Thumbprint Cookies
Delicious buttery shortbread cookies filled with strawberry and apricot jam. These Thumbprint Cookies are perfect for the holidays or any occasion!
When it comes to cookies, you can’t beat a classic recipe. From my no-bake cookies to my homemade peanut butter cookies and these snickerdoodles cookies, I think it’s pretty obvious how much I adore them. And judging by how popular each of those recipes are on my site, I think it’s safe to say that you love them too!
So today I’m sharing another classic favorite with you – these easy jam thumbprint cookies. The cookie dough for this recipe is made with just 6 ingredients (that’s including the vanilla extract and salt!) and comes together in just a few minutes. There’s also no dough chilling required so you can just prep the cookies and pop them into the oven.
I filled these cookies with strawberry and apricot jam, but you can fill them with just about any flavor. I actually made a batch of these when my niece and nephew came over a few weeks ago and they went crazy for them. I guarantee you’ll love them too!
How To Make Thumbprint Cookies
To make these cookies, you’ll start out by mixing up the cookie dough which is just a simple mixture of butter, sugar, egg yolks, salt, vanilla, and flour. Let’s break down each ingredient:
- Butter: There are two sticks of butter in these thumbprint cookies to give them that rich buttery taste. I suggest sticking with unsalted butter in these cookies too since the amount of salt in salted butter can vary quite a bit between different brands.
- Sugar: I decided to go with granulated sugar for these cookies to help them spread just a little bit. I also like to roll the cookies in a little extra sugar before adding the jam and baking them, but this step is optional.
- Egg Yolks: There are two egg yolks in the cookie dough to help keep the cookies soft and not too crunchy!
- Vanilla Extract & Salt: Once you cream together the butter and sugar, you’ll mix in some vanilla for flavor and a little salt along with the egg yolks.
- All-purpose flour: The flour is mixed in at the very end and the dough will seem a little crumbly at first, but it will come together as you continue mixing it. Just be sure to spoon your flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife, so you don’t end up with too much and crumbly cookies.
Once the cookie dough is mixed up, you’ll use a one tablespoon cookie scoop or measuring spoon to measure out the cookie dough. I find that anything larger than one tablespoon is just too big for a thumbprint cookie.
Next, roll the cookie dough into balls and toss each one in a little granulated sugar. The sugar is optional for this part, but I love the extra crunch and sweetness it adds to the cookies. Then, make an indentation in each cookie using your thumb or something similar. I actually like to use the handle of a large wooden spoon for this step.
Then, fill each indentation with 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite jam. I really love Bonne Maman jam, so I used their strawberry and apricot jams here.
The final step for this thumbprint cookie recipe is to bake them. When it comes to shortbread cookies, you want to avoid overbaking them because they can end up crunchy and dry. I suggest baking these cookies for about 12-14 minutes, you’ll know they’re done when the tops are set and the bottoms are very lightly browned.
Baking Tips
- When measuring the flour for these cookies, make sure to spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife.
- After you add the flour the cookie dough will be a little crumbly at first, this is normal! As you continue mixing, the dough will come together.
- Feel free to use your favorite flavor of jam in these cookies. I think they would be delicious filled with some homemade lemon curd too!
- Make sure not to overbake the cookies, I find that 12-14 minutes at 350°F (177°C) is the perfect amount of time.
Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (230 grams) unsalted butter softened
- 2/3 cup (135 grams) granulated sugar plus 3 tablespoons (40 grams) for rolling the cookies
- 2 large egg yolks room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 and 1/3 cups (290 grams) all-purpose flour spooned & leveled
- 1/2 cup strawberry or apricot jam
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for 1-2 minutes or until well combined. Mix in the eggs yolks, vanilla extract, and salt until fully combined, then mix in the flour. The mixture will be a little crumbly at first but it will come together as you continue mixing it.
- Using a one-tablespoon cookie scoop or measuring tablespoon, measure out the cookie dough, roll into balls, roll each one in granulated sugar (optional), then place on the prepared baking sheets.
- Use your thumb (or the handle of a large wooden spoon) to press an indentation into each ball of cookie dough. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon of jam into the indentation in each one.
- Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 12-14 minutes or until the cookies are set and the bottoms are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
My mom & I LOVE LOVE LOVE these cookies, I use plum & apricot jelly.
Thanks for the delish recipe ?
Much love from Texas
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Very good recipe. I made 1 change. Instead of rolling the dough in sugar before forming and baking I sifted powered sugar over them after they came out of the oven and were still hot.
Perfect recipe. Cookies turned out perfect. I only made 40 cookies because I did not read where recipe states 46 cookies. Know better for next time.
These cookies are F A N T A S T I C !!!!! I have been making cookies for 50 yrs and my family said that these cookies were the best homemade cookies they have ever had!! I am a hero now!! I filled them with Boysenberry preserves from Knott’s Berry Farm – OMG!!! Diet?? That’s in my rear view mirror now! THANKS for posting a great recipe!
Just used my Mom’s hand-written recipe for Thumbprint Butter Cookies – known growing up as Mint Jelly Cookies – and since the ink is fading a bit (from the 1930’s!) looked online and found your recipes. Almost identical to Mom’s and just as good as I remembered! An assortment of preserves and nuts went in the indentations, You gave me the precise baking instructions – much better than “bake until done.” So glad I found your website – for sure I’ll be referring to it often from now on!
Hi Danielle. This recipe was great for when I made my Christmas cookie haul last year. I’m currently baking while at home and found your strawberry shortcake recipe, which I’m going to try tonight. This made me realize that most of my favorite recipes are yours! Thanks for sharing your creations with us 🙂
So glad you’re enjoying the recipes! I hope you enjoy the strawberry shortcakes too!
