For all the cookies I have baked—and there have been many—I have never made a thumbprint cookie.  I’ve long been charmed by the name, a culinary onomatopoeia, of sorts—a name that sounds like it looks: a cookie that’s been stamped with the fleshy pad of a thumb.  And I’ve been intrigued by the endless possibilities for filling the cookies’ thumbprints—be it jam or curd or caramel or peanut butter or ganache.

So, when I set about crafting my holiday baking list, I put thumbprints right there at the top.  I left the specifics—what type of cookie (a rich butter cookie, or maybe something nut-based or flecked with cornmeal?) and what type of filling—to be worked out later.  There would be thumbprints, in one form or the other—that I knew.  There would also be a mix of treats from Christmas past—espresso crinkles, lemon poppyseed shortbread, truffles, and brittle—and from, as with the thumbprints, Christmas future (I envisioned a new confection—maybe a thick, powdery marshmallows or candy-cane-striped meringues or pistachio-studded nougat—as well Russian tea cakes (a cookie I’ve long loved to eat, but have never made) and some kind of ginger cookie).  I wanted to try an old family recipe or two, as well—maybe my grandparents’ party mix or my mom’s roll out cookies.

You’ll note the past tense with all of these Christmas baking aspirations.  The tree is trimmed.  The halls (or, er, staircase) are decked.  Travel plans have been laid.  Holiday gifts—or most of them—have been ordered.  Pandora is streaming Christmas music as I type.  But, still, the only item checked off my holiday baking list is these thumbprints.

And I’m quickly losing hope that I’ll make it through my admittedly ambitious baking list.  If that’s the case, I’m glad that, at the very least, my first baking project of the Christmas season was a good one.

This cookie is chocolate on chocolate and, as far as I’m concerned, that’s never a bad thing.  First, you’ve got a chocolate cookie—perfectly textured (a little bendy, a little sandy) and nicely balanced (the turbinado sugar sparkling against the edge of the dark chocolate and salt).  And, then, the cookie’s middle—its thumbprint—is filled with a glossy, thick vanilla-and-honey-infused ganache.

They were a worthy start (and finish?) to my holiday baking.

For more holiday recipes, visit the Holiday Recipe Index.

Chocolate Thumbprints
Martha Stewart

Yield: about 4 dozen cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 teaspoons coarse salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar, plus more for rolling (turbinado or sanding sugar works well for rolling, if you have it)
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
chocolate and vanilla bean ganache (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, cocoa powder, and salt into a small bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium, and add yolks, cream, and vanilla. Scrape sides of bowl. Beat in flour mixture until just combined.

Roll balls using 2 teaspoons dough for each, and roll each in sugar. Place 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. With the handle of a wooden spoon, press gently in the center of each to create an indentation. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are just set, about 10 minutes. (If indentations lose definition, press centers again.) Let cool slightly on baking sheets. Transfer cookies to wire racks, and let cool.

Spoon warm ganache into center of each cookie. Let stand until firm, about 15 minutes. Cookies will keep, covered, for up to 3 days.

Chocolate & Vanilla Bean Ganache
Martha Stewart

Yield: about 1 cup

1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped, pod reserved
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened

Combine honey, cream, and vanilla seeds and pod in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring until honey dissolves. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 20 minutes.

Place chocolate in a food processor. Return cream mixture to a simmer, then strain through a fine sieve. Discard solids. Pour cream mixture over chocolate, and let stand for 1 minute. Process until smooth. Add butter, and continue to process, scraping down sides occasionally, until butter is incorporated. Let cool slightly, and then use immediately.