What’s a good holiday classic? Something buttery….something with jam…
A linzer cookie!
Nope. I love linzer cookies. They are gorgeous cookies. But you know why I don’t think they’re a good holiday cookie?
Because if you want to gift cookies, a standard batch of cookies automatically gets cut in half because they’re being sandwiched. Someone is getting two cookies for the price of one. Good if it’s for me, not good if I’m trying to put on the facade that I’m gifting you a lot of cookies.
Also, the jam in linzer cookies doesn’t get baked. Which makes it even HARDER to gift because now you have oozy jam everywhere.
So sorry Linzer, thumbprint cookies win this round. I’ll save you for when I’m trying to impress my friends. Move aside for jam thumbprint cookies. The jamb rubberizes slightly because it’s baked with the cookie, making it less like to ooze around when packed up in a cookie box.
This recipe is modified from Sally’s Baking Addiction’s shortbread thumbprint. I added yolks because I found it made the dough a lot easier to work with.
A Few More Tips
Make sure the dough is chilled to prevent spreading. Make the thumbprint using a measuring spoon instead of your thumb so the indent is more circular.
Make sure you cream the butter and sugar enough! It should be sticking to the sides of the bowl and turn lighter in color. Creaming the butter and sugar instead of simply mixing it prevents spreading. This is true for any cookie, not just these jam thumbprints.
Use a piping bag to fill the cookies. Fill them with as much jam that can fit without it spilling over.
Get ready for gorgeous, tasty, buttery jam thumbprint cookies!
Jam Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 and 1/4 cups (292 g) all purpose flour
- jam for filling*
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed.
- With the mixer on high, add in the egg yolks one at a time, fully combining each time.
- Add the vanilla and almond extract and mix until combined.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the flour in two batches, mixing until just combined after each batch.
- Form dough into tablespoon sized balls. Chill for 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Using the back of a small measuring spoon, make an indent in each ball of dough. Fill to the brim of the indent with jam (I like to use a piping bag for this).
- Bake for 12 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.