This recipe was a huge hit in my house, thanks for the recipe! I used Bob’s Redmill’s 1-to-1 gluten free flour and they came out great. The cookies had a soft yet crumbly texture that almost melts in your mouth. I’ve never made a shortbread cookie so I was wondering how to get a more firm texture with more of a snap. You mentioned the egg yolks keep them soft – would I leave them out for a little more crunch? Thanks again, we loved them.
So glad you enjoyed the cookies! For a crunchier cookie, you can use my shortbread cookie recipe and just make them into thumbprints like you did for this recipe. That recipe doesn’t use egg yolks so it’s a bit crunchier.
Hello! Thank you very much for such delicious recipes! This cookie has become one of our favorites. I don’t have a kitchen machine, so I melt butter in the microwave. Cookies are very good. Thank you again for specifying the metric measure of products. This is very convenient for me
I would love to try this recipe but I do not have Vanilla Extract. Is it ok to leave it out or will it hinder the recipe too much?
It would probably be okay to leave it out if you don’t have any, it will just affect the taste slightly. You could use 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract if you have any of that instead.
Such a great recipe! These cookies are nice and soft and have the perfect texture! The only thing I did different was substitute the vanilla extract with almond extract because I prefer that flavor. Am planning on making again!
Hi Danielle, I made these cookies twice and they were amazing. I shaped the thumbprint into little hearts for Valentine’s Day and they were a big hit! Raspberry jam center plus a strawberry jam dip was perfect.
Question: I would like to try these again but I only have cake flour at the moment, do you recommend a 1:1 substitute?
Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed the cookies, Nina! I think it would be fine to use cake flour, just keep in mind that the cookies will be softer and more tender. Also, cake flour is lighter than all-purpose flour so you’ll probably want to use 2 and 1/2 cups of cake flour so it’s about equal to the all-purpose flour.
Have made your oatmeal raisin cookies many times-and they turn out soft and chewy-today cookies were too hard- I followed recipe as usual-where did I go wrong????
Hi, Virginia? Are you referring to the these thumbprint cookies or the oatmeal raisin cookies that turned out hard?
If I use salted butter because that’s all we have will it change the recipe in anyway? Thank you!
You can just omit the salt from the recipe.
This is a great thumbprint recipe!! I made about half of mine with jam, and the other half I baked, let cool completely, and filled with dulce de leche and OH. MY. GOD. they were so good! My husband wont stop talking about them! lol
Great recipe. Can’t wait to try it. Can I grease baking pans with Crisco instead of using parchment paper?
Yes, I would just lightly grease it though so they don’t spread too much.
Made these into little heart shapes with strawberry jam for Valentine’s day, so delicious and pretty!!
Made these cookies a few weeks ago for Christmas but I DID NOT get 46 cookies like your recipe says! I used a tablespoon, sometimes even less, and I got maaaaaybe 28 cookies
Did you make sure to use a measuring tablespoon? The balls of cookie dough won’t be very large, only about 1 and 1/4 inches if you measure them.
Fabulous recipe!!! These are absolutely the BEST:). I just chilled the dough for 30 minutes before rolling into balls. Recipe is PERFECT!!! TY
So glad you liked the cookies, Beverly!
What about using apricot, poppyseed or nut filling in place of the jam??
That would be fine!
Flavor was great but my dough remained crumbly , had to simply press dough together to get some sort of ball & it crumbled & ,cracked as I tried to make the indentation.
Hi, Lauren! Sorry you had some trouble with the cookie dough. Did you make sure to spoon and level the flour? Too much flour can cause the dough to be crumbly.
Can I use different flavoring like almond or rum?
Do you mean extracts? If so, that would be fine!
Do you think you could use jellied cranberry in place of regular jelly? Or would it be too thin? I’d like to make an orange version and fill it with cranberry… For the holidays. ?
As long as the consistency is similar to jam/jelly I think it would be fine!
I made these cookies with Splenda measured a little less than regular sugar, doubled the vanilla, added a dash of cinnamon & a tablespoon of cream cheese. Was still able to keep the integrity of the cookie and hide the Splenda taste. Very pleased with how yummy they where. Used sugar free jelly too. 🙂
Amazing!!!! Thank You for the recipe ?
Would using fruit preserves be ok too? I know jams, jellies, and preserves all differ, so what are you thoughts?
I think it would be fine to use fruit preserves!
Made these cookies today and they were a big hit! My husband loves short bread. I tried a couple with real raspberry instead of the jam and they were delicious as well. Do you think these cookies will freeze well?
Thank you again for your recipes! This is a go-to site for me for new recipes. The vanilla cupcakes are still one of my favorites.
Barbara
So glad you enjoyed the cookies and cupcakes, Barbara! And yes, I do think these cookies would freeze just fine.
love love loved this recipe!
Can I replace flour with Almond flour?
Thank you
I haven’t tried it, but almond flour is quite different from all-purpose so I wouldn’t recommend doing a 1:1 substitute.
My favorite cookies!!! I make them all the time ❤
They come out so delicious and soo soft.. my boyfriend eats most of them. I think he loves them too.
Thank you for the recipes. Can’t wait to try some more recipes out.
So glad you liked the cookies, Cristina! I’d love to hear if you try any other recipes.
Oh my gosh!! I don’t like shortbread but these are best shortbread I have ever tasted, I have baked these for the first time today and these thumbprints cookies are awesome! I used raspberry seedless. I love these. Thank you.
So glad you liked the cookies, Maddy!
I just loved, loved these thumbprint cookies. Thank you for the recipe. I made the oatmeal cookies too and they turned out well also. Keep coming with your excellent recipes. Thank you, thank you.
So happy to hear that!
Family thought it was shortbread, they think I am a rock star, will make again for school bake sale The Littles thank you for recipe.