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My review
Perfect Thumbprint Cookies
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Chef John
"My mother, Pauline, made really nice thumbprint cookies, but I never wrote down her recipe. I knew the ingredients, but unless you have the right proportions, you won't get that perfect melt-in-your-mouth texture. So, I did an image search and found a recipe that looked very similar, credited to a great-grandma named Mitzi. Since my last name is Mitzewich, that pretty much sealed the deal. In case you can't decide between a shortbread-focused cookie and a more jammy one, here's how to make both."
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Ingredients
50 m servings 139Original recipe yields 20 servings (20 to 24 cookies)
- Adjust
- US
- Metric
Directions
{{model.addEditText}} Print- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- Mix butter and powdered sugar together with a rubber spatula until creamy. Add vanilla extract, almond extract, salt, and egg yolk. Mix with the spatula. Add flour and blend until just combined.
- Use a sorbet scoop to portion dough into 1/2-ounce (1-tablespoon) balls. Roll balls in a plate of white sugar to coat; roll again between your palms. Place several inches apart on a silicone-lined baking sheet. Flatten balls lightly with your fingers.
- To make shortbread cookies with a little jam, poke a well into each cookie using the end of a thick wooden spoon dusted with powdered sugar or using one of your fingers. Fill cookies with fruit jam. Tap baking sheet against the counter to let jam settle.
- Bake in the preheated oven until tops are barely blonde and bottoms are slightly golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack before icing.
- Meanwhile, mix powdered sugar with a little milk until you have a consistency that will hold its shape when piped. Pipe icing on top of cookies in a zigzag pattern. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.
- For a more jam-forward cookie, press your thumb into the cookies to make large, shallow indentations. Spoon in jam. Tap baking sheet against the counter.
- Bake until not quite golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let rest on pan for 5 minutes before transferring a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar.
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Footnotes
- Chef's Notes:
- For best results, do not chill the dough.
- For the icing, feel free to use water instead of milk.
Nutrition Facts
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Reviews
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Newest
12/20/2018
I was looking for a quick thumbprint cookie that didn't require refrigeration, and here was Chef John's recipe to save the day! Perfect shortbread, tastes fantastic, and looks beautiful! The tex...
6/4/2019
I thought rolling them in sugar was not going to be a good texture, but wow was I wrong! These are amazing. I used leftover homemade apricot cobbler filling. Cant wait to try with strawberries!
4/2/2019
I really liked how these turned out, albeit they were a bit dry. Going to try again with a little less flour!
12/24/2018
These are wonderful. The powdered sugar gives the cookies a very soft texture and they're not overpoweringly sweet so they pair very nicely with the jam (we used lemon and fig). If you live at a...