Thumbprint Cookies

These thumbprint cookies are the ultimate holiday treat! Filled with vibrant pools of apricot and raspberry jam, they're melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

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thumbprint cookies recipe

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: