Name: Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies with Cranberry Sauce
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 13 min
Total time: 53 min
Yield: 24 Servings
Cuisine: American

Real Life of Lulu Verified

January 21, 2026

Spiced gingerbread cookies with a tangy cranberry center and a sweet white chocolate drizzle make these thumbprints stand out on any holiday tray. They’re festive, pretty, and surprisingly easy to whip up. One bite and you’ll see why they’re always the first to disappear at cookie swaps.

Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies with Cranberry Sauce

Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies with Cranberry Sauce cover

From the Cook

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Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies with Cranberry Sauce

Real Life of Lulu Verified

Ingredients

WarningMilk and 5 other allergens identified

Instructions

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Instructions

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with a hand mixer until creamy.

Add the molasses and egg and beat again until combined.

Add the ginger, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and 1 cup of flour. Beat until completed combined and you can no longer see the flour.

Add the next cup of flour and mix together. Slowly add the flour until it's gone.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes.

About 10 minutes before removing the dough from the fridge, preheat the oven to 350℉ and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Remove the dough from fridge and roll the dough into 1½ inch balls. Set on the lined cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

Make a small even well in the middle of each dough ball using your thumb.

Add the cranberry sauce to a bowl and stir until it's no longer solid.

Add a small amount of cranberry sauce to each thumbprint well just until it fills the hole. Do not overfill.

Bake at 350℉ for 12-13 minutes.

Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes.

Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave and add to a zip top bag. Cut the tip off of one corner of the bag and drizzle the white chocolate on top of the cookies.

Let the cookies cool on a cooling rack.

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Tips & Tricks (5)

Molasses Magic 🍯
Warm your molasses slightly before mixing to ensure it blends more smoothly into the cookie dough and prevents clumping.
Thumbprint Precision 👌
Use the back of a teaspoon or the tip of your thumb dampened with cold water to create perfectly uniform indentations in the cookies without sticking.
Cranberry Sauce Technique 🫐
Allow your homemade or store-bought cranberry sauce to cool and slightly thicken before filling the thumbprint indentations to prevent spreading during baking.
White Chocolate Drizzle Pro 🍫
Melt white chocolate chips in short 15-second microwave bursts, stirring between each interval, to prevent scorching and achieve a smooth, glossy drizzle.
Spice Balance Trick 🌶️
Toast your ground cinnamon and ginger in a dry skillet for 30 seconds before adding to the dough to intensify their flavors and create a more complex spice profile.