These thumbprint cookies are the ultimate holiday treat! Filled with vibrant pools of apricot and raspberry jam, they're melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
It’s holiday baking season! I can’t think of a better way to kick it off than with these jam thumbprint cookies. Of course I’m biased, but I think this could be the best thumbprint cookie recipe out there. The cookies have a delicious melt-in-your-mouth texture and warm, buttery flavor. They’re rich and delicate, with a pop of brightness from the melty jam. As an added bonus, they’re super easy to make! This thumbprint cookie recipe calls for just 8 ingredients, and there’s a good chance you have all of them on hand already.
Thumbprint Cookie Recipe Ingredients
Ready to bake? Check to make sure you have these ingredients in your pantry first:
- All-purpose flour and almond flour – This combination makes the cookies extra-rich and tender.
- Butter – It adds rich, buttery flavor and gives the cookies a yummy crumbly texture.
- Sugar – For sweetness.
- Vanilla and almond extract – They fill the cookies with warm flavor.
- And sea salt – Don’t skip it! Even though these cookies are sweet, the salt is essential for sharpening their delicious buttery flavor.
- Jam – Choose your favorite flavor of jam, or use a mix. I love to make my thumbprint cookies with apricot and raspberry jam.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Start by whisking together the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Then, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the vanilla, almond extract, butter, and sugar until fluffy. Gradually add the flour and mix until combined.
Next, shape the cookies. Use a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop rounded tablespoons of the dough, and roll them into balls. Place the balls on two large bakings sheets lined with parchment paper. Use the back of a 1-teaspoon measuring spoon to make an indentation in the middle of each cookie. Finally, spoon a little jam into the indentations.
Bake one sheet at a time in a 350° oven until the bottoms of the cookies are lightly browned. They’ll be fragile when they come out of the oven, so let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Best Thumbprint Cookies Tips
- Plan ahead. This recipe calls for room temperature butter, so when you make it, you’ll need to plan ahead. Remove the butter from the fridge or freezer a few hours before you start baking. Yes, a few hours. Don’t try to speed up the process in the microwave. If you do, there’s a good chance that the butter will start to melt, and your cookies will spread. Trust me, I speak from experience!
- Don’t use your thumb. Maybe it’s just me, but whenever I press these cookies down with my thumb, I end up with funky-looking indentations. In order to get even indentations that can hold a good amount of jam, I like to press them down with the back of a 1-teaspoon measuring spoon instead. It creates a round, wide cavity for the jam, making for prettier and more evenly filled cookies.
- Think about the jam:cookie ratio. There’s nothing sadder than thumbprint cookies with a tiny smidgen of jam inside! When you’re considering the jam:cookie ratio, two things matter: the size of the cookies and the amount of jam. I keep these cookies on the small side, using a rounded tablespoon of dough for each one. Then, I fill them with 1/2 teaspoon jam. That way, there’s plenty of jam for the amount of dough. Yum!
More Favorite Cookie Recipes
If you love these thumbprint cookies, try one of these yummy cookie recipes next:
- Easy Sugar Cookies
- Perfect Oatmeal Cookies
- Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
- Lemon Shortbread Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Best Peanut Butter Cookies
- Or any of these 21 Best Christmas Cookie Recipes!
Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour,
- 1 cup almond flour,
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ cup raspberry and/or apricot jam
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract until fluffy. Gradually add the flour and mix until combined.
- Scoop rounded tablespoons of the dough, roll into balls, and place on the prepared baking sheets. Gently press down to form disks and use your thumb, or the back of a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon, to make an indentation in the middle of the cookies. Spoon ½ teaspoon of jam onto each cookie.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly browned. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
its sounds great will try it
The most popular cookie I ever brought to a pot luck!
It was 4th of July and I used strawberry jam (fresh made from garden) and topped with Borage flowers when they came out of oven- red white and blue cookies!
Hi Beatrice, they sound amazing! I’m so glad you loved the recipe.
Just made these gluten free. Used 1 ½ C Almond flour and 1 ½ C King Arthur GF Measure for Measure. Added one egg yolk as a binder. Perfect. Filled with homemade cherry, berry filling made from cooked dried berries. Chilled before baking. Drizzled with melted white chocolate when cool.
thank you for the GF tips!
What can I use instead of almond flour? I don’t like the taste and I don’t have it. Would rice flour work?
The recipe I remember as a kid (sans the almond flour, which I think is a great addition). I did not find the dough to be dry, but I did a few things that are not expressly mentioned in the recipe. Make sure you really cream the butter and sugar. I don’t do it by time… I do it by the look and taste of it. For me, it took a little longer than what is in the recipe. Fully incorporate the dry ingredients. This took also longer than the recipe says. My mixer definitely got a work out! And I set it on my porch for about an hour before I used it (you can use your frig). This made it a little easier to roll into balls. Get creative with the fillings! I used fig jam, jellied cranberry sauce, pear preserves and strawberry jam this time. Other times I’ve used lemon curd or the cherries out of canned pie filling. Yum!
Excellent! Made as directed with minor substitutions….Used vegan Miyoko butter and gluten free flour. I was a bit concerned using the gluten free flour as it can be a bit tricky at times but the dough worked up well…..I think that almond flour makes a big difference (which is what attracted me to this recipe). Cookies were very tender, flavorful, easy to make…..definitely a keeper!
Hi Carol, thanks for letting us know that they worked with these substitutions!
For me also, the crumbly dough was very frustrating.
Ialso found the dough crumbly and yes I used the exact measuring method as specified
I followed the recipe as-is (except I left out the almond extract which I did not have on hand) and the dough came out crumbly and dry. I had to really smush it together in my hands to form the dough balls. Would chilling the dough help?
Hi Sam, you could add a bit of water to help the dough come together. Did you use the spoon and level method while measuring your flour? It’s possible too much flour was packed in your measuring cup: https://www.loveandlemons.com/how-to-measure-flour/
I thought the dough was crumbly and difficult to work with, but they tasted good!
I Adella, did you use the spoon and level method for measuring the flour? https://www.loveandlemons.com/how-to-measure-flour/
If it happens next time, try adding just a bit of water until it’s easier to work with.
Can you use almond meal instead of flour?
I did! My dough was a bit crumbly but they still came out pretty well intact and tasted great!
I don’t have almond flour so I took some oatmeal and blitzed it in the grinder to make substitute flour. It worked nicely, still good flavor and texture. Thanks for this recipe.
Delicious little cookie!
I used Country Crock plant based butter to make them vegan and I loved them!
I’m so glad you loved them!
Do they need to be refrigerated after baking?
Hi Susan, you can store these cookies in an airtight container at room temp.
Hi,
Thanks for sharing this recipe and happy thanksgiving!
Do you think it’s safe to use thumbprint cookie molds on this one (I got them from William Sonoma)?
Thank you
that should be fine!