ajoyouskitchen

06.26.20 Thumbprint Cookies

Hello friends! This week, to continue our cookie series, I’ve got a great one for you: thumbprint cookies! I used to hate these when I was a kid, but I never had an actual reason? But, when I ended up with some extra jams I revisited them and I’m so glad I did.

As I was doing research for these, I realized that there are 3 separate decisions you have to make when making thumbprint cookies:

  1. sugar cookie vs butter cookie
  2. rolling the dough balls in sugar vs not rolling in sugar
  3. baking with jam vs adding jam after baking

Clearly, with this many decisions, I had to make some tests, and J was more than happy to help me taste test them! I went with a butter cookie rather than a sugar cookie since the jam is already pretty sweet, and adding a coating of sugar on the outside of the cookie before baking makes for the perfect little crunch when you bite into it! And honestly, for the last one, you can truly do either, I didn’t find it to make too much of a difference. But, adding the jam after baking makes for a prettier cookie, so that what I do! The only downside is that the hollow puffs back up while baking, but it’s an easy fix as soon as the cookies come out of the oven. I also discovered that you can add a couple of dark chocolate chips into the hollowed out cookie right after baking but before adding the jam for a little chocolate surprise inside šŸ™‚

Also, like the other cookies we’ve talked about so far, these freeze really well! I made the dough balls, rolled in sugar, created the space for jam, and then froze them at that point. Just bake from frozen and add your jam (and chocolate!) when they come out and you’ve got some amazing cookies at a moments notice.

I’ve also included 2 jam recipes – strawberry and apple! I had some extra apples and wanted to know if I could make jam out of them and you can! It’s basically just an applesauce? Either way, it’s delicious in these cookies

Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 C flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
  • 1 C sugar, divided
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 C jam – store bought is delicious, or use my jam recipe below

How to do it

  1. preheat your oven to 350*
  2. in a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. set aside
  3. in a mixer, cream butter and 1/2 C sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes
  4. add the egg and vanilla to the butter/sugar mixture and combine well
  5. add the dry ingredients, half at a time, and mix until just combined after each addition
  6. scoop into ~1 inch balls and roll in the remaining sugar. using your thumb or a tablespoon, gently create the signature hollow to hold the jam after baking
    at this point, if you’d like to freeze them, place them on a plate or cookie sheet and freeze. once frozen solid, transfer to an airtight bag for up to 3 months. these bake well from frozen!
  7. bake until the edges of the cookies are just golden, about 13-14 minutes. immediately re-create the hollow space using a spoon or a tablespoon
  8. add a tablespoon of jam to each cookie
  9. enjoy!

Strawberry Jam

Ingredients

  • 1 part strawberries, fresh or frozen
  • 1/4 part sugar, more or less to taste
  • pinch of salt
  • 1-2 lemon, zest and juice

How to do it

  1. combine strawberries and sugar in a medium pot. heat over medium/medium high heat until it starts to bubble
  2. once the strawberries are soft, using a potato masher or wooden spoon, mash the strawberries until they reach your desired chunkiness. for the cookies, a smoother jam works a bit better
  3. continue to cook until your desired thickness. I usually go for about 15 minutes
  4. remove from heat and add the lemon zest and juice
  5. store in an airtight container and enjoy!

Apple Jam

Ingredients

  • 1 part apples, peeled and cubed
  • 1/5 part sugar, more or less to taste
  • pinch of salt
  • 1-2 lemon, zest and juice

How to do it

  1. combine apples and sugar in a medium pot. heat over medium/medium high heat until it starts to bubble
  2. once the apples are soft, using a potato masher or wooden spoon, mash the strawberries until they reach your desired chunkiness. for the cookies, a smoother jam works a bit better
  3. continue to cook until your desired thickness. I usually go for about 15 minutes
  4. remove from heat and add the lemon zest and juice
  5. store in an airtight container and enjoy!

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