Description
These delightful Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies with Chocolate Footballs combine buttery, tender shortbread with festive nonpareil sprinkles and charming chocolate football decorations, perfect for holidays and special events.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup nonpareil sprinkles
Chocolate Footballs
- 1 ½ cups dark or milk melting chocolate
- ½ cup white melting chocolate
Instructions
- Make Chocolate Footballs: Melt dark or milk melting chocolate in a double boiler or microwave at 50% power until smooth. Transfer to a disposable piping bag and pipe chocolate into football candy mold cavities. Tap mold on counter to release air bubbles. Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes to firm, then invert mold and tap to release the chocolate footballs.
- Decorate Footballs: Melt white melting chocolate similarly. Transfer to a piping bag with a #2 small round tip or snip a tiny corner off the bag. Pipe laces onto the chocolate footballs. Refrigerate for about 5 minutes to firm the decoration.
- Prepare Cookies Dough: Preheat oven to 350° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour nonpareil sprinkles into a shallow bowl. In an electric mixer bowl, cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add flour and mix just until combined.
- Form and Chill Dough Balls: Using a 1 tablespoon scoop, portion dough and roll into balls. Roll each ball in nonpareil sprinkles to coat completely. Place on prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Refrigerate the tray with dough balls for about 10 minutes to prevent spreading.
- Bake the Cookies: Remove dough balls from refrigerator and bake for 12 minutes until bottoms are just turning golden and tops remain light. While baking, place the decorated chocolate footballs in the freezer to chill.
- Assemble Cookies: After baking, let cookies cool 2 minutes on the baking sheet. Quickly press one chilled chocolate football onto each cookie’s center. Transfer cookies to a cutting board or platter.
- Final Chilling: Refrigerate the assembled cookies for 20-30 minutes to allow the chocolate to set firmly without melting.
- Storage: Once cooled and chocolate is firm, store the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Notes
- Chilling dough balls before baking keeps the cookies from spreading and helps maintain a rounded shape perfect for thumbprints.
- Freezing chocolate footballs while cookies bake minimizes melting when placed on warm cookies.
- Refrigerating cookies after assembly speeds chocolate firming; at room temperature, the chocolate will take longer to solidify.
- No football mold or short on time? Use foil-free chocolate Easter eggs as a quick substitute for the footballs.
- Consider ethical chocolate options like homemade fair trade chocolate kisses or peanut butter cups for ethical sourcing.
- Layer cookies in an airtight container with wax paper between layers and add crinkled tissue or wax paper on top to prevent movement while storing or shipping.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 108 kcal
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 20 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 11 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 20 mg
