Holiday Thumbprint Cookies with Raspberry Jam

There is something to be said about the flavor and texture of this cookie. It could possibly be up there with one of my favorite holiday cookies, and for the last five years or so, I have been making a batch (or two) of these delightful cookies. I think I first got turned on to holiday cookies when my wife’s cousin Cathy would show up at one of the Christmas get together. All of the siblings got really excited that Cathy was coming, and I soon found out why. Granted Cathy is great person, and someone who has provided me a lot of freelance work in the past, but she became the best cousin ever when she walked into the house with a huge plate of her homemade cookies. There was an array of cookies. Everything imaginable, and over a dozen of different types to chose from. It was pretty amazing and you could always tell how much time and effort she put into making these trays of cookies.

So probably for the past five years or so, I began making different types of holiday cookies. Everything from bark, to mint something or another, to amaretto balls, but there is always one or two that stand out, and one of them is the thumbprint cookie filled with raspberry jam.

These cookies are really easy to make, and are packed with enough sugar and butter to keep your kids happy after every meal!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 3 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cup of sifted all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp of sea salt
• raspberry jam

Begin by adding the sugar and butter to your mixing bowl, and mix to cream it. Add in the vanilla extract then slowly add in the sifted flour and salt to form your dough. Once everything is incorporated, remove from the mixing bowl and combine it together to make a ball, then flatten it a bit. Take enough plastic wrap and wrap up the dough. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Once you are ready to make the cookies, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and get your cookie tray out. Take a small amount of dough, roughly the size of a meatball or golf ball for that matter, and form it into a ball. Make an indention with your thumb into the center of the ball, and push down a bit, being careful not to split the dough. Shape as necessary.

Take a small spoonful of the jam and place in the indention. Repeat. Bake for 23-25 minutes until golden brown around the edges. When they are finished cooking, let them sit on the sheet for a few minutes before removing with a spatula. Let them cool for about 15 minutes before diving into them.

The dough alone is very amazing, however when you added the jam, it adds this great texture and flavor that keeps you going back to that plate of cookies. Hope you enjoy!

What is your favorite holiday cookie?