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.
First time making thumbprint cookies, looked at several recipes and decided to try this one. I flattened 1 tbsp of dough and sprinkled with sugar at first but they didn’t seem right. Finally realized make a ball with 1tbsp dough, roll in sugar and flatten slightly by pressing with thumb lol. I used half teaspoon vanilla and scant over half teaspoon almond extract, then 1/2 tsp each cookie of apricot jam and mint apple jelly. Baked 2 minutes over recommended time just to make sure. They are soooooo good, thank you for adding weight of flour to recipe, I trust that more and they came out perfect.
We just tried this recipe tonight, it turned out so delicious. My 4 year old helped out with the mixing and thumbprint. Thank you for this wonderful recipe
Loved the cookies! I’m a vegetarian so I used 4 oz of applesauce to replace the eggs. Had to cook about 18 minutes so a little longer but they turned out great! Thank you
Absolutely delicious, fluffy, and super easy to make! Made them for Valentine’s with a heart imprint and they turned out beautifully! I would like to make a chocolate thumbprint cookie using this recipe. Would you know how much cocoa powder I should add to my flour? I will then be filling them with a dark chocolate ganache.
So glad you loved the cookies, Margaret! I haven’t tried these with cocoa powder yet, so I’m not quite sure. You may be able to replace about 1/3 cup of flour with cocoa powder. Keep in mind that cocoa powder can sometimes dry out baked goods, so you may need to incorporate some brown sugar or something for moisture.
This was the best thumbprint cookie recipe that I’ve ever made! Light, buttery and melt in your mouth! Thanks for the recipe!
These are absolutely delicious!! I had my daughter help make them and use her thumb to make heart imprints for Valentine’s Day! They turned out so well! Thank you for this recipe!
By far the best thumbprint cookies! Super easy even my toddler can help make them and always a hit!
These are the best thumbprint cookies! Truly amazing, delicious, fluffy, Thank you for sharing your recipe!
These were absolutely perfect! I cannot stop eating them. Definitely adding to my go-to list of cookie recipes.
Hi there & Merry Christmas! I made these for Christmas and…they DID NOT LAST THE NIGHT. I had 3 left the next morning. Note to self: either no-taste testers or make the dough early and bake as needed. These are DELICIOUS! Like tiny pillows of heaven on the tongue, so rich, and buttery, and just sweet enough. Yum! I do not exaggerate. 🙂 I had to make a second batch on Christmas Eve, and my husband kept sending our daughter to come steal the fresh ones off the cooling rack! 🙂 We used Red Raspberry Seedless Jam. **One note, one Tablespoon left mine looking stretched out (although I had no complaints), so my 2nd batch I made 1/2 Tablespoon balls, then they were tiny and perfect like yours. Oh! I tried them with a melting chocolate wafer in the middle and also just pressed down. We love all of them. These were amazing, thank you.
Delicious. The recipe was simple and my cookies were perfect. I did not use the extra sugar. I mixed with hand mixer and then I kneaded with my hands like I do with shortbread, then made the balls.
so i measured everything correctly and the consistency is more like a frosting than it is a cookie dough.
The consistency should be just like a regular cookie dough. Did you double check the butter and flour measurements?
I followed the recipe as written. These are the best tasting thumbprint cookies cording to my husband. I used Smuckers raspberry jam. I baked them at 350 for 12 minutes and they came out perfect. One thing I’d like to mention to the person who said that there cookies burned. Maybe try baking them on a different rack location in their oven. I have a gas oven that has five rack locations and I always bake my cookies on the third rack location from the bottom. They always turn out great. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
excellent smooth butter cookie, easy to follow – yes the dough is crumbly but all you do is pick it up and mix with your hands just like bread dough. my question is when you roll dough into small 1 inch balls do you just poke a small indentation in the center of ball and fill . I flattened the balls slightly and then filled , they were delicious but not pretty. I’ll try again,
So glad you enjoyed the cookies, Joanna! Yes, once I roll them into a ball, I make an indentation and then fill them.
