Ghirardelli Chocolate-Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies

Peanut butter and chocolate meet here with the elevated--but easy!--upgrade of a rich, chocolaty ganache center. Soft on the inside and slightly crisp on the outside, this delicious treat creates a melt-in-your-mouth experience that's perfect for a cookie swap, teachers' gifts, or to treat your neighbors. Or keep all to yourself and serve with vanilla ice cream.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 45 mins
• Calories: 91 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 large eggs
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 (12 ounce) bag Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Chips
• 1 (11 ounce) package Ghirardelli Grand Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Chips

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Step 2

Prepare the Cookies: Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and peanut butter with a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until incorporated after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

Step 3

Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; gradually add to butter mixture, beating on low speed just until blended and smooth. Cover and chill 1 hour.

Step 4

Scoop dough into balls using a 1-inch cookie scoop (about 1/2 tablespoon); place 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Press your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon into center of each ball, forming an indentation. Keep unused dough chilled while baking cookies.

Step 5

Bake, in batches, in preheated oven until lightly browned, 10 to 11 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 5 minutes; transfer to wire racks. Lightly press your thumb into indentations again while cookies are warm to reinforce shape. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Step 6

Prepare the Filling: Place first bag of Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Chips, heavy cream, and butter in a medium-size microwaveable bowl, and microwave on medium (50% power) until melted and smooth, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Let stand 15 minutes.

Step 7

Transfer filling to a piping bag or a heavy-duty zip-top bag with 1/2 inch snipped from 1 corner.

Step 8

Pipe filling into indentation in each cookie, about 1 teaspoon per cookie. Press 3 Ghirardelli Grand Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips onto the filling of each cookie. Let stand until chocolate filling is firm, about 1 hour.