies going?” I answered truthfully, “To fatten up my colleagues.” A plate full of cookies this morning promptly disappeared, as my colleagues raved on and on about how delicious they were.

The cookie part of this recipe is very straightforward, although the dough is stickier and wetter than the dough in the snickerdoodle cookies.  I used the back of a wooden spoon to make the initial “thumbprints.” Then, once the cookies were baked and had slightly cooled, I used my “thumbprint” (really, my knuckles) to further indent the cookies.

The icing is simply melted white chocolate mixed with softened cream cheese. Make sure your chocolate doesn’t get too hot or it will burn! Also, make sure your cream cheese is very soft so that you can easily mix them. I used a rubber spatula and continuously folded the cream cheese into the melted chocolate until it was completely incorporated. I then used a piping bag (you can use a Ziploc bag if you don’t have one) to pipe the cream cheese filling into the indentions, which I topped with a white chocolate chip.

This recipe was inspired from Southern Living magazine, although I altered it slightly by reducing the amount of food coloring since I really despise food coloring! They even made a video showing each step. Happy Baking!