Following recipe exactly but the dough never came together. It’s just crumbly not sure what the problem is??
Did you double check your measurements and make sure to spoon & level your flour? The dough will be crumbly at first, but it will come together as you continue mixing it.
Made them using King Arthur Gluten Free Flour Mix and they came out perfect.
Very good and almost gone, only baked them yesterday. I did find that a few of them were rolled to big, thus spreading a bit. Next time I will be careful to make sure of the size is smaller. But oh so good, raspberry and apricot.
Can you make this gluten free?
I haven’t tried using gluten-free flour, but if you’ve had success using a certain brand of gluten-free flour 1:1 in other recipes then in may be okay in this one.
For some reason they are not cooking, the jam isn’t melting, should the recipe have baking powder?
Hi, Shelley! These are more of a shortbread style cookie, so they don’t have any baking powder/soda in them. Did you make any adjustments to the recipe? Was your jam really thick? If so, it may help to stir it in a bowl (so it’s softer) before adding it into the center of the cookies.
Tried these and followed the recipe very closely but they expanded and all the jam flowed out of it after about 8 mins in the oven 🙁
Sorry you had trouble with the recipe. Did you make any adjustments to the recipe? The cookies will expand some, but the jam shouldn’t overflow. Was your dough very warm?
could you use chocolate to fill?
Yes, that would be fine.
So I baked a quarter batch, froze the rest, they were delicious however I baked them for exacty 12 minuted but they burnt on thr bottom, going to try them at 10 min at the frozrn batch. Hope they dont come out doughy .
Did you happen to use a dark baking sheet? They definitely shouldn’t have burned after just 12 minutes.
I used a dark sheet and parchment paper
Going to attempt recipe tonight, can you freeze the dough if not used tonight?
Yes, you can freeze the dough and thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.
I made these cookies last night and they were the BEST cookie recipe I’ve ever tried!! I will definitely be making them a few more times again this holiday season!! Do you have any suggestions on how to increase the chewiness of the cookie? I would like to try making a slightly chewier variation! Thanks so much!
So glad you enjoyed the cookies! You could possibly try using bread flour, it has a higher protein content which should make them a bit chewier.
Absolutely delicious. I made these cookies for my husband to take to the office. I ended making two batches because the first batch never made it out of the house. Not only is this recipe delicious, it is pretty straightforward and easy to follow. Thanks Danielle.
My 4 year old daughter made this recipe. It’s perfect for teaching measurements and basics of baking. Delicious cookies
Can you use the whole eggs not just the yolks?
I recommend using just egg yolks for these cookies.
I don’t know what went wrong! I whipped up a batch according to the directions and I have puddle cookies. They spread like crazy and the jelly hasn’t melted at all. Any suggestions?
Did you double check the measurements and ingredients that you used? If you happened to use too much butter or not enough flour it could cause that to happen.
If you melted the butter instead of just softening that’ll happen
This happened to me!! Puddle cookies. And I realized that I’m used to flour being the first ingredient on ingredient lists for some reason. I’m sick with 2 kids underfoot and was on auto-pilot so I only put 1 cup of flour instead of 2 1/3 cup. ? They were still delicious although not very pretty, and quite sweet due to the lack of flour. ? I’m chilling the rest of the dough so hopefully the rest of the cookies won’t be quite so puddly. But husband and kids aren’t complaining! I’ll have to try making these again using the right amount of flour.
How sweet are these cookies? I plan to make them for my little siblings and the last thing I need is for them to be more hyper. I’m just worried that with the jam and everything they would be too sugary.
I don’t find them to be too sweet, but everyone’s preference is different. There’s only 1/2 teaspoon of jam in each cookie too so it’s not very much.
This is by FAR the best thumbprint cookie recipe! I’ve been making it since last year and it’s everybody’s favourite. I recently found out I’m allergic to wheat and egg whites so I found this recipe perfect for when I want something sweet. I just swap out the AP flour for bob’s red mill gluten free baking flour. Amazing recipe, thank you so much!