My fruity moment of brilliance really shone in the striped bars, but with the jam exposed on the sides of the cookies, Santa might stain his clean white gloves a deep raspberry red. Since Mrs. Claus already washes chimney soot out of his suit every Christmas, I thought she’d thank me if I tried to minimize the amount of stain stick and detergent she used. Which mean another “round” of cookies…
This time, I fully enclosed the jam in a buttery sugar cookie crust. No stains on Santa’s gloves from out house! And just in case the raspberry seeds would get stuck in between his teeth, I switched to smooth strawberry preserves instead.
Thumbprint Cookies
based on this recipe
makes 3-4 dozen
Feel free to substitute your favorite jam; raspberry and apricot are my second choices. Be sure to let them cool before serving. While the cookie cools quickly, the jam center stays fairly hot for 10-15 minutes!
⅓ c. strawberry jam, jelly, or preserves
¼ c. butter, softened
½ c. packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1½ c. flour
¼ tsp salt
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, stir the jam with a spoon until it reaches a smooth consistency. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing well. Add the flour and salt, mixing just until combined. If the dough is sticky, refrigerate for 20 min.
- Shape the dough into walnut-sized balls, and place on the prepared pans. Using your thumb, make an indentation into each, and round out the hole using your thumb and index finger. Fill each indentation with jam.
- Bake at 350° for 11-13 minutes or until the cookie begins to turn a golden brown at the edges. Cool on the pans for 5 min before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
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