Recipe: Ganache Thumbprint Cookies and Ganache Variations

GANACHE THUMBPRINTS
"These cookies are much like traditional thumbprint cookies, buttery and studded with pecans, but the centers are filled with a rich dark chocolate ganache."


2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups very finely chopped pecans
FOR THE GANACHE:
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
FOR THE COOKIES:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cool, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus additional for greasing the baking sheets
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large egg whites, beaten in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons water until frothy

Position the rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter a large baking sheet; set it aside.

Begin by preparing things you will need as you move through the recipe. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Place the pecans on a large plate.

TO MAKE THE GANACHE:
Place the chocolate in a medium bowl, then heat the cream in a medium saucepan just until small bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Pour the heated heavy cream over the chocolate and stir until melted and smooth, if a little runny (it will become firm as the cookies cool). Set the chocolate aside and prepare the cookies.

TO MAKE THE COOKIES:
Soften the butter in a large bowl, using an electric mixer at medium speed, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat at medium speed until pale yellow and very soft, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then the vanilla until smooth. Turn off the beaters, add the prepared flour mixture, and beat at low speed just until a soft dough forms with some floury grains still present.

Roll a level tablespoon of the dough between your palms. Roll this ball in the egg-white mixture, then into the chopped pecans, studding the outside with the nuts. Place on the prepared baking sheet and repeat until the sheet is filled, spacing the balls about 1 1/2-inches apart.

Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and make an indentation in each cookie, either by wetting your thumb and pressing it into the cookie, or by using the handle of a wooden spoon. Fill each indentation with 1 teaspoon of the prepared ganache.

Bake for another 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned at the edges and the chocolate center just starts to bubble around the edges. Cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet, then use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cool the baking sheet for 5 minutes and butter it again before making more cookies - or use a second, buttered baking sheet that hasn't been in the oven.

RECOMMENDED STORAGE:
4 days between sheets of wax paper, Not recommended for freezing

GANACHE VARIATIONS:
Flavor the ganache by stirring 1 1/2 tablespoons of any of the following into the cooled, melted chocolate mixture: Amaretto or other almond liqueur, Chambord or other raspberry liqueur, Frangelico or other hazelnut liqueur, Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur, Kahlua or other coffee-flavored liqueur, or Oh Canada Maple Liqueur or other maple liqueur.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies
Source: The Ultimate Chocolate Cookie Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough