Thumbprint Cookies
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These classic thumbprint cookies are made with a simple sugar cookie dough, rolled in sparkling sugar, and then indented and filled with your choice of jam! These are an all-time favorite cookie recipe, and the filling options are absolutely endless!
We had our first snow here this past weekend! It was a light snow that’s pretty much all melted away by now, but Saturday (which also happened to be my birthday) was beautiful. It was so cozy in my kitchen with the glow from the Christmas tree and Christmas music playing, and to top everything off I had a batch of these thumbprint cookies baking in the oven, which I shared that evening when my family came over.
Even though the birthday cake that Zach made me was the dessert star of the show, I also had these thumbprint cookies out for a bite-sized treat option (because you can’t have too many desserts), and everyone loved them. Even Andi liked them, though she only ate the edges of the cookies and wouldn’t eat the jam filling because of seeds (I’d think that was ridiculous if I wasn’t exactly the same way at her age).
These thumbprint cookies are easy to make and the taste is incredible — they have soft, sweet interiors, sugared exteriors (though you can leave off the sugar if you’d like) and jam filled centers. Let’s get started on how to make the perfect thumbprint cookies.
Tips for perfect thumbprint cookies:
- For perfectly soft cookies that don’t spread: Whenever possible, I recommend using a scale to measure out your ingredients. It is so, so easy to over-measure or under-measure flour when using cups, causing your cookies to be too hard or to spread when they shouldn’t. If you don’t have a scale already, here is the one that I use in my own kitchen (affiliate link), it’s inexpensive and accurate and I can’t even bake without it anymore.
- For thumbprints that don’t crack: This dough is firm enough that you should be able to roll it into balls right after mixing it together (no chilling). Roll the balls between your hands until they are really, really smooth and there are no lines or cracks in the dough. Roll the cookie dough in sugar (optional) and then gently use your thumb or a teaspoon to slowly press an indent into the cookie. If you see the dough starting to crack anyway, you can usually press the dough back together successfully!
- Thumbprint Cookie Filling: I know that not all recipes do this, but I recommend adding the jam/preserves (you can use either) before baking the cookies. If the jam is too firm and isn’t easy to drop into the cookies, then place it in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it in the microwave for just a few seconds, just until it is easy to stir (you don’t want the jam to be hot, just more fluid and cooperative).
- Another tip to prevent spreading: This is a good rule of thumb for just about every cookie recipe. Never place your cookies on a hot cookie sheet. Make sure your cookie sheet has cooled completely before placing your next batch of cookies, otherwise they’ll start melting before they can start baking, and they’re much more likely to spread.
I used raspberry preserves in this recipe and really loved the way that the slightly tart raspberry flavor melded with the sweet sugar cookie bases. You can use any variety of jam or preserves that you prefer, though, I know that apricot and strawberry are popular options. You can also definitely opt for a seedless option, I liked the texture of the raspberry seeds (something my 12 year old self would be in utter shock to hear), but know that not everyone does!
As I mentioned above, I really recommend adding the jam before baking the cookies, but if you forget you can add it afterwards (you’ll need to re-indent the cookies immediately after they come out of the oven with a rounded teaspoon if you wait). As the cookies cool the jam will settle and firm up, and while it’ll remain slightly tacky even when cooled, they’re still firm enough that I stacked these thumbprint cookies on a platter to serve them over the weekend.
Enjoy, and I’d love to know what your favorite filling is!
If you like thumbprint cookies, make sure to check out my bourbon-infused chocolate version, my peanut butter and chocolate version, and my key-lime version!
Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ⅓ cup (70 g) sugar
- ⅓ cup (70 g) light brown sugar, tightly packed
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cup (280 g) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspooons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sugar, for rolling (optional)
- ⅓ cup (105 g) jam or preserves, flavor of your choice -- I used raspberry preserves for this recipe
Instructions
- Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer (you may instead use a large bowl and an electric hand mixer) and beat until creamy.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add sugars, and beat, gradually increasing mixer speed to medium-high until ingredients are well-combined (about 30-60 seconds).⅓ cup (70 g) sugar, ⅓ cup (70 g) light brown sugar, tightly packed
- Add egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat well.1 large egg yolk, ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt.2 ¼ cup (280 g) all purpose flour, 2 teaspooons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon salt
- With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients until completely combined. This dough will seem very dry and crumbly, so be sure to pause occasionally to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. If it starts to strain your mixer you can use your hands to finish working the dough together.
- Scoop cookie dough into 1 Tablespoon-sized balls and roll very well (so that the dough is round and there are no cracks/seams in the cookie dough -- this will help keep your thumbprints from cracking).
- Roll in granulated sugar (if using) and place on a wax-paper covered plate or small cookie sheet. Use your thumb or the rounded back of a teaspoon to gently press an indent in the center of the cookie dough. Repeat until all of the dough has been used.½ cup sugar
- Transfer cookie dough to freezer and chill for 30 minutes.
