Thumbprint Cookies are made from a simple spritz dough, rolled into balls, partially baked, filled with jam, and finished in the oven. They are delicious little cookie bites and so pretty for your holiday cookie plates. I like to fill trays with these thumbprint cookies and my Italian Anisette Cookies.
Thumbprint Cookies Recipe
This thumbprint cookie recipe is probably one of the easiest cookies I’ve ever made. I’ve been making these thumbprint cookies, same recipe, no changes except the fillings, every Christmas for over 25 years.
Ingredients you will need:
- Dry ingredients: all-purpose flour
- Wet ingredients: unsalted butter, granulated sugar, egg yolk, orange juice
- Filling: jams, curds, and/or preserves
Helpful baking tools:
- Stand mixer
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Cookie scoop
- Insulated baking sheets
- Silicone baking mat
- Wire cooling racks
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Baking Tips:
- I’ve made these thumbprint cookies with margarine and with butter and they come out great either way. Unsalted butter is my preference.
- If you have a mixing spoon with a round flat end that will work great for making the indentations.
- Calorie count does not include jam filling.
- Use your thumb or pointing finger to gently press the center of the cookie, forming an indent. