I don’t usually like to bake a lot of sweets for Christmas but I do wax a bit nostalgic for Christmas cookies. I have some fond memories of Christmas cookies from my American godmother and baking with her. Now that I have a little one who’s itching to bake all time, I guess I’d better pony up and deliver the goods! These thumbprint cookie trios are such a nice treat and almost pretty enough as Christmas decorations on their own.
Where are these thumbprint cookie trios from?
Does anyone still mourn the death of Gourmet magazine? I do! I was just starting to get really serious about food and the culinary world when they ceased publication. To ease that pain a bit, I picked up this little gem of a book: The Gourmet Cookie Book. The Single Best Recipe from Each Year 1941-2009. I love the book design and the beautiful, simplistic photos of every cookie. There’s a little bit of fascinating history behind each cookie too, which makes it a fun read. Filled to the brim with all kinds of cookies for every time of the year and occasion. I highly recommend it.
This recipe from the book are from 2007. It was labeled as “a modern makeover for the classic thumbprint”. Makeover or not, I love the sweet and salty, soft, buttery cookie with three different kinds of preserves. You get to choose whatever favorite flavors you like. These thumbprint cookies would be great in a Christmas cookie box or swap. I’m betting that chocolate, nutella or lemon curd would also be a great filling for these if preserves are not your (ahem) jam. The recipe makes more than three dozen cookies, so they’re great for giving away as Christmas treats.
Easy thumbprint cookies to make this year with the kids!
The cookie dough is very easy to make with very few ingredients. You could make it a couple of days in advance and then just roll the dough into balls and fill. Rolling is a perfect job for little hands. Kids will love making the indentations and filling them too. To make the preserves look their sparkling best, I heated them in a small saucepan and pushed them through a strainer to get rid of any seeds or large pieces of fruit. This may sound like a bit of a bother but you only need 2 tablespoons of each flavor and your thumbprint cookies will look so pretty for this extra bit of effort.
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Thumbprint Cookie Trios
Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough
- 2 ½ cups (310 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 8 oz (226 g) butter, softened
- 1 cup (225 g) sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
For the Filling (*see notes)
- 2 tbsp raspberry jam
- 2 tbsp strawberry jam
- 2 tbsp apricot jam
Method
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat together the softened butter and sugar until pale and fluffy (about 4 minutes). Add the vanilla extract and egg. Beat until combined. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, beating in at low speed, just until a dough forms. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and mix by hand a few times until all the flour is incorporated.
- Divide the dough into two halves. Form each half into a disk and wrap them in plastic wrap or wax paper. Chill dough for an hour. (Dough may be made up two days in advance and kept refrigerated.)
- Preheat oven to 350° (177°C) with racks set in the middle of the oven. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats. Using a teaspoon measure, scoop a level teaspoon of dough and roll into a ball. Repeat two more times to make three balls. Using your palm or the flat bottom of a drinking glass, lightly press each ball to flatten to about 1 inch wide. Arrange them in a triangle on the baking sheet so the sides touch in the center of the triangle. Repeat this, spacing the cookies about 1 inch apart on the baking sheet.
- Using the bottom of the wooden spoon handle or a dowel, make a deep indentation in the center of each round of dough. Smooth over any cracks. Chill the cookies on the cookie sheets in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to firm up again.
- Once chilled, fill each cookie indentation with ⅛ teaspoon of preserves, using three different flavors for each cookie. Do not overfill. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until very light, golden brown (the paler the cookie, the softer it will be). Cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Repeat making cookies on cooled baking sheets.
Notes
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I made these for a cookie exchange. They turned out wonderfully! Thank you Susan, I love trying your recipes!
Hi Sarah! I’m so glad these worked out for you! I love these cookies for the holidays. Thanks for reading!