I made these gingerbear thumbprint cookies because I have three obsessions in life: #1) Dogs, #2) Baking, and #3) Bears—and these adorable cookies allow me to combine two out of three of my favorite things into one sweet treat! While it does take quite a bit of time to roll out the dough, it's worth the extra effort for the cute (and tasty) outcome!
Ingredients
- unsalted butter: 0.5 cup (softened)
- firmly packed dark brown sugar: 0.33333 cup
- white sugar: 0.33333 cup (plus more for rolling)
- unsulphured molasses: 0.33333 cup
- egg, at room temperature: 1 piece
- 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract: 1 piece
- 1/2 cups all-purpose flour: 2 piece
- ground ginger: 2 tsp
- ground cinnamon: 1 tsp
- baking powder: 1 tsp
- salt: 1 tsp
- ground nutmeg: 0.5 tsp
- baking soda: 0.5 tsp
- ground cloves: 0.25 tsp
- ground allspice: 0.25 tsp
- ounces white chocolate: 4 piece (chopped)
- heavy cream: 3 Tbsp
- unsulphured molasses: 0.5 tsp
- pinch ground ginger: 1 piece
- pinch ground cinnamon: 1 piece
- pinch ground nutmeg: 1 piece
- pinch salt: 1 piece
- black melting candy coating, such as Wilton Candy Melts®: 2 Tbsp (or as needed)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
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In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and 1/3 cup white sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the 1/3 cup molasses, egg, and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add in flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cloves, and allspice and mix on low speed until just combined.
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Pour about 1/3 cup white sugar into a separate small bowl. Scoop out 1 tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball (dough will be a little sticky, but should still roll into a ball. If the dough is too sticky, refrigerate until it is easier to handle). Roll dough ball in the sugar to coat; place on the prepared baking sheet. Scoop out 2 separate 1/2-teaspoons of dough and roll each into a ball, then coat each in sugar. Place one of these smaller balls of dough on each side of the upper portion of the 1-tablespoon-sized ball of dough to form the bears' ears. (These “ears” will not stick to the larger ball of dough, but they do need to be touching it.) Repeat this process with the remaining dough, placing the "bears" about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Place the baking sheets into the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
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Bake cookies, one baking sheet at a time, until cookies look just set, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven, and immediately use the back of a rounded 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon to carefully indent the middle of each cookie, making sure not to go all the way through. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the pan before carefully removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat this process with the remaining cookies.
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To make the filling, place white chocolate, heavy cream, 1/2 teaspoon molasses, pinch of ginger, pinch of cinnamon, pinch of nutmeg, and pinch of salt into a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat on 50% power for 30 seconds at a time (stirring after each 30 seconds), until chocolate has melted and filling is smooth. Carefully spoon about a 1/2 teaspoon of the filling into each cookie’s indentation. Allow filling to set up until soft set, about 15 minutes.
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Place black Candy Melts into a small microwave-safe bowl, and microwave according to package directions. Pour melted Candy Melts into a piping bag, and snip a small hole in the end of it. Pipe on the bears' eyes and noses; reheating the Candy Melts as necessary. Allow the eyes and noses to set before serving.
