Red Velvet Thumbprint Cookies with Cream Cheese

These festive cookies combine rich red velvet flavor with creamy cream cheese centers. Rolled in holiday sprinkles for a perfect Christmas cookie. Let me share these showstopping red velvet cookies that always steal the spotlight at holiday parties! Imagine soft red velvet cookies filled with creamy cheesecake goodness and rolled in sparkly sugar. I perfected this recipe after lots of testing and now they're my most requested Christmas cookie. Plus that cream cheese filling? Pure heaven! Why These Are Special These aren't your regular thumbprint cookies they combine two classics red velvet cake and cheesecake in one perfect bite! The cookies stay soft like little cakes and that tangy cream cheese filling balances out the sweetness just right. Best part? They look fancy but they're actually pretty simple to make even beginners can nail these. Round Up These Ingredients For The Cookies: Soft butter real unsalted stuff Regular sugar for sweetness On fresh egg room temp works best Good vanilla the real deal Red gel food color for that perfect hue Regular flour nothing fancy Cocoa powder unsweetened please Baking basics soda and salt For That Amazing Filling: Cream cheese nice and soft Powdered sugar sifted no lumps More vanilla because why not The Sparkly Finish: Holiday sanding sugar red and green make them festive! Let's Start Baking Make That Dough Beat your butter and sugar until it's super fluffy takes about 3 minutes. Mix in egg vanilla and that red food color until it's bright and beautiful. Sift in those dry ingredients mix just until they come together. Chill Time Wrap up that dough pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes. Makes it way easier to handle trust me! Filling Magic While that's chilling mix up your cream cheese filling. Just blend everything until it's smooth and creamy stick it in the fridge too. Shape Em Up Roll dough into balls coat them in that sparkly sugar. Press your thumb in each one making a perfect little nest for the filling. Bake Time 350°F for about 11 minutes edges should be set but centers still soft. Let them cool a bit before filling those thumbprints with cream cheese goodness. Cliquer sur lire la suite Make Them Perfect Getting everything to room temp first makes mixing so much easier. Use gel food coloring it won't mess with your dough texture. If your thumb prints puff up while baking just press them down again while they're warm. And don't skip chilling the dough or they'll spread too much trust me I learned this the hard way! Storage Tips These beauties keep great in the fridge about 5 days. Want to freeze them? Do it before adding the filling the cream cheese doesn't freeze well. When you're ready just thaw add fresh filling and you're good to go! Perfect for getting ahead on holiday baking. Mix It Up Love chocolate? Dip half in melted white chocolate after filling. Want them minty? Add peppermint extract sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Make them nutty roll in chopped pecans instead of sugar. Double the filling for more cheesecake flavor. They're your cookies make them your way! Frequently Asked Questions Why chill the dough? Makes it easier to shape and handle. What type of food coloring is best? Gel food coloring gives brightest color. Can I make these ahead? Yes, store filled cookies in fridge up to 3 days. Why re-press indents? Centers can puff while baking. How should I store them? Keep refrigerated due to cream cheese filling. Red Velvet Thumbprints Classic red velvet cookies with a cream cheese center, decorated with holiday sprinkles. A festive twist on traditional thumbprints. Prep Time 50 Minutes Cook Time 12 Minutes Total Time 62 Minutes By: Zaho Category: Desserts Difficulty: Intermediate Cuisine: American Yield: 24 Servings (24) Dietary: Vegetarian Cliquer sur lire la suite Ingredients 01 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened. 02 3/4 cup granulated sugar. 03 1 large egg, room temperature. 04 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. 05 1 teaspoon red food coloring. 06 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour. 07 2 tablespoons cocoa powder. 08 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. 09 1/8 teaspoon salt. 10 4 ounces cream cheese, softened. 11 1/4 cup powdered sugar. 12 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. 13 1/4 cup holiday sanding sugar. Instructions Step 01 Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Step 02 Mix in egg, vanilla, food coloring. Step 03 Add dry ingredients gradually. Step 04 Chill dough 30 minutes. Step 05 Roll in sprinkles, make thumbprints. Step 06 Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes. Step 07 Mix filling ingredients. Step 08 Fill cooled cookies, chill to set. Notes Use gel food coloring. Chill dough before shaping. Re-press indents after baking. Keep refrigerated. Cliquer sur lire la suite Tools You'll Need Electric mixer. Baking sheets. Parchment paper. Piping bag (optional).