If Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies had an official season that would be Holidays. Buttery, soft, rich and fruity are the only synonyms to these Traditional Christmas Cookies. Also this one is a no-chill cookie recipe!
You can pretty much fill them with any fruit jam of choice, but there is something about raspberries that I wouldn't want to replace here!
I have so many Holiday Cookies on my website that you need to check out. Each and every one of these recipes is tested at least 3-4 times by me before they make an appearance on the blog.
Be it this Classic Whipped Shortbread Recipe or these Glazed Molasses Cookies, these are all approved by my family, friends, neighbors and thousands of readers.
Okay back to what you are here for, thumbprints.
So,
What are thumbprint cookies?
These are soft and buttery cookies whose dough is rolled into balls and then an indentation is created in the center. The center is then filled with jams and preserves before baking them.
Once the cookies cool down, sometimes these are also drizzled with glaze.
Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions:
This cookie dough needs a very few ingredients like butter, egg, sugar, flour, vanilla, the usual cookie dough gang.
Fun bit lies in the different kinds of jams, nuts and chocolates that you can use.
I have used raspberry jam here, but all these following jams would be so good here as well:
- Blueberry Jam
- Peach Jam
- Strawberry Jam
- Apricot Jam
Just make sure to use quality preserves for best taste. You can also use homemade jams for this recipe.
To diversify the flavor of dough, try adding lemon or orange zest to it.
Along with vanilla you can also add a little almond extract to the dough. About half a teaspoon per batch of dough.
Fillings like, Caramel, Chocolate ganache and Lemon curd can also be used in these cookies like I use in these Lemon Thumbprint Cookies and Molasses Thumbprints.
After making cookie dough balls, you can also roll them in finely chopped nuts like pistachios or walnuts. Rolling them in granulated sugar gives them a sparkly and flavorful coat too.
Or try coating the cookies in festive non-pareils like I did here in these super Soft Sugar Cookies made with cream cheese.
So many options and all of them taste so good. But my personal favorite are lemon raspberry thumbprints and raspberry pistachio ones after the classic one that I am posting today of course.
How to make these Cookies:
We will begin by creaming butter and sugar together for a few minutes. Always remember to use room temperature butter for creaming.
If you forget to take the butter out of refrigerator, you can use hot glass trick to soften butter quickly.
To quickly soften Butter: Microwave water into a glass till it gets hot. Now empty it, then place your stick of butter upright in the glass. Butter stick will soften in about 5-7 mins.
And since we are not using any baking soda or baking powder in this dough, beating butter and sugar well is imperative. Do not skimp on this time, cream them till these get very light and fluffy.
Also add and mix in the egg.
Next we will add in the flavorings and the dry ingredients. Mix till a soft dough is formed.
Now we will roll dough balls between palms.
Place them on baking tray, create indentations using a round half teaspoon measuring spoon.
Now drop in jam and then bake till done.
Tips for crack free cookie:
Number one problem while making thumbprint cookies is- why my cookies got cracks. Now this can easily be prevented. It usually happens when we are creating indentations.
If too much pressure is applied with the teaspoon, cookie dough balls are prone to cracking.
To avoid this,
- First of all make sure you have measured your flour well. Too much flour can cause cookies to crack.
- Create crack free dough balls: If there are even small cracks after rolling dough balls, they will make enlarge as you make indentations. So roll that crack free to avoid this situation.
- Be gentle and slow while crating indentations, If too much pressure is applied too soon, cookies will crack.
Do not fret if you notice cracks on a few cookies. You can always smoothen them out using your fingertips and thumb. Make sure to fix all the cracks before filling the indentations with jam.
Storing and Freezing:
You can easily make cookie dough balls and freeze them after creating indentations. When you are ready to bake them, pour jam into the indents and add 1-2 minutes extra in the baking time. No need to thaw the cookies.
This makes them a convenient and Holiday Party friendly cookie recipe.
Do I need to chill the dough?
This recipe doesn't require chilling, but if you find that your dough is too soft to handle or feels greasy at any point of time, consider chilling it in refrigerator for 30 mins.
Should you fill Thumbprint Cookies before or after baking?
If you fill the cookies after baking them, the moisture in your preserves will make the cookies soggy. To avoid this from happening always fill the filling before baking the cookies.
If you liked these Cookies or any other recipes on the site give it a star review. Do tell me in the comments below, how did this turn out for you! And don’t forget to share your creations with me on Instagram at #greedyeatsblog Let's connect on Pinterest and Facebook too!
Recipe
Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Stand mixer
- 1 Cookie scoop
- Cookie trays
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- Zest of one Lemon (optional, but so good!)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all purpose flour
For Filling:
- ½ cup raspberry preserves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 deg F and line two cookie trays/baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats and set aside.
- In a bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or using a hand mixer beat butter and sugar together on medium speed till the mixture gets very pale and fluffy. About 3-5 minutes.
- Next add and mix in an egg, lemon zest, salt and vanilla too. Now with mixer on low speed, slowly add flour and mix only till flour disappears into the batter. Don't be alarmed if the dough looks crumbly at first, it will come together with ease in the next minute.
- Now scoop dough into 1 tablespoon sized portions using a cookie scoop for uniform sized cookies and easy portioning. Roll these portions between your palms one by one and roll them into crack free balls.
- Place the cookie balls on pre-lined cookie trays, about 2 inches apart. One cookie sheet will accommodate 12 cookies at ease.
- Now gently create indentations in the cookie balls using a ½ teaspoon measuring spoon. If you notice there are cracks in the cookies at this point, smooth them out using your fingertips.
- Pour preserves into the indentations and bake for 15-16 minutes or till their bottoms get slightly golden and the edges look set.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on the cookie tray for 5 minutes and then shift them to a wire rack to finish off cooling.
- Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and dig in! You can store them at room temperature for 3-4 days, covered tightly.
Ramil Hinolan
I love that I can put in any jam in the cookies. Your creativity is all it needs to whip up a delicious treat.
Kristine
YUM! These look delicious. I’m adding this recipe to our holiday cookie list. Thanks!
SONIA SEIVWRIGHT
Love these! I love how you highlighted the buttery-ness and the jam on top. No chill is a huge bonus for holiday bakers! Love all the jam substitution ideas too. Lemon or orange zest would be a great twist. Can’t wait to try this and thanks for the tips on avoiding cracks. Thanks for sharing!