Fudge Filled Festive Sugar Cookies

So I’m very guilty of buying the fun holiday baking supplies at Target each year. I usually pick them up early in the season, because if you don’t buy stuff the first time you see them, you probably won’t find them again. This year I picked up a variety pack of Halloween sprinkles, packaged in what looks like test tubes. Super cute! Now it’s a couple of days before Halloween and I hadn’t used them. Off I went to find a recipe. I didn’t just want to make funfetti bars or something like that. These thumbprint cookies looked perfect.

The recipe I found online used a sugar cookie mix. I just opted to make a batch of sugar cookie dough, as I had the ingredients on hand and it takes no time to whip up sugar cookie dough. I refrigerated the dough for an hour, but you could probably get away with not refrigerating the dough and it would be ok. The sprinkles stick better when the dough is a touch warmer.

This recipe made just under 3 dozen cookies. I made 2 dozen cookies with orange and black sprinkles, and made the third dozen with a larger sprinkle. The larger sprinkles completely melted in the oven, so those didn’t look as nice. The fudge filling is just ganache: chocolate and heavy cream. I used chocolate chips, not the milk chocolate chips used in the recipe inspiration. I toyed with using a chopped up chocolate bar, as I have a few on hand, but I just went simple. These cookies are really not that exotic: a sugar cookie with chocolate ganache, but the sprinkles really make them festive!

Fudge Filled Festive Sugar Cookies

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

2-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Festive sprinkles

1 cup chocolate chips

¼ cup heavy cream

In a large mixer bowl, beat the powdered sugar and butter on medium until light. Add the vanilla and egg and stir again on medium to incorporate. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Shape the dough into 1-1/4” balls. Roll the balls in festive sprinkles and place on the prepared baking sheet. Make an indentation in the top of each cookie with you thumb (or wooden spoon).

Bake for 8-10 minutes until the cookies are set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. You may want to press down the indentation in the tops of the cookies again, so that it will be better defined.

Place the chocolate chips in a bowl. Bring the heavy cream just to a boil, and pour over the chocolate chips. Allow to set for 5 minutes. Whisk the mixture until smooth and glossy. Allow to set for 5 minutes. Spoon or pipe the chocolate into the indentation in the top of the cookies.

Recipe inspiration from Dinner at the Zoo . Sugar cookie recipe from Betty Crocker Cookbook