- Once dough is done chilling, preheat oven to 375F (190C) and place your jam in a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat briefly (about 5-10 seconds) or until jam is not hot but is no longer firm and is easy to stir.⅓ cup (105 g) jam or preserves
- Spoon jam into each thumbprint, filling each indent to the brim.
- Once oven is preheated, place cookies at least 2" apart on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and bake on 375F (190C) for 11 minutes or until edges are just beginning to turn golden brown.
- Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet before enjoying.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This is our second time making these, they are amazing!
So glad you like them, Keny! 🥰
This was a hit! I used 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract and it added the perfect amount of depth of flavor if you like almonds! I also did not roll them in sugar.
Hands down BEST recipe ever! Easy to follow. FIVE STARS. This recipe yields exactly as stated 24 perfectly sized cookies! They were larger than I had expected, so chilling these babies and spacing them out on the baking tin as instructed is important. I opted to not roll them in sugar, used raspberry preserves for filing and baked for 12 minutes. This recipe is a KEEPER. A++++++
I make these a lot as everyone loves them. I seldom have unsalted butter on hand so I just use salted butter and skip adding the salt ingredient. They still taste great. I skipped the freezer chill part once and it was faster but some of the red jam colour merged into the rest of the cookie .
Hi! I love this recipe but I have some family members requesting walnuts. Can I roll the cookies in walnuts instead of sugar? If so do I need to bake them differently? Thank you so much!
Hi Gina! That should work fine with no other changes. 🙂
Great recipe and my fav filling is lemon curd !!
Lemon curd is always a great option! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Tried these today and they turned out delicious! These were so soft and buttery, my family loved them. Will definitely be making these again! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
We’re so happy you enjoyed them! Thanks for the review 🩷
Haven’t made yet but was curious if u have ever froze leftovers?
Hi Tina! I have not personally frozen them, but I know others have with success.
Delicious cookies. The dough came together easily and using your helpful hints I had no cracks i especially like that you put the ingredient measurements in the instructions so you don’t have to keep going back to check!
So glad this one was a winner for you, Deb! Thanks for trying our recipe and coming back to leave a review–we really appreciate it 😊
love this recipe and it’s a hot with my coworkers! I’ve used this recipe witg raspberry jam and lemon curd and even mixed the two together, and the platter was polished clean
Yum! Thanks for using our recipe, Rachel 🩷
Hi! What do you recommend to use instead of butter? I have a dairy allergy but would still love to make these. Would vegan margarine work?
Hi Miriam! I am not sure how vegan margarine would work. It might be ok, but it could be softer and the cookies could spread a little bit. It’s just too hard to say without trying it. If you do try it I would love to know how it works. 🙂
my dough was really dry, i followed this verbatim except I forgot one tsp of corn starch
I’m so sorry to hear this happened, Cody! Did you weigh your flour? It sounds like there may have been a touch too much flour in the dough, which is an easy mistake if you aren’t weighing your ingredients. 🙁
hey Cody,
ive had this happen before. if you add a tiny bit of milk, it can help your dough come together better and it won’t be so dry
Love this recipe. Made them fro church and everyone loved them.
These were excellent. Like a slightly softer shortbread cookie. Followed instructions exactly and they were gobbled up!!
Thanks for giving them a try, Robin! We’re so happy everyone enjoyed 🩷
These have become a staple in my home. Different jams and I find putting the butter out over night is magical for the dough consistency you want for pressing without cracking easier….I use the back of a tablespoon metal measuring spoon and it helps as well for the perfect depth to hold the jam. Thank you for this recipe 😘
Thanks for the review! We’re so glad the cookies are such a hit for you 🩷
followed the recipe using a scale and my biscuits was also very soft. I cooked them for for 4 extra minutes to get them crispier. They were a hit, tasted fantastic but use more flour next time.
would like to make and package as a gift. How would you suggest i package the cookies and prevent them from sticking together, because of the jam.
Hi Laurie! You could try freezing them and layering some wax paper in between. Adding enough filler to prevent them from moving around will help too. Hope that helps!
Thank you for the recipe! I made them but the dough was really soft – they look a wetter than the dough in your pictures. Might you have any idea why that might be? I did measure out the ingredients and must admit that I doubled the recipe and used 50 grams less of butter. Could that be the reason why?
Hi Viviana! Did you weigh your flour? If not there’s a chance it needed just a bit more flour in the dough.
These are Amazing!!! Made them so many times . I want to know if I can double this recipe ! Thanks
Absolutely! Enjoy 😊
SO Good !! First time making then for a fundraiser everyone loved them!thx for recipe 🙂
Thanks for using our recipe, Lynch! ❤️