Have you ever had chocolate and gingerbread together? It may seem like an odd combination, but these Soft Chocolate Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies are the perfect way for you to find out just how delicious it can be.
Easy to Make Soft Chocolate Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies

These delicious soft chocolate gingerbread thumbprint cookies are out of this world. They are a hit at a holiday cookie exchange.
You start off by making some incredible Gingerbread cookie dough. Butter and molasses combined with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice is flavorful and aromatic. Just making the cookie dough alone will have your house smelling so good that your mouth will be watering.
Roll balls of cookie dough into sanding sugar before baking just long enough to make them tasty, while leaving them soft. Press a piece of rich Ghiradelli milk chocolate into the center of each cookie while they are warm so your chocolate can get nice and melty. And if you don’t want your cookie to fall apart or burn your mouth, you should let them cool 30 minutes before eating them. (But no one will blame you for trying one when it’s warm and gooey.)
When to serve chocolate gingerbread cookies
These cookies are just right for all kinds of Autumn and Winter events. They are an awesome treat for Thanksgiving. And if you bake these up for Christmas gifts, your family and friends will be thrilled. These cookies would be a welcome addition to holiday parties or potlucks, too.
If you participate in a holiday cookie or baking exchange, this gingerbread cookie recipe is sure to be popular. You may want to multiply the recipe so you can share them with everyone.
Gingerbread is one of those iconic holiday flavors. And just like so many other things – it tastes even better covered in chocolate! If you’re a gingerbread fan, you may also enjoy our easy slow cooker gingerbread cake recipe too!
Should Gingerbread Cookies be Soft or Hard?
Fresh gingerbread cookies should be soft. I like to think that they have a similar consistency to that of the cookie bit of a homemade chocolate chip cookie. They should be firm enough to hold their shape and not fall apart, but still be soft. Since these cookies have molasses in them, they are meant to be soft and chewy; molasses retains moisture well.
They are different from Ginger Snaps, which are hard, crunchy cookies.
To keep the cookies from getting hard while storing, you can add a few fresh apple slices or a slice of bread into the container.
How long will chocolate gingerbread thumbprint cookies keep?
When stored in an airtight container, soft gingerbread cookies should keep for 2-3 weeks stored at room temperature.
They freeze well too, which makes them great for those home bakers who like to start their holiday baking early. I like to freeze them in a single layer, or if in layers, with a sheet of waxed or parchment paper between layers.
More great Christmas cookie recipes:
This year, I decided to try something new here on the blog for the holidays. I gathered a group of blogging friends together, and we put our heads together to come up with some great new holiday cookie recipes for you. I hope you enjoy them! You’ll want to also check out the M&M Oatmeal Cookie and Date Pinwheel Cookie recipes because some of my friends’ recipes are listed there too! More recipes for everyone!
Elsa must have been whipping up some magic for this stunning recipe, because these Frozen Sprinkle Cookies are gorgeous and yummy! They are perfect for watching Frozen or getting ready for Frozen 2. When you need a versatile cookie recipe that's easy to make, try our Apple Cookie Cups. They are a cinch to make, and you can substitute the apple pie filling for any pie filling flavor of your choice. There are so many possibilities! Gluten-free friends? We've got you taken care of with these yummy Dark Chocolate Cookies. Using rice flour instead of wheat with lots of coconut makes these flours not only delicious, but friendly for your dietary needs. A fun jar of DIY cookie mix makes a great holiday gift, and our M&M Oatmeal Cookie recipe is great to give. It's so festive and pretty while in the jar, and the cookies are super yummy! This recipe reminds me so much of the classic wedding cookies my grandmother used to make. They have a delightful, citrus crunch that practically melts in your mouth once you take a bite. Another great traditional holiday recipe is our Date Pinwheel cookies. Some people call these Date Nut Cookies since the dates are mixed with chopped pecans. So you get some nice crunch mixed with the sweet filling and flaky cookie. Bar cookies are always a hit at our house, and these Classic Rainbow Cookies really hit the spot. They taste great, and with their red and green layers, they are so beautiful to serve for a party. Whenever I'm making sugar cookies during the holidays, I always make sure to make enough to have some Grinch Sugar Cookies! Decorated with royal icing, our step-by-step tutorial will have you decorating Grinch faces in no time. These red and green swirled Christmas Sandwich Cookies are a delight to serve for the holidays and are always a hit for cookie exchanges. They look and taste great, and they keep well too. They aren't as delicate as some holiday cookies, so they are really nice to give in a cookie swap.
Frozen Sprinkle Cookies; 12 Days of Cookies
Apple Cookie Cups
The Best Dark Chocolate Cookies - Gluten-Free Cookies and Cookie Round-Up
M&M Oatmeal Cookies in a Jar DIY with Free Printable Gift Tag
Lemon Snowball Cookies
Date Pinwheel Cookies
Classic Rainbow Cookies
Grinch Sugar Cookies
Christmas Sandwich Cookies
Ingredients to make Soft Chocolate Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies:
- 3/4 C unsalted sweet cream butter, softened
- 3/4 C packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 C molasses
- 1 large egg
- 3 C flour
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp all spice spice
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 24 Ghirardelli milk chocolate melting wafers
- 1 container of white sanding sugar
How to make Soft Chocolate Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, kosher salt and baking soda until combined.
- Using a standing mixer, beat together the butter and powder sugar until combined and fluffy.
- Beat in the molasses until combined.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined.
- Gradually beat in the dry ingredients until a dough forms.
- Pour the white sanding sugar into a small bowl.
- Using a mini ice cream scooper, scoop some dough out and roll into a ball.
- Roll the dough into the white sanding sugar.
- Repeat the previous step 11 more times to make 12 cookies.
- Place 12 cookie dough balls onto the first cookie sheet. (If your oven will accommodate two baking sheets at once, you can make all 24 cookies at the same time.)
- Using the back of a teaspoon or small spoon make an indent into the cookie dough balls.
- Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- Place a Ghirardelli milk chocolate wafer into the indent of the cookies.
- Allow the cookies to cool for another 30 minutes before enjoying!
try it and share!
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You may enjoy following our Pinterest Board, Dessert Recipes.

This may very well be the perfect Christmas cookie. It’s brimming with delicious gingerbread flavor, and the addition of the chocolate, is just super yummy!
Soft Chocolate Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 C unsalted sweet cream butter softened
- 3/4 C packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 C molasses
- 1 large egg
- 3 C flour
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp all spice spice
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 24 Ghirardelli milk chocolate melting wafers
- 1 container of white sanding sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper
- Using a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, kosher salt and baking soda until combined
- Using a standing mixer, beat together the butter and powder sugar until combined and fluffy
- Beat in the molasses until combined
- Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined
- Gradually beat in the dry ingredients until a dough forms
- Pour the white sanding sugar into a small bowl
- Using a mini ice cream scooper, scoop some dough out and roll into a ball
- Roll the dough into the white sanding sugar
- Repeat the previous step 11 more times to roll out a total of 12 cookies for the first baking sheet. If your oven accommodates two baking sheets at a time, you can bake all 24 cookies at once on two separate sheets.
- Place 12 cookie dough balls onto the first cookie sheet
- Using the back of a teaspoon or small spoon make an indent into the cookie dough balls
- Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes
- Place a Ghirardelli milk chocolate wafer into the indent of the cookies
- Allow the cookies to cool for another 30 minutes before enjoying!
Sarah says
These gingerbread cookies are to die for. That perfect little morself chocolate is just the right thing to make it extra.