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Pasta Chicken

Easy Thumbprint Cookies

Published: Dec 13, 2013 | 19 Comments

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Easy Thumbprint Cookies made with chocolate cookie dough and fruit jam. Beautiful and easy-to-make holiday cookie, perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Easy thumbprint cookies recipe

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.  Other easy holiday cookie recipes that I love are amaretto almond shortbread cookies and cranberry noels.

I love how festive these thumbprint cookies 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).

Easy Thumbprint Cookies with cocoa and fruit jam

The chocolate cookie dough produced a very soft and buttery cookie, which is then filled with jam.

Easy thumbprint cookies recipe - Christmas cookies

Baking tips

  • To 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.

Easy thumbprint cookies recipe - Christmas cookies

How to bake thumbprint cookies

Bake these cookies in the preheated oven 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.

Easy thumbprint cookies recipe

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 thumbprint cookies will look gorgeous on a holiday cookie tray, don’t you think?

easy thumbprint cookies with fruit jam
Print
Easy Thumbprint Cookies with Fruit Jam
Prep Time
25 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
40 mins
 

Easy Thumbprint Cookies made with chocolate cookie dough and fruit jam. Perfect holiday cookie.  Make beautiful addition to Christmas cookie tray. 

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 40 cookies
Calories: 112 kcal
Ingredients
  • 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 8 oz unsalted butter , room temperature (let the butter from refrigerator sit on the counter for about an hour or so), not melted but softened
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract pure
  • 1/2 cup apricot preserves or jam
  • 1/2 cup strawberry preserves or jam
Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl, combine together flour, cocoa powder, and salt and mix.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Bake in the preheated oven 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.

  5. Let cookies cool completely. Using a small spoon, put jam/preserves filling into each thumbprint cookie.
Recipe Notes

Recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart

Nutrition Facts
Easy Thumbprint Cookies with Fruit Jam
Amount Per Serving
Calories 112 Calories from Fat 36
% Daily Value*
Fat 4g6%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Cholesterol 20mg7%
Sodium 20mg1%
Potassium 27mg1%
Carbohydrates 16g5%
Sugar 8g9%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 155IU3%
Vitamin C 0.4mg0%
Calcium 6mg1%
Iron 0.5mg3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Filed Under: Baking, Chocolate, Christmas, Cookies, Dessert, Recipe Published: Dec 13, 2013 19 Comments

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Comments

  1. John

    Oct 18, 2016 at 8:15 pm

    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!

    Reply
  2. Sarah O.

    Jan 18, 2014 at 1:06 pm

    I must say, not only have I never thought of freezing the shaped cookie dough, but I have never made chocolate thumbprints! Great post.

    Reply
  3. Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking

    Dec 14, 2013 at 4:57 pm

    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!

    Reply
  4. ela@GrayApron

    Dec 14, 2013 at 1:04 am

    How, How do you make them look so good, Julia ?! I love your touch…and the cookies 🙂 ela

    Reply
  5. Kumar's Kitchen

    Dec 13, 2013 at 8:28 pm

    we love making and devouring thumbprints ever since childhood…these look glorious and are bursting with colors,thanks 🙂

    Reply
  6. Liz

    Dec 13, 2013 at 8:26 pm

    Thumbprint perfection! I need to try a batch with chocolate dough…yummy!

    Reply
  7. Matt @ Runner Savvy

    Dec 13, 2013 at 7:53 pm

    Great recipe! I’m a chocolate chip kinda guy though 😉

    Reply
  8. Yvonne @ bitter baker

    Dec 13, 2013 at 6:29 pm

    I love thumbprint cookies, these look amazing!

    Reply
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