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Sunny Thumbprint Cookies

Author: Jess Smith via Inquiring Chef

Ingredients

  • 24 tablespoons (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
  • 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup jam (raspberry or blackberry are sure-fire choices)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat butter and sugar on high until smooth.
  • Combine egg and almond extract in a small bowl. Add egg mixture to mixer, and beat on high until fully combined.
  • With mixer on low, add flour. Mix until just combined.
  • Roll dough into small balls, using a tablespoon of dough for each ball. Place dough balls on baking sheet, about 1 1/2 inches apart.
  • Using your thumb, gently make a deep indentation into each dough ball. Spoon 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of jam into each indentation.
  • Bake until cookies begin to turn golden, 10-12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and serve.

Notes

The dough can be frozen after step 5, above. To do this, form the dough into balls and place closely together on a small cookie sheet. Put the entire cookie sheet in the freezer until the dough is frozen solid. Drop the dough balls into a plastic bag (removing as much air as possible from the bag when sealing) and store in the freezer for up to a month. When you are ready to bake them, take out as many balls of dough as you want to bake and arrange 1 1/2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Allow to defrost until the dough is still cold but you can easily form the indentations. Proceed with step 6 above.
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s “Aunt Maggie’s Jam Thumbprint Cookies,” Everyday Food July/August 2007 .