Today I am sharing a very easy thumbprint cookies recipe. These simple cookies are made with chocolate cookie dough and are perfect for the upcoming holidays: Christmas and New Year’s Eve. I love how festive they look, especially if you fill them with different types of jam or fruit preserves. For instance, on these photos you can see that I used apricot preserves and strawberry preserves, which created cookies with two distinctly different fillings and colors (orange and red).
The chocolate cookie dough produced a very soft and buttery cookie, which is then filled with jam.
MY OTHER VIDEOSTo make sure that the cookies turn out tall and not flatten out during baking, use softened unsalted butter (not melted!) – take it out of the refrigerator an hour prior to preparing the cookies and it should soften to the right consistency (not liquid, and still keeping its brick shape). Then, after you’ve made the cookie dough, roll each individual cookie into 1 inch ball, press a well into a center of each cookie using your fingers or back of a wooden spoon. Then freeze these raw cookies for about 30 minutes.
Bake them at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and after 7 minutes of baking take them out and press well into a center of each cookie again to make it more pronounced. Then continue baking for 5 more minutes.
I want to emphasize again that it’s very important that you use softened butter (not melted), form cookie dough into cookie balls and keep them in the freezer for 30 minutes right before baking. Otherwise, you will get a flat cookie.
I love these colorful treats! These cookies will look gorgeous on a holiday cookie tray, don’t you think?
Ingredients
- 2 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature (let the butter from refrigerator sit on the counter for about an hour or so), not melted but softened
- 1 and 1/4 cups sugar
- 2 small eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- apricot preserves or jam
- strawberry preserves or jam
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine together flour, cocoa powder, and salt and mix.
- In a separate bowl, using electric mixer, beat softened butter and granulated sugar on high speed until light in color and fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla – continue beating for a couple more minutes. Turn off the electric mixer, add flour-cocoa-salt mixture and then continue beating on low speed until well-combined but without over mixing.
- Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Arrange on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Press a well into a center of each cookie ball using your fingers or a back of a wooden spoon. Then freeze these raw cookies for about 30 minutes.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and after 7 minutes of baking, take the cookies out and press well into a center of each cookie with the end of a wooden spoon again to make it more pronounced. Then, return the baking sheet to the oven and continue baking for 5-7 more minutes.
- Let cookies cool completely. Using a small spoon, put jam/preserves filling into each thumbprint cookie.
Notes
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Amazing! I put organic strawberries, blueberries and apricot preserves in mine. Next time, I’d probably leave out the cocoa as I don’t think it goes with the jams very well. Also, I will reduce the sugar content by quite a bit and perhaps substitute apple sauce to make them a little more healthy. Like the texture a lot. Can’t wait to have one with my mid morning coffee tomorrow!
I must say, not only have I never thought of freezing the shaped cookie dough, but I have never made chocolate thumbprints! Great post.
You go Julia! You are on a Christmas Cookie marathon! And I am super jealous! I want to make all of them starting with these thumbprint cookies! I love a well placed jam-filled cookie in a Holiday tray!
How, How do you make them look so good, Julia ?! I love your touch…and the cookies 🙂 ela
we love making and devouring thumbprints ever since childhood…these look glorious and are bursting with colors,thanks 🙂
Thumbprint perfection! I need to try a batch with chocolate dough…yummy!
Great recipe! I’m a chocolate chip kinda guy though 😉
I love thumbprint cookies, these look amazing!