A recipe for butter jam thumbprint cookies, featuring a melt-in-your-mouth, buttery cookie filled with strawberry jam and sprinkle with sparkling sugar.
If you are on the hunt for a cookie you will never, ever be able to stop making, cause no matter where you bring it, people ask you to bring it again…and, again, this is the recipe for you. However, if you can’t stand people ranting and raving over what a wonderful baker you are, and how the cookie you’ve just presented them with is the greatest thing they have ever consumed in their lives, this is not the recipe for you. Because when you walk into a room with a batch of these butter jam thumbprint cookies, people are going to fall at your feet, sing your praises and beg you for more.
I first started making these little gems as an add-on menu item during The Anthony Kitchen’s bakery days, and once they went on the menu, there was no taking them back. People remembered these cookies. They would buy them as gifts come Christmas time, order them for specialty cookies for showers and brunches. These butter jam cookies were the first cookies to fly off the tables at my annual Christmas cookie try and buy event, and actually, one of my very own personal favorites.
This particular thumbprint cookie is the perfect balance of flavor and contrast. The base of the cookie resembles a shortbread, soft and buttery, and total melt-in-your-mouth perfection. You’ll find it not too sweet, with just the faintest hint of salt at the end of the bite, balanced by the sweet tartness of the strawberry jam.
A beautiful and versatile cookie that actually tastes as good as looks, a guaranteed crowd-pleaser and I can only imagine, your new personal favorite. Please, enjoy.
A recipe for butter jam thumbprint cookies, featuring a melt-in-your-mouth, buttery cookie filled with strawberry jam and sprinkle with sparkling sugar.
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus extra for working with dough
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4” cubes
- 1 cup store-bought strawberry jam
- 1/2 cup sparkling decorative sugar optional
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Preheat oven to 350°and have ready a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
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Have the egg yolks and vanilla extract combined in a small glass measuring pitcher and set aside until ready to use.
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In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, add flour, sugar and salt. Pulse to mix ingredients. Add 8-10 pieces of butter through the feed tube at a time, and pulse briefly after each addition. Once all of the butter has been incorporated, with the food processor running, stream in the yolk and vanilla mixture. Allow to process until the dough comes together in a mass, and begins to form into a ball.
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Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, dust lightly with flour and pat into a rectangle about 3/4 - 1” thick. Using a 1 1/2”, round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out cookies and roll in the sparkling sugar, if using. Discard of dough scraps. Create a crevice in the center of each cookie using either your index finger or the bottom side of a 1/4 teaspoon measure. Transfer to baking sheet spacing them 1” apart.
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Add a scant teaspoon of jam to the center of each cookie. Do not overfill cookies. Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, serve and enjoy.
Makes about 36 cookies.
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