Thumbprint Cookies
By Amanda LuchtelPublished on October 18, 2022
Time
1 hour, plus 20 minutes cooling
Yield
Makes 36 cookies
Ingredients
2¼ cups (11¼ ounces/319 grams) all-purpose flour ¾ teaspoon table salt ½ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon baking powder 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened ⅔ cup (4⅔ ounces/132 grams) sugar, plus ⅓ cup for rolling3 ounces (85 grams) cream cheese, softened1 large egg 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup seedless jam or Meyer Lemon Curd, chilled
Before You Begin
Any seedless jam can be used here, but raspberry is the most traditional. If you don't have a rounded teaspoon, you can use a small melon baller.
Instructions
- Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together in medium bowl; set aside.
- Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter and ⅔ cup sugar on medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Add cream cheese, egg, and vanilla and beat until evenly combined, about 30 seconds. Reduce speed to low, slowly add flour mixture, and mix until fully incorporated.
- Spread remaining ⅓ cup sugar evenly in shallow dish. Working with 1 tablespoon dough at a time, roll dough into 36 balls. Drop dough balls into sugar and roll to coat. Stagger dough balls evenly on prepared sheets. Using greased rounded 1-teaspoon measuring spoon, make indentation in center of each dough ball. Gently pinch together any large cracks around edges of cookies.
- Bake cookies until just beginning to set, about 10 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks (do not turn off oven). Gently reshape indentation in center of each cookie with greased rounded 1-teaspoon measure.
- If using jam, place jam in 1-cup liquid measuring cup or microwave-safe bowl and microwave until loose and bubbling around edges, about 30 seconds. (If using curd, do not reheat.) Carefully fill each indentation with 1 teaspoon warmed jam or chilled curd.
- Return cookies to oven and bake until cookies are beginning to turn golden around edges, about 8 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to wire racks. Let cookies cool completely before serving, about 20 minutes. (Cookies can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.)
Time
1 hour, plus 20 minutes coolingYield
Makes 36 cookiesIngredients
2¼ cups (11¼ ounces/319 grams) all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
⅔ cup (4⅔ ounces/132 grams) sugar, plus ⅓ cup for rolling
3 ounces (85 grams) cream cheese, softened
1 large egg
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup seedless jam or Meyer Lemon Curd, chilled
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
2¼ cups (11¼ ounces/319 grams) all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
⅔ cup (4⅔ ounces/132 grams) sugar, plus ⅓ cup for rolling
3 ounces (85 grams) cream cheese, softened
1 large egg
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup seedless jam or Meyer Lemon Curd, chilled
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
2¼ cups (11¼ ounces/319 grams) all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
⅔ cup (4⅔ ounces/132 grams) sugar, plus ⅓ cup for rolling
3 ounces (85 grams) cream cheese, softened
1 large egg
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup seedless jam or Meyer Lemon Curd, chilled
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
A signature holiday or teatime cookie, thumbprints are an eye-catching treat. Here, the contrast between tart Meyer lemon curd or fruity jam filling and rich, buttery cookie makes them hard to resist. Recipes traditionally call for plunging your thumb into balls of dough to make room for the filling, hence the name. To create the trademark indentation in our thumbprint cookies, we found that the underside of a round teaspoon worked perfectly to create even spaces for the filling. Adding the jam or curd partway through baking resulted in a filling that was married to the cookie and set just enough. Re-forming the indentations halfway through baking (before the cookies were completely set) meant we could fill them with a generous amount of jam or curd.
Before You Begin
Any seedless jam can be used here, but raspberry is the most traditional. If you don't have a rounded teaspoon, you can use a small melon baller.
Instructions
- Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together in medium bowl; set aside.
- Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter and ⅔ cup sugar on medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Add cream cheese, egg, and vanilla and beat until evenly combined, about 30 seconds. Reduce speed to low, slowly add flour mixture, and mix until fully incorporated.
- Spread remaining ⅓ cup sugar evenly in shallow dish. Working with 1 tablespoon dough at a time, roll dough into 36 balls. Drop dough balls into sugar and roll to coat. Stagger dough balls evenly on prepared sheets. Using greased rounded 1-teaspoon measuring spoon, make indentation in center of each dough ball. Gently pinch together any large cracks around edges of cookies.
- Bake cookies until just beginning to set, about 10 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks (do not turn off oven). Gently reshape indentation in center of each cookie with greased rounded 1-teaspoon measure.
- If using jam, place jam in 1-cup liquid measuring cup or microwave-safe bowl and microwave until loose and bubbling around edges, about 30 seconds. (If using curd, do not reheat.) Carefully fill each indentation with 1 teaspoon warmed jam or chilled curd.
- Return cookies to oven and bake until cookies are beginning to turn golden around edges, about 8 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to wire racks. Let cookies cool completely before serving, about 20 minutes. (Cookies can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.)
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