German chocolate thumbprint cookies have a soft, chocolatey, no-chill cookie dough filled with homemade German chocolate coconut-pecan filling. They’re an easy, fun twist on the classic cake and a beautiful addition to holiday gifting and Christmas cookie trays.
These German Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are the perfect mash-up of classic thumbprint cookies and the beloved German chocolate cake. They’re a fun twist on my popular German chocolate cookies.
The cookies start with an easy, no-chill chocolate dough that bakes up soft and moist. After baking, each cookie is filled with rich, homemade German chocolate filling — complete with sweet coconut, chopped pecans, and buttery caramelized flavor.
The result is a festive, bite-size treat that looks impressive but is surprisingly simple to make. Whether you’re assembling Christmas cookie trays, prepping edible gifts, or adding something unique to your holiday dessert table, these German Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are a guaranteed hit.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Butter: If you’re using unsalted butter, you’ll need to add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the dough and a pinch to the filling.
- German’s sweet chocolate: This is a mild chocolate that’s used to make German chocolate cake.
- Evaporated milk: It’s important to use evaporated milk and not milk or sweetened condensed milk.
- Coconut: If you’d like less sweetness, use unsweetened coconut.
How to make German chocolate thumbprint cookies
Here you’ll find instructions and step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe, including ingredients, is given below.
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cookie sheets with silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
Step 2: Beat butter together with granulated sugar and brown sugar together in a large bowl until well-combined. Scrape down sides of the bowl.
Step 3: Mix in egg until incorporated.
Step 4: Mix in melted chocolate and vanilla extract.
Step 5: Add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Mix in just until combined.
Step 6: Scoop dough by level tablespoon and roll into a ball.
Step 7: Press your thumb into the center of each ball.
Step 8: Bake for about 8-11 minutes or until the edges are set. If cookie centers puff up during baking, press again with the back of a small measuring spoon.
Step 9: Once your cookies are all baked, start working on your filling. To make the filling, To make the topping, add the egg yolks, milk, and brown sugar to a large saucepan. Whisk until combined.
Step 10: Add butter.
Step 11: Heat saucepan over low heat. Cook for 10 minutes, whisking regularly, until mixture has thickened. Remove from heat.
Step 12: Whisk in vanilla extract.
Step 13: Add coconut and pecans, and stir in. Let topping cool for 15 minutes.
Step 14: Fill the centers with the coconut mixture. Let the cookies cool to room temperature before serving.
Recipe Tips!
- Pecans: I like to finely chop the pecans so that there aren’t large chunks in the filling, but you can go a little more rough with your chop if you want more chunks in the filling.
- Larger cookies: You can make the cookies larger (1.5 tablespoon scoop) and with more filling. However, if you make the cookies larger, you’ll need to scale the filling up to at least 2x the recipe.
Storage
Store the leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. You can also store the cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
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German Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
Chocolate cookie dough
- ½ cup salted butter at cool room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- 2 ounces German’s sweet baking chocolate melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour please see the note below about measuring flour
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Filling
- 1 egg yolk
- ⅓ cup evaporated milk
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 ½ tablespoons salted butter
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut
- ½ cup finely chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cookie sheets with silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
- Beat butter together with granulated sugar and brown sugar together in a large bowl until well-combined. Scrape down sides of the bowl.½ cup salted butter, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup light brown sugar
- Mix in egg until incorporated.1 large egg
- Mix in melted chocolate and vanilla extract.2 ounces German’s sweet baking chocolate, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Mix in just until combined.1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Scoop dough by level tablespoon and roll into a ball.
- Press your thumb into the center of each ball.
- Bake for about 8-11 minutes or until the edges are set. If cookie centers puff up during baking, press again with the back of a small measuring spoon.
- Once your cookies are all baked, start working on your filling. To make the filling, To make the topping, add the egg yolks, evaporated milk, and brown sugar to a medium saucepan. Whisk until combined.1 egg yolk, ⅓ cup evaporated milk, ½ cup light brown sugar
- Add butter.1 ½ tablespoons salted butter
- Heat saucepan over low heat. Cook for 10 minutes, whisking regularly, until mixture has thickened. Remove from heat.
- Whisk in vanilla extract.¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add coconut and pecans, and stir in.¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut, ½ cup finely chopped pecans
- Let topping cool for 15 minutes.
- Fill the centers with 1 teaspoon of the coconut mixture.
- Let the cookies cool to room temperature before serving.
Notes
- Butter: If you’re using unsalted butter, you’ll need to add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the dough and a pinch to the filling.
- German’s sweet chocolate: This is a mild chocolate that’s used to make German chocolate cake.
- Evaporated milk: It’s important to use evaporated milk and not milk or sweetened condensed milk.
- Coconut: If you’d like less sweetness, use unsweetened coconut.
- Larger cookies: You can make the cookies larger (1.5 tablespoon scoop) and with more filling. However, if you make the cookies larger, you’ll need to scale the filling up to at least 2x the recipe.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
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