Thumbprint Cookies
These are soft buttery shortbread cookies with a dollop of your favorite jam in the center. They are an old-fashioned yet classic cookie that never goes out of style.
Servings: 18 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (150g) flour
- ¾ cup (85g) finely chopped nuts
- ½ cup (113g) softened butter
- ¼ cup (50g) sugar
- 1 large (50g) egg, separated
- 1 tsp (5mL) vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp (.625g) salt
- 3 tbs (60g) jam
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F (180C.)
- Separate one large egg. Set aside.
- Spread the nuts whole on a baking sheet and bake 8-12 or until they are fragrant and a light golden brown. Cool the nuts completely and chop finely with a knife. You can also pulse the nuts in a food processor or blender until fine. Place the chopped nuts in a shallow bowl, on a plate or in a plastic bag and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream softened butter, salt and butter until well blended. If using salted butter, reduce the salt by half. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla until no longer curdled and smooth.
- Fold in the flour and mix until just combined. Roll a generous tablespoon of dough (18g) into a ball. If the dough is too soft to roll into balls, cover and chill dough 20 minutes or until firm.
- In a small ball, whisk the egg white until foamy. Dip each ball of cookie dough, one at a time, into the egg white and promptly roll in the chopped nuts. Place them on a baking sheet approximately 2" (5cm) apart. Using your thumb, press down in the center of each ball of cookie dough until you form an indentation or well. Fill the indent with your favorite jam or jelly.
- Bake 14 - 18 minutes or until the nuts are golden brown and the jam takes on a mat appearance. The temperature of the cookie should read between 180 - 185F (82 - 85C.) Let cookies cool for 2 minutes on pan and remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
Some people like to par-bake the cookies prior to adding the jam to have a more crisp texture. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven, then fill with jam. Return to oven to bake for another 4-8 minutes.
We recommend using pecans or walnuts for this recipe, but any type of nuts will work splendidly. Likewise, you can omit them all together.
Use any type of jam or jelly you like. We really enjoy a triple berry, raspberry and strawberry.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 cookie | Calories: 121 kcal | Carbohydrates: 10.1 g | Protein: 2 g | Fat: 8.5 g | Saturated Fat: 3.5 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1 g | Sodium: 35.7 mg | Fiber: 0.5 g