Red Velvet Cream Cheese Thumbprints

In 2015, I hosted my first Christmas Cookie Swap and we had these beautiful, festive cookies at the table. They are a star of the show with the vibrant red color and sugar crystals playfully decorating the outside! This isn't your quick cake box recipe and it may take a few extra steps because everything is from scratch, but that is how real red velvet cakes were made originally. You can do this one!

Ingredients:

Cookie

• 1 cup butter, softened

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 egg yolk*

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 4 tsp red food coloring (Wilton has some of the best)

• 2 tsp cocoa powder

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (or I prefer sanding sugar)*

Filling

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened

• 1 egg yolk*

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1/8 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Honestly, I always do this for all my cookies!

2. To make the cookies, beat together the butter, brown sugar, egg yolk and vanilla until light and fluffy. Mix in the flour, food coloring and cocoa powder until soft dough forms.

3. Scoop out the dough by heaping tablespoons and roll them in the sugar* before placing on the prepared baking sheet (space them out about 2 inches). Use the back of a round teaspoon to make a small indentation in the cookie dough.

4. Bake for 10 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, make your filling by using an electric mixer or small food processor, beating together the cream cheese, egg yolk, sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth. Using softened cream cheese will help ensure you don't have lumpy filling.

6. After the first 10 minutes of baking, use the back of a round teaspoon to deepen the indent in the cookies. Spoon a teaspoon of the filling into each indentation. Bake for an additional 12 minutes, until filling is set.

7. Let cool completely before serving. Store covered and chilled.

8. This will make 2-3 dozen cookies, depending on the size of ball you start with.

*You can reserve the egg whites and dunk the cookie dough balls in the egg whites before rolling them in the granulated sugar (or use sanding sugar crystals).

You will be the hit of the cookie swap!

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