Thumbprint Cookies and Other Oddities of Life!

Thumbprint cookies have been around as long as I can remember, and that's a pretty long stretch of time!!!!

(note to self, buy more anti-wrinkle cream!!!!!)

Mostly, I'm not a fan. I see them as 'ho-hum' cookies.....

Never jumped on the bandwagon of thumbprint cookie aficionados, until..... oh, until!!!!!

My favorite airbake baking pan disappeared.

Yes, that is the start to this story, and this gives you reason to MOCK ME because it is probably in this house somewhere.... sigh.... but I can't find it.

Enter Beth, stage right.... she gets me a new pan while doing some Christmas shopping and presents it to me and it has a thumbprint cookie recipe on the wrapper from the Food Network....

Now, I don't watch cooking shows, I'd rather write books and mess around with little kids, and make a ginormous mess of my kitchen but this recipe tweaked me....

It's all about ratio in recipes. I look at a recipe and wonder if the ratio is my-kind-of-balance, and this one was.... almost.

But I saw these cookies dipped in almonds and filled with McCutcheon's raspberry jam (because Ruthy didn't make her own jam this summer, MY BAD!!!!)

I was enlightened. It was an epiphany kind of moment, because what if... oh what if????  Wait. I dare not say it. Let's play with pictures and see if my idea works!!!!!

Butter and Jam Thumbprint (Food Network  recipe)

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

(for dipping:)
1 beaten egg white
1 tablespoon water
Whisk these together in small bowl

1 cup crushed almonds
1/4 cup sugar
Mix almonds and sugar in bowl



(Their original recipe called for unsalted butter and less vanilla. I like this version better) 

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in bowl. In mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy... length of time depends on your mixer.

Beat in egg and vanilla until just combined... add in flour mixture by adding half at a time, and just mixing it in... then second half and mix until just blended. This is what gives these butter cookies a melt-in-your-mouth texture to die for!

Form cookie dough into balls about an inch or inch-and-a-half across. Roll cookie balls into egg white, then almonds.

Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Make a small "pond" in the cookie with your thumb.... this will level some during baking, so I re-do it once they're out of the oven. Umm, it's a good idea to wait a minute before re-doing the holes because bandaged thumbs are not in style!!!!  :)

Bake in 350 degree oven until just "golding" around the edges, about 10-12 minutes. Cookies will still be light but firming. They'll finish firming during the cooling process.

Some of these are filled with raspberry jam (but sour cherry jam works well, too!)

These two little rascals are filled with raspberry jam and piped chocolate frosting...

And these guys are filled with Hershey's Perfect Chocolate Frosting, one of our favorite family recipes:

This new/old recipe is now a staple in our cookbook of life!