I can’t believe in all the years I’ve been baking, that I have never before baked a Thumbprint Cookie. In my quest to always find interesting recipes, this one comes from my daughter’s good friend Elena – on her own, a professional Food Scientist with a passion for baking and cooking. She made them using Cherry jam and I’m sure they turned out fantastic! Christmas Treat #9 – Thumbprint Cookies.
This is a simple cookie recipe – my favorite kind, the kind you should make at Christmas time. If there are kids or grandkids (in a normal year) around, this is a great starter cookie for them to add to their list of “look what I made” cookies. The dough is very simple but so flavorful. Of course I put my own twist on the toppings using chocolate, fig jam and – well why not, a spicy jalapeno jam. The batch gave me over 40 cookies so roughly 15 of each kind (okay slightly more of the jalapeno kind 🙂 ).
Baking time is spot on, I would rather take them out slightly under baked and let them finish baking with residual heat than overbaking and risking (if you can call deliciousness with butter, sugar and jam – a risk) a dry cookie (which by the way, I am a dunker so never a dry cookie will go to waste as long as there is a cup of coffee left in the world). The tip I have for you to always ensure you don’t overbake your cookies, is to first use the minimum or slightly under cooking time as a guide, then, when you go to test it, if you nudge the cookie – nudge a few cookies in different spots on the tray, it will give you an idea of their readiness, and it moves slightly it’s ready. If it just makes a dent, leave it a minute or two longer. The base of the cookie should easily move when nudged, this is best done when the cookie tray is out of the oven. Put it back in the oven if it doesn’t move, an additional minute or so should be perfect. Also for even baking, always rotate your trays half way through cooking.
My other variation was instead of the quantity of sugar, I used ½ cup sugar and 4 tbsp pomegranate molasses instead of the 2/3 cup granulated sugar in the original recipe. I didn’t put the molasses in for sweetness, really more for that “tang” it has. It also gave the dough additional firmness so I didn’t have to refrigerate before making the cookies as the original suggested. Depending on your tolerance for sweetness, you could leave the molasses out and just go with the flavor of the cookie with 1/2 cup sugar and your topping. I know, it’s a science but
These are fun cookies to make and eat. Make them and use whatever jams, jellies, chocolates or nuts you have in your pantry for filling the holes. Wash your hands, wear a mask, socialize responsibly this Christmas and stay safe. As always – enjoy!
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
4 tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp each – vanilla and almond extracts
Jams, jellies, chocolates – any type you like (it’s a cookie – own it)
Substitutions and/or changes
If you don’t have pomegranate molasses – I know, who doesn’t have pomegranate molasses in their house, you could use the equivalent of date molasses or 2 tbsp of regular molasses or like the original recipe suggested just use 1/3 cup sugar
You can make a glaze using powdered sugar and flavoring it with the molasses, drizzle over the cookies. I don’t usually put glaze on cookies, just find it too sweet for me – the original recipe called for a glaze
Any filling you like will work, just so long as it melts and spreads into the indents in the cookies
I preferred to use my finger as I found I had more control, wetting my finger lightly meant no sticking
Directions
Cream the butter, sugar and molasses – about 2 minutes on medium, scrape the bowl as necessary
Add in the flour and extracts – mix on low until incorporated and no flour is visible
If the dough is too soft to form a ball, refrigerate for 30 minutes and then form the balls
Using a thumb or finger that you dip in water, poke a hole in the center of the ball, squishing down to flatten slightly – make this as big or small as you like
Fill the holes – big or small, with your favorite fillings – make a combination to suit all the different tastes in your household. Plus, this looks really nice the plate (or in the gift bag you are sending to your family and friends)
Bake at 350f for 14 – 18 minutes – mine were right on 14 minutes
Let cool completely before storing
