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Baking · American

Thumbprint Cookies

Buttery little cookies with a jewel of jam in the middle, pressed in with your own thumb.

Hands-on
25 min
Hands-off
1 h 5 min
Oven preheat
15 min
Total
1 h 30 min
Makes
16 cookies
Serves
8

About 15 minutes to mix, 30 minutes chilling (the oven heats meanwhile), 10 minutes to shape and fill, 12 to 15 minutes baking, then about 20 minutes cooling on a rack (our estimate).

Oven 170 °C · 150 °C fan (325 °F)

Pan baking sheet, about 30 x 38 cm, lightly buttered (US: 12 x 15 in baking sheet, lightly buttered)

  • easy
  • vegetarian
  • cookies
  • christmas
  • holiday
  • bake-sale
  • kid-friendly

Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means

Illustration of Thumbprint Cookies
Amount
Units
Oven

Ingredients

You need: electric mixer and a mixing bowl · plastic wrap · baking sheet, about 30 x 38 cm (12 x 15 in) · 1/2 teaspoon measure · thin spatula · wire rack · oven mitts

Contains: egg · milk · wheat

Method

  1. Cream butter and sugar

    Beat the 113 g (1/2 cup) soft butter and 66 g (1/3 cup) sugar with the mixer on high until smooth.

  2. Add yolk and vanilla

    Beat in the egg yolk and 1 tsp vanilla until well blended, scraping down the bowl as needed.

  3. Add flour and salt

    Turn the mixer to low and beat in the 120 g (1 cup) flour and 1/8 tsp salt until the dough is evenly mixed.

  4. Chill; heat the oven

    Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan, 325°F) and lightly butter the baking sheet.

    Ready when: The dough is firm but still bendy, and the oven has fully reached temperature.

    Otto tried this firstOtto skips the chill and tries to roll the warm dough. It smears all over his palms. Back in the fridge it goes for 30 minutes, until it's firm but still bendy.

  5. Shape and fill

    Roll the dough into 2.5 cm (1 in) balls and set them 2.5 cm (1 in) apart on the sheet. Press your thumb into the middle of each one to make a dip about 1 cm (1/2 in) deep, then spoon about 1/2 tsp jam into each dip.

  6. Bake

    Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

    Ready when: Lift one cookie with a thin spatula: the bottom is lightly browned. The tops stay pale.

  7. Cool

    Move the cookies to a wire rack and let them cool completely before you eat or store them.

Make ahead, store & reheat

Make ahead
Bake up to 2 days ahead and keep them in an airtight container at room temperature.
Storage
Airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

If something goes wrong

  • Dough too soft and sticky to roll Why: It wasn't chilled long enough, or the kitchen is warm.
    Cover it and chill until it's firm but still pliable, about 30 minutes.
  • The dips puff up and close in the oven Why: The dough rises a little as it bakes.
    Make the dips with the back of a greased rounded teaspoon instead of your thumb. If they close up, take the sheet out partway through baking, press the dips again and add the jam then.
  • Jam turns sticky and leathery Why: Jam that bakes the whole time can over-caramelise.
    Add the jam partway through baking (see above) so it stays glossy.

Good to know

  • Use two or three jam flavours on one tray for a mixed plate.
  • Seedless jam gives the neatest, smoothest centres.
  • The back of a greased rounded measuring spoon makes dips that are all the same size.

Safety

  • Jam gets much hotter than the cookie around it. Let the cookies cool before kids bite in.
  • Don't eat or taste the raw dough, and don't let kids play with it: raw flour and raw egg yolk can carry harmful bacteria. Baking is what makes it safe.
  • Use oven mitts for the hot baking sheet; an adult should handle the oven.