Andes Candies Mint Thumbprints
Ingredients
- Cookie
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- 2 egg yolks
- Green food coloring (Use until you get the color desired. I use AmeriColor soft gel paste and just give the batter a couple quick zig zags of color)
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt Filling
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons butter Topping
- 18 Andes Candies, cut in half diagonally to make 36 pieces
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, beat 1 cup butter and powdered sugar on medium speed until fluffy.
- Beat in peppermint extract, egg yolks, and food coloring until blended.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to mixture and beat on low speed until combined.
- Shape dough into 1-inch balls (I use a 1-inch cookie scoop).
- Using a tart tamper (or anything that has a round end on it), press a deep well into the center of each cookie. (I dip whatever I am using to make the hole in flour every few cookies so it doesn’t stick).
- Bake 10-12 minutes until set. If necessary, reshape the wells once they come out of the oven.
- Cool completely.
- In a medium microwaveable bowl, add chocolate chips, whipping cream and butter and microwave on high for 1 minute. The mixture should be melted but not too hot. After heating, I use a small whisk to get the chocolate as smooth as possible.
- Fill each well with about 1 teaspoon of the chocolate mixture (NOTE: spooning in the mixture can get pretty messy. For this step, I add the chocolate to a piping bag and pipe the chocolate into each well. It looks much neater and is easier and faster.
- Let the chocolate slightly cool (around 10-15 minutes) and add the Andes Candies, pushing down lightly to set. If it looks like the candy is starting to tilt, let the chocolate set a bit longer.
- Let cool at least one hour.
- ENJOY!!
Juvenile Journey 
My daughters and friends are having a cookie exchange and I am going to make these! They look amazing! Thank you for sharing!
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This will be a hit, I promise! Make sure to whisk the chocolate until smooth once it is melted. ENJOY!
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So I just realized I don’t have any dark chocolate chips is there any thing I can substitute for it…..so looking forward to making these.
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If you have regular chocolate chips, or any chocolate bars laying around, you could use that instead. The dark chocolate just gives it such a rich, smooth flavor!
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We made the cookies then placed hershey kisses in the center while hot out of the oven!yumm
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Is whipping cream the heavy whipping cream ? Thanks
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Yes! I use the heavy whipping cream but you could use either.
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How long does it take the chocolate center to firm up so you can stack them to freeze?
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I always flash freeze mine (lay them on a cookie sheet and freeze for one hour). After that, I stack them into containers. I hope that helps!
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About how many cookies does it make?
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This will make 36 cookies using a 1 inch cookie scoop.
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Do you keep them in the freezer or just freeze to set chocolate?
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Hi Colleen! I flash freeze them to set the chocolate so that I can stack them in containers to freeze for a couple weeks. Otherwise, the chocolate should be set in about an hour or so if you are planning to serve immediately. I hope this is helpful!
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Based on your comments above, can I assume that these can be made weeks ahead and freeze them if I want to give them as gifts? How good are they once they thaw?
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Yes, they can be made weeks ahead of time. Most cookies freeze beautifully, and these are no exception. I make about 15 varieties of cookies for Christmas trays so I start freezing them in November. When freezing, just make sure you line the bottom of your container with wax paper and then add wax paper between each layer of cookies. Wrap the entire container in plastic wrap so that no air gets in.
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This is a great idea. I never thought of wrapping in plastic to keep airtight 🙆🏼♀️
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Is this just a sugar cookie if I wanted to buy to make it even easier?
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The ingredients and quantities are very different than a sugar cookie. Sugar cookies use granulated sugar whereas this recipe uses powdered sugar so the consistency is very different. You would still need to mix in the peppermint extract and food coloring. I couldn’t really say how those would turn out.
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Where is the recipe?
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I’m not sure what you are seeing on your screen, you commented on the recipe page?
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My daughter can’t eat eggs. Any idea what I could replace the egg yolks with?
Thank you!
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Yes!! My preference is unsweetened applesauce. I use a quarter cup per egg for baking cookies when the recipe calls for whole eggs. When it calls for just egg yolks, use an extra half teaspoon of baking soda and 2 tablespoons of either white or apple cider vinegar. I hope this helps!
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Is it really peppermint extract? The Andes mints are mint flavor, seems the extract should also be Mint flavored.
Thanks for your reply
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It is really peppermint extract. Mint is just an umbrella term to include several mint varieties, including peppermint. Pure mint extract is still made of peppermint, so the flavor isn’t that different. This recipe specifically calls for peppermint extract. You can certainly use the mint if that is your preference.
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Your recipes and blog are like life goals for me! I totally wish I could keep up with something like this you rock 🙋 Happy Christmas!
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Jennifer, that made my day! I am so happy to hear how much you are enjoying the blog and recipes. Merry, merry Christmas to you!
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These look great! I make tons of cookies at Christmas time, then freeze them, and later plate them. With the heavy whipping cream…would these need to stay refrigerated? Or is it ok to leave them out? Thank you for your help! Merry Christmas!
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Hi Denise! That is a great point, and thank you so much for pointing that out. I need to add that to the recipe notes that since this uses whipping cream, it needs to be refrigerated. I have never had an issue because these never last longer than the day I make them 🙂 Merry Christmas!
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I thought the sugar stabilized the milk? If you think about it cake frosting has milk and it’s usually not refrigerated
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Sugar stabilizes dairy ingredients in things like icing because it reduces the moisture content, but with things like chocolate and, say, caramel filling, even though it is hardened, it is still liquid which attracts bacteria. I make caramel tassies every year, and because the caramel is mixed with evaporated milk, it needs to be refrigerated or it spoils. I hope this helps.
