Our all-time family favourite cookie! These tender, soft buttery cookies surrounded by chopped walnuts and sweetened with raspberry jam centers are so delicious. They are a festive addition to our cookie collection.
I dedicate this cookie to my Mom. When I was much younger, she asked me to make these cookies for Christmas, since she was so busy preparing for the house for the holidays, making meals and baking pastries and cakes. When we first tried them it became her favourite other then the Hungarian pastries!
These festive holiday cookies are so buttery, and rich in deliciousness and a sweet centers, are definitely a perfect addition to Christmas platter and/or gift. They are known to originate in Europe, some say Sweden and others say Germany, regardless, it is a classic cookie that is traditional in my family.
Helpful Suggestions:
I would suggest to cream the butter and sugar using a hand held mixer or stand mixer, just enough until it’s fluffy and light in colour. Over beating will create a very soft sticky dough and will be difficult to shape into balls.
Once the cookies are ready for baking and the centers have been pressed to create a indentation, I would suggest to keep an eye on them while they are baking. After 10 minutes, you will notice some of the cookies the centers will flatten, and what I have done, is taken my thumb again, press lightly down on those cookies. Be careful, as they are very HOT, or you can do this once you remove them from the oven.
Make these cookies ahead and freeze them for 2-3 months in advance. Place them in a seal air-tight container, and use wax paper between as you layer the cookies in the container.
I recommend adding the preserves once you take them out of the freeze, just before serving them. Depending on the preserve, sometimes, they will bleed into the cookie if added days before. Other recipes say to add the preserves just before baking, and it is perfectly fine to do that. I prefer them with the fresh preserve added just before eating them.
Recipe ingredients:
- unsalted butter
- sugar
- eggs: room temperature
- vanilla
- salt
- all-purpose flour
- walnuts or pecans
- preserves/jam: raspberry, apricot or strawberry
These cookies store well in the freeze for 2-3 months in air-tight container if you choose to make them ahead, as I like to do. Some people like to add the jam centers before baking or wait until they are baked or ready to serve. It is a personal preference, and I like to add it just before serving.
Jam Thumbprint Cookies
Equipment
- Hand-held mixer or stand mixer
- baking pans
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 eggs, separated, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts/pecans
- organic raspberry/apricot/strawberry jam
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a medium bowl, using a hand held mixer or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light in colour and fluffy. Add egg yolks, vanilla and salt. Beat well. Gradually add flour, and mix by hand until the flour is incorporated. Overmixing will create an overly soft texture which will be difficult to shape into balls.
- In a small bowl, beat the egg whites with a fork until frothy. In medium bowl or plate, add the finely chopped walnuts.
- Shape dough into ¾ inch balls, then dip each ball into the slightly beaten egg white and then final step is to roll each ball into the finely chopped nuts. Lay parchment paper on baking sheets, and place about 1 inch apart. Press down the centres with thumb.
- Bake for about 15-17 minutes or until bottoms are golden. Cool slightly, remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.
- Store in a air-tight container in refrigerator for 1-2 weeks. Freeze up to 2-3 months. Just before serving, fill centers with preserves.
Nutrition
When making this recipe:
Shape all the dough into 3/4 inch balls at the same time, that way you can visually see they are all of the same size and your hands will stay clean. Then roll each ball into the lightly beaten egg whites, and final step is to roll each into finely chopped walnuts.
To create a indentation in the centers of each cookie, using your thumb, press firmly down in the centers of each cookie. While the cookies are baking, a few of them the centers will flatten, and what I have done, is taken my thumb again, press lightly down on those cookies. These cookies expand or spread very little, so the size you create will be pretty much the size of the cookie once baked.
Once you take the cookies out of the oven, allow them to rest of the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to the cooling rack. These cookies will crack slightly, but don’t be concerned, it is the buttery texture that is creating that. Allow the cookies to cool before adding the jam. I make these a couple of weeks before the holidays, and store them in the freezer, and when I take them out of the freezer at Christmas to serve, I then add the preserves to them.
When I first made these cookies, my Mom and I tried a few different types of preserves, and our favourite was the raspberry, as it not only complimented these cookies so well, they looked so festive.
