Chocolate Chips Thumbprint Cookies

These thumbprint cookies get chocolate two ways. Melted semi-sweet chips go right into the buttery dough, then more chips fill the thumbprint indent after baking, melting from the residual heat into a glossy pool you swirl with a toothpick or spoon.

Rolling each ball in egg white before coating in chopped nuts gives them a crunchy shell that cracks when you bite through to the tender, chocolatey center. The combination of butter and shortening in the dough is deliberate: butter for flavor, shortening for structure that holds the thumbprint shape without spreading flat.

Use your thumb (or the back of a rounded measuring spoon) to press the indent just deep enough to hold those chips. Too shallow and they slide off; too deep and you punch through the bottom.

Chef Tips

• Melt the ¼ cup chips in short microwave bursts, stirring between each. Chocolate scorches fast and goes grainy if overheated.
• Chill the dough 15 minutes if it feels too soft to roll. Warm dough sticks to your hands and loses its shape.
• Place the chocolate chips in the indent immediately after pulling from the oven. The cookie heat melts them gently without burning.
• Wait for the chips to soften a few minutes, then swirl for that polished, bakery look.

Variations

• Use peanut butter chips instead of chocolate for a nutty, sweet filling.
• Roll in finely chopped pecans or hazelnuts for a different nut flavor.
• Add a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt on top of the swirled chocolate before it sets.