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Did u just put the cookie part in freezer ? How long can we leave in freezer?
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Hi Jennifer! You can add the chocolate filling before freezing. I always flash freeze mine for one hour in a single layer, then I stack them in a container, wax paper between layers. You can add the Andes candies before flash freezing, or you can add them right before serving after the chocolate filling has thawed if you freeze them. These can be frozen in an airtight container for up to six months. I always wrap my container in plastic wrap to be sure it is completely airtight.
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Surprising my sister from another mister with a batch of these (along with some others shes chosen) for Christmas. I can’t wait to see how they turn out. Question would this base be considered a shortbread cookie? Im looking to find a good shortbread recipe too
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This would not be a short bread recipe, but I found the absolute best last Christmas which is Ina Garten’s recipe:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/shortbread-cookies-recipe-1945855. I hope it works for you!
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I’m thinking of trying to make these like a chocolate chip cookie by stirring the dark chips into the dough and baking them then adding an Andes mint to the top. Thoughts? Just wondering if anyone thinks it will work. To tell the truth I’m straight up too lazy to do the whole chocolate sauce piping thing.
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I think that sounds like it would be pretty amazing, and please let me know how it turns out! The best thing about recipes is how versatile they can be. If you try something and it works, perfect! You created a brand new recipe! If not, lesson learned. I hope it works out for you!
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After I had already creamed the sugar and butter I realized I didn’t have peppermint extract (I thought I did but it was almond. I. Would have saved these for another day if I had realized that!) I used vanilla extract instead. The dough tastes like a good sugar cookie and I’m hoping the frosting and candy will give them enough mint flavor! Also I couldn’t find Andes mints at the store so I’m using Hersheys peppermint bark bells and mint fudge bon bon bells.
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Do these have to be stored in the refrig / freezer?. I normally store mine in cookie tins in my basement. I’m concerned that the whipping cream can go bad If frozen – how long to thaw before using
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I made these a couple weeks ago and have kept them in the freezer. I just took a few out today, and they were good after sitting on a plate for about 10 to 15 minutes. They tasted awesome!
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I just made these at a cookie bake and they absolutely did not turn out. They tasted like cooked flour with a hint of mint. Super sad, as I had high hopes for this recipe.
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What method did you use for measuring the flour? Flour can vary greatly depending on how you measure it. It’s easy to get too much or too little, it sounds like you just had too much. It also matters how much flour is used to roll out the dough. I’m sorry they did not work out for you.
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Can this recipe be doubled without changing turnout?
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Yes, it can be doubled.
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Can you use evaporated milk instead of whipping cream??
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You can! It is a one to one ratio. I hope you enjoy them!
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I have enjoyed Andes mint candies for years! Yesterday I just for the first time purchased the peppermint candies! I experienced stomach pains and thought the owner should know! This has never happened with the mint candies! The owner may respond if he chooses!
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I am trying to make these and they are a sticky crumbly mess. The dough sticks to my hands and if I can get it t make a ball it crumbles everywhere. Not sure what is wrong. I followed the recipe exactly.
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How did you measure the flour? It sounds like there is not enough flour. The dough should not be sticky at all, or crumbly. I would add more flour. I always spoon flour into the measuring cup and then level it off.
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I just made a batch, and was disappointed that they did not maintain the thumbprint cookie shape, but actually flattened out. I still created the well and used chocolate for the center, but the cookie part was just a round flat cookie. What did I do wrong?
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Do you mean just the centers flattened out or the entire cookie? When the centers rise, which normally they do, you just need to push them back down a bit right when they come out of the oven.
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Debbie,
This same thing happened to me when making these tonight. The cookies flattened out and were extremely fragile. I am hoping to try again and figure out what I could have possibly done wrong. I bake often and have never had this happen!
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Hi Jessica, when you say flattened out, do you mean the impression filled back in or that the cookies were completely flat? If the cookies were extremely flat all around, the butter may have been too soft or whipped too long?
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I made a double batch of these cookies and they look pretty and my husband said that they’re his new favorite and thanks for posting and they’re pretty darn simple to do excited to have people trying them
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I’m so happy you enjoy them as much as we do! Thank you for posting and letting me know!
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I was contemplating adding a smidge of peppermint to the chocolate filling, do you think that’s overkill?
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It all depends on your taste. I would make the chocolate filling and only add the extra peppermint to half of it. That way, you can taste them with and without the extra flavoring to see which you like best. I’d love to know how they turn out!
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I made these and everyone loved them. I used mini muffin tins and they turned out great. Thank you so much for posting the recipe. They are a big hit!
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Thank you so much for sharing! I am so happy they turned out great and that everyone loved them!
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Did you soften the butter? I’m excitedly making them right now!
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You just need it to be at room temperature, I really hope you enjoy them!!
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Just made cookie part and waiting for them to cool. Used 1/8 teaspoon to make smaller and deeper holes in second batch. They held well shape better and just needed minor deepening (again with 1/8 teaspoon) to maintain well when I took them out. Can’t wait to finish and take to my kids 2nd and 3rd grade party tomorrow!!!
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That is awesome to hear!! So glad it worked out. I hope the kiddos love them!
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After three failed attempts at making other people’s cookies, I tried these and all went well 😂 The dough was a perfect playdoh texture and the cookies came out soft and tasty! I only needed 7 1/2 minutes in my oven though. Glad I was paranoid from my other attempts and checked on them pretty regularly!
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So good to hear, Megan! That’s a perfect way to describe the dough… play doh like. Ovens are so finicky and different, I always check on new recipes earlier for that reason, glad you found the amount of time that works for you!
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