Thumbprint Cookies
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
30 mins
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Cook Time
15 mins
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Additional Time
30 mins
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Total Time
45 mins
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Servings
30 cookies
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Calories
131 kcal
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Course
Dessert, Snacks, Baked Goods
Thumbprint Cookies
Description
The Thumbprint Cookies recipe uses room temperature butter creamed with sugar along with egg yolks and vanilla to build a rich base. Mixing in sifted cornstarch and all-purpose flour creates a dough that is sticky but can be gently shaped by hand after resting. A distinctive step involves pressing a well into each cookie before baking and filling it with raspberry jam, lending a bright contrasting sweetness to the buttery cookie. Rolling the dough balls in granulated or demerara sugar adds a light crunch to the exterior. Baking continues until the edges just turn golden, preserving a tender center.
The cookies offer a pleasant texture contrast from soft crumb to jam filling, making them suitable for teatime or light dessert. Choosing your preferred fruit jam allows variety in flavor. Because the dough can be frozen after shaping and making wells but before filling, this recipe supports making batches in advance.
Practical tips include substituting caster sugar with processed granulated sugar or confectioner's sugar (adjusted by weight), and using regular all-purpose flour if cornstarch or rice flour are unavailable, with ingredient weights needing careful adjustment. Freezing instructions specify freezing shaped, unfilled cookies on parchment and later baking directly with filling added.
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 8 oz butter softened to room temperature (1 cup, unsalted
- ¼ tsp salt sea salt
- 4 oz caster sugar (½ cup + 1 tbsp) see notes
- 2 egg yolk
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 oz cornstarch (5½ tbsp) or rice flour, see notes
- 10 oz all-purpose flour about 2⅓ cups, spoon and level
For coating
- ½ cup granulated white sugar about 100 g), use more as needed, or demerara sugar
To fill
- ½ cup raspberry jam or any fruit jam of your choice
Instructions
Cookie dough
- Place the butter and salt in a large bowl or mixing bowl.
- Using a hand mixer, or the paddle mixer on your stand mixer - cream the butter, without making it fluffy - about 1 minute. Then add the sugar, and cream the sugar-butter mixture until smooth (just for about a minute or two).
- Add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix to combine, for no more than 20 seconds, until the yolks are completely incorporated into the mix. Avoid over-mixing.
- In a separate bowl - sift the cornstarch and flour together and mix well. Add the flour to the butter mixture, and mix together on the lowest setting on your stand mixer, or use a mixing spoon. Only mix until most of the flour has been moistened with the butter mix, and the dough forms clumps.
- Stop mixing, and bring the dough together to form a smooth ball. You can use a mixing spoon and/or lightly dusted hands to do this. The dough will be sticky.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it rest for at least 15 minutes.
Preparing the cookies
- Line a half sheet pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the sugar for coating in a small ziploc bag, or small bowl.
- Take a 1½ - 2 tbsp cookie scoop and scoop a portion of the cookie dough. Roll this portion into a smooth, round ball. Immediately place the ball in the sugar filled bag and gently shake to coat.
- Place the sugar coated cookie ball on the parchment paper and use a rounded handle of a wooden spoon, or your thumb or finger (with short nails!) to create a well in the middle of the cookie. Press straight down to create a narrow well, rather than a wide well.
- Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough. Maintain about an inch of space between the cookies on the baking tray.
- Fill a second baking tray with the remaining cookie dough.
- Fill the wells to the brim with raspberry jam. If the jam is too stiff, microwave it for about 5 - 10 seconds to soften it, but not make it warm. If you want to store the cookies for later, DO NOT FILL THEM WITH JAM. See notes for storing cookies to bake later.
- Refrigerate the thumbprint cookies for at least 30 minutes, preferably overnight, until the cookies have been chilled well.
Baking the cookies
- While the cookies are chilling in the fridge, preheat oven to 375°F.
- Place the cookie tray in the oven and bake for 12- 15 minutes, until the edges start to turn golden brown in color.
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely.
- Serve at room temperature.
Notes
- If caster sugar is unavailable, finely process regular granulated sugar or use confectioner's sugar at 4.5 oz to achieve similar sweetness.
- Cornstarch or rice flour can be replaced by all-purpose flour if weighed correctly rather than measured by volume.
- Cookies can be frozen after creating wells but before adding jam; freeze on parchment, then store in sealed bags and bake from frozen by adding jam and baking until edges are golden (15-17 minutes).
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 30cookies
Amount Per Serving
Calories 131 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1cookie | |
| Calories | 131kcal | 7% |
| Carbohydrates | 17g | 6% |
| Protein | 1g | 2% |
| Fat | 7g | 11% |
| Saturated Fat | 4g | 20% |
| Cholesterol | 29mg | 10% |
| Sodium | 23mg | 1% |
| Potassium | 18mg | 0% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 7g | 14% |
| Vitamin A | 206IU | 4% |
| Vitamin C | 1mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 6mg | 1% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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