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These Thumbprint Cookies are easy to make with a dollop of your favorite jam! They’re soft and chewy cookies made with just 7 ingredients. Perfect for your Christmas cookie tray!
These jam-filled cookies look so pretty, you won’t believe how easy they are to make. From holiday desserts to everyday snacking, they’re sure to be a hit with your family. The flavors are simple and classic, yet irresistible.
The cookie dough is really good at holding its shape, so you don’t have to worry about your cookies over-spreading. You can make these cookies with any kind of jam you like – the possibilities are endless! I love using apricot jam and raspberry jam for mine.
Thumbprint cookies get their name because the jam is placed on the cookies in a divot made from your thumb. Technically you don’t have to use your thumb – I use a measuring spoon – but that’s where the name comes from. Thumbprint cookies can also be made with icing or buttercream, but I like to keep them fruity with fresh jam in this classic version.
Recipe Ingredients
These cookies are made with staple pantry ingredients, so there’s no need to run out and grocery shop! Here’s what you’ll need to make them:
- Unsalted Butter: Bring your butter to room temperature before starting on your dough.
- Sugar
- Egg Yolks: You won’t be needing any egg whites for this recipe. The yolks contribute to a chewier cookie.
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Salt
- Jam: Use your choice of jam!
- Prepare for Baking: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Cream Butter & Sugar: Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy. You should be able to see the change in color happen and know it’s ready.
- Add Egg Yolks: Add the egg yolks one at a time. Mix until well combined after adding each yolk.
- Add Vanilla Extract: Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Add Flour & Salt: Add the flour and salt and mix until the dough is just well combined. Do not over-mix.
- Form Cookies: Create 1 1/2 tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough. Gently roll them into a ball, then roll them in additional sugar if desired. Set the balls on the baking sheet.
- Press: Use the end of a spatula, your thumb or the bottom of a measuring spoon to press the centers of the cookies down. Do this immediately after rolling them to help prevent the cookies from cracking.
- Add Jam: Fill the centers with jam. I used roughly 1/2 teaspoon per cookie.
- Bake: Bake your cookies for 10-13 minutes or until the edges JUST begin to brown. You don’t want to overbake them and end up with dry cookies.
- Let Cool: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to finishing cooling.
- Use a Food Scale: For the best results, I always recommend using a food scale to measure your dry ingredients. Flour especially. This cookie dough is already fairly thick so that they don’t spread a crazy amount, so over-measuring your flour will very quickly lead to dry, firm cookies.
- Press Immediately: As soon as you form the cookie dough balls (and roll them in sugar, if you choose to do that step), press the centers down. As the cookie dough sits, the edges start to dry out, so waiting to press your cookies can lead to cracking.
- Use a Medium-Colored Baking Sheet: Try to use a medium-colored baking sheet for this recipe. Lighter colored baking sheets cause cookies to spread more, and darker baking sheets cause them to spread less and brown more on the bottom. A medium-colored sheet is just right!
- Avoid Chilling the Dough: There’s no need to refrigerate this cookie dough. You can if you’d like to, but I found that the cookies actually did more spreading after being refrigerated, so keep that in mind.
I recommend keeping these cookies in an airtight container or resealable bag. On the counter, they’ll last for about 3 days. If you store them in the fridge, they’ll stay good for up to a week. If you want to store them long-term, you can keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
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Watch How To Make Them
Print
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 30-35
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These cute little Thumbprint Cookies are easy to make with a dollop of your favorite jam! They’re soft, chewy, and made with just 7 ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (104g) sugar (plus 3-4 tbsp for rolling)
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups (260g) all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup jam, any flavor
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy. You should be able to see the change in color happen and know it’s ready.
- Add the egg yolks one at a time and mix until well combined after each.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Add the flour and salt and mix until the dough is just well combined. Do not over mix.
- Create 1 1/2 tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough. Gently roll into a ball, then roll in additional sugar (if using), then set the balls on the baking sheet.
- Use the end of a spatula, your thumb or the bottom of a measuring spoon to press the centers of the cookies down. Do this immediately after rolling them to help prevent the cookies from cracking.
- Fill the centers with jam. I used roughly 1/2 teaspoon per cookie.
- Bake cookies for 10-13 minutes or until the edges JUST begin to brown. You don’t want to overbake them and have dry cookies.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to finishing cooling.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 91
- Sugar: 4.1 g
- Sodium: 18 mg
- Fat: 5.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 10.1 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 24.5 mg
my favourite cookies! they are the best
So glad you enjoy them!
I love this recipe! The cookies took around 15 minutes to get brown around the edges and were a bit crumbly, but they turned out delicious. This is definitely a recipe i’m pinning!!!
So glad you enjoyed them!
These are so good! I made them with blueberry and multi berry jam!
So glad you enjoyed them!
I made these about 8 months ago and my coworkers went crazy over them! Especially the ones with rose jam! So buttery and perfect. I’m making them again today to bring to work tomorrow.
So glad they were a hit!
These cookies were so delicous! Buttery and just the right texture. My family LOVED them. My first batch was too big and they flattened and looked ugly. So, for the next batch I made I made a ball with 1 flat tablespoon and they came out much prettier.
So glad you enjoyed them!
I have a granddaughter who has a deadly peanut allergy. I’m looking for cookie recipes without nuts.
Am stuck inside… it’s 35 below zero today in Edmonton, Alberta so I thought I’d bake…am sure glad I tried these!
They were so easy to make & delicious! They turned out beautifully. I only made half the batch but regretted it as soon as I tried one. I used raspberry jam & next time I’ll try apricot.
So good!!! Nice treat on this cold cold cold December day…
So glad you enjoyed them!
Not sure how everyone is having such success with these. I tried it twice and the dough did not hold its shape at all. I first tried it as directed, then tried it again with forming the cookies and chilling them thoroughly before baking. Both times I got completely flat cookies. They tasted nice but are completely unusable (once they’re flat, they fall apart).
I just made them again myself a couple weeks ago without issue. The spread is a balance between “wet” ingredients (like butter and sugar) and dry ingredients (flour). If they are spreading too much, then you either didn’t add enough of the dry ingredients or you added too much of the wet ingredients. That, or you used incorrect ingredients or pressed them down too much prior to baking. There could be other reasons, but those would be difficult for me to assess from a distance.
My cookies came out great but the key is to start with cold butter and beat on medium high until butter is more softer. When you had the flour and salt beat on high until batter is not Bruno’s but a little softer. Good luck everyone. Just m as de them.
Great recipe! Reminds me of my mom’s cookies when we were kids! ❤️
So glad you enjoyed them!
This came out amazing !!!! Love the flavor melts in the mouth I added some spare gingerbread icing I had left over and added a drizzle
But I will say I left mine in for 10 min no brown left in for 2 more min nothing almost left them in they did brown a tad in the bottom but if I would have left them any longer I might have runied them lol thankfully I pulled them.
Ovens always vary. My current oven has a tendency to brown more than some of my previous ovens. If yours weren’t browning, the other thing to look for would be that the cookies are no longer glossy. I would try to get to know your oven and how cookies tend to look.
This was so fun to make! It was my first time, and I definitely used egg whites instead of the yolks…lol so that might’ve caused an issue. But I was wondering if you have any advice on the baking time, mine took a lot longer to cook but maybe it’s cause I used whites? Or wasn’t noticing the light browning?
Ad you enjoyed them! It can really depend. It may be the egg whites. Egg whites are more liquid than the yolks, so they may have needed longer to bake. But ovens can also very, so that could’ve been a factor too.
I made a batch last night and baked only several cookies to try out. I noticed my dough was really crumbly, and although I was able to form balls, when I imprinted them, the dough started to crack. I baked them anyway, and they taste GREAT, but I’m wondering how I can get my cookies as smooth as yours, without the cracks. I’m thinking I added too much flour. Is there a way I can save the rest of the dough from last night’s batch? Any advice or tips are much appreciated! Thanks again!
It sounds like the dough may have too much flour. You could try adding a teaspoon or so of milk. Just be sure to note what I mention in the recipe about adding the indent right after rolling them. If you let the dough ball sit for too long, the edges start to dry out and they can crack.
Are these basically butter cookies with the thumbprint aspect?
I’d have to look at my butter cookie recipe to see just how similar they are, but generally speaking a lot of these types of Christmas cookies are all quite similar as far as the base cookie recipe.
These are a great cookie chose for Christmas however to make them that much better I use the egg whites ( I dip the balls into the egg whites then roll it in crushed nuts) Everything else I follow. My family and friends love them.
I’m making my list of recipes for the holidays this year, and I’d like to make this, but my brother is type 1 diabetic so I was wondering what the serving size was? That’s the only nutrition fact left blank. He can eat anything, he just has to cover it with insulin but I need to know how many cookies per carbs so he can cover accordingly! I hope to hear back soon! (:
I’m not sure why it isn’t showing it, but it’s one cookie.
I made these cookies but substituted the sugar and jam to make the cookies sugar free. They came out great! The cookies were light and flaky and I used raspberry jam which made them taste great.
Can I use salted butter and omit the salt the recipe calls for?
Yes, you can.