Homemade Jam Thumbprint Cookies
It’s hard to beat a simple homemade jam thumbprint cookies recipe for childhood nostalgia. A simple butter cookie, a quick mash of the thumb and a dab of jam come together into buttery jammy goodness in minutes.
I’m happy to introduce the author of this post: Ashley Adamant from Practical Self Reliance.
They’re one of my favorite ways to use homemade jam, and I love making them with my 3 year old daughter. Her favorite part is adding the thumbprints. She’ll ecstatically tell her dad when he comes home from work, “That’s my thumb! My very own thumbprint.”
The dough is quite simple, almost shortbread but with an egg thrown in to help bind everything together and ensure a moist, delicate crumb. The cookie dough is tasty on it’s own, but their real character comes from the jam. Since the cookie is relatively neutral, with subtle hints of vanilla, it really allows the flavor of the jam to shine through.
I made this batch with two different homemade jams: low sugar strawberry jam and blackcurrant jam. The strawberry jam thumbprints are for my daughter, and while I wont pretend that a low sugar jam in any way makes this a low sugar cookie, it does allow you to taste the strawberries better than a traditional high sugar jam.
The blackcurrant jam filled thumbprint cookies are my favorite, and by adding a jam with complex flavor, it takes a simple child’s cookie and dresses it up for adults. Blackcurrants have a deep, winey flavor with hints of astringency that rounds out an otherwise simple cookie. Don’t get me wrong, my little ones love these too, but making a few of these ensures that I’ll manage to sneak a few before they’ve gobbled them up.
I start by creaming softened butter and sugar in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer, and then once it’s light and fluffy, the egg and vanilla are added. Finally, the flour, salt and baking powder are mixed in until just combined.
The cookie dough is then formed into 1 inch balls, rolled in sugar and stamped with a thumbprint on the cookie sheet. It only takes about 1/2 teaspoon of jam in each cookie, but the actual amount of jam will vary by the size of your thumbprint. Be sure to only fill them about 2/3 full so that the jam doesn’t overflow and stick to the cookie sheet.
Jam Thumbprint Cookies
3/4 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup sugar (plus more for rolling) 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup Jam
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add in the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until just combined. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls, and then roll the balls of dough in sugar. Place the dough balls on a cookie sheet and add a thumbprint. Fill the thumbprint 2/3 full with your favorite jam. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, until the cookies begin to brown. Cool and store in an air tight container.
Enjoy your Homemade Jam Thumbprint Cookies!
Ashley lives in a solar and wind powered home in Vermont with her husband and two young children. She writes about gardening, foraging, DIY and all things off grid at Practical Self Reliance. You can find pictures of her adventures on Instagram, or follow along on Facebook or Twitter.
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