Thumbprint Cookies
Raspberry-filled almond Thumbprint Cookies are irresistible and perfect for holiday cookie platters! I’ll share all my tips—from the best jam to chilling the dough and rolling them in sugar for that extra touch.
Servings: 35 cookies
Cost: $6.16
Equipment
- Stand mixer optional
Ingredients
Cookies
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3/4 cup + 1/3 cup granulated sugar divided
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract optional, see note 1
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour see note 2
- 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam or your favorite variety of jam
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream or 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract optional
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add room-temperature (not melted or softened at all) butter and 3/4 cup granulated sugar. Beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy, scraping the sides as needed. Add almond extract (if using), vanilla, cornstarch, and salt. Mix until combined. Add flour. Beat together at low speed, scraping bowl as needed, until all ingredients are combined. Do not overmix dough.
- Shape dough into 1-tablespoon balls (use a tablespoon measuring spoon to form and measure balls), then roll dough balls in 1/3 cup granulated sugar until generously coated. Gently indent the center of each dough ball with your finger. Place cookies 2 inches apart on a sheet pan lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour (or freeze for 30 minutes). Remove from fridge and preheat oven to 350°F. Add seedless jam to fill (but not overfill) the centers of all the cookies. Return cookies to the fridge 10 more minutes.
- Bake cookies 8–10 minutes or until very lightly browned underneath and tops are no longer glossy. Slightly underbake for soft and delicious shortbread cookies.
- Remove cookies to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by whisking all glaze ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. (Add heavy cream or milk until you’ve reached your desired consistency; I like the glaze on the thicker side).
- Drizzle the glaze over the cookies (either drizzle with a spoon or transfer glaze to a resealable plastic bag and cut off the tip to pipe). Once added, allow glaze to set. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Note 1: You can leave out the almond extract entirely, if desired. Almond extracts do differ greatly based on brand, so if you have a strong almond extract, you may want to add only a drop or 2.
Note 2: The flour measurement differs most from person to person—if you have a food scale, I highly recommend using it to get 315 grams of flour, which is perfect for these cookies!
Nutrition Note: Nutrition information is calculated using seedless raspberry jam. Other varieties of jam may change the statistics.
Storage: Cookies are best enjoyed within 3–4 days; store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 152kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 27mg | Potassium: 21mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 178IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg