The first thumbprint cookie I ever made was about 15 years ago with my friend Sarah. Sarah and I met in 2000 in a speech class at community college… we’ve been friends, best friends, ever since. I remember hanging out in her tiny kitchen apartment one December afternoon as we made the thumbprints.
We made thumbprints that were a chocolate cookie filled with caramel and rolled in nuts. I, of course made mine without nuts because I’m allergic, but they were still super delicious. And they were a big hit with our family and friends when we shared them.
I wish I would have been a blogger back then and saved the recipe… they would have made a great blog post! hehe
Because I have such fond memories of making those thumbprints with Sarah, I decided to make the Raspberry Thumbprints Day 9 of 12 Days of Cookies! This cookie isn’t chocolate though… but is a butter based cookie that crumbles and melts in your mouth as you take a bite. Rolled in chopped almonds, the nuts add a rich flavor and a crunch to the cookie.
The jam on top is my favorite raspberry jam, but any jam could be used. I really love the sweetness that the jam adds to the butter flavors of the cookie. It’s sweet, rich and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
If you wanted, you could finely chop up any kind of nut you wanted to roll these cookies in. Hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts… really anything would work. I just happen to have almonds when I made these cookies, so that’s what I used! You could also use any flavor of jam you wanted or even a thick powdered sugar glaze tinted in holiday colors would be good! The possibilities are endless with thumbprint cookies!
So, the next time you’re looking for a quick, fun cookie to bring to a party… try these raspberry thumbprints! They’re sure to be a hit!
Enjoy!
Raspberry Thumbprints
Yield:
3 dozen cookies
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
11 minutes
Total Time:
31 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg, separated
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup finely chopped almonds (or any nut)
- 1/2 cup raspberry jam, for filling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on high for about 2 minutes.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl, add the egg yolk and vanilla then mix until thoroughly combined.
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, salt.
- Add the flour to the wet mixture and mix on medium-high until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything has been incorporated.
- In a small bowl, slightly beat the egg white. Place the chopped nuts in another bowl.
- Roll 1 Tbsp of dough into a ball in your hands. Dip the dough ball in the egg white then roll in the nuts until covered.
- Place the nut-covered balls on the prepared cookie sheet 1" apart. Gently press your thumb down into the center of each ball, making a well for the jam.
- Bake 10-12 minutes or until the cookies have set. Cool on the pan for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. NOTE: If you notice some of the thumbprint wells risen, press them gently back down before they cool so that the jam has a place to be.
- Once the cookies have cooled, fill the wells with your favorite raspberry jam.
- Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Want more cookies?
Here is the complete list of the 12 Days of Cookies!- Day 1 – Frosted Sugar Cookies
- Day 2 – Christmas Tree Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Day 3 – Holiday Spritz
- Day 4 – Russian Tea Cakes
- Day 5 – Holi-Doodles
- Day 6 – Haystacks
- Day 7 – Lebkuchen
- Day 8 – Molasses Cookies
- Day 9 – Raspberry Thumbprints
- Day 10 – Peppermint Meringues
- Day 11 – Lemon Ricotta Cookies
- Day 12 – Peppermint Chocolate Cookies
These cookies look amazing! I’d love to fill them with all different kinds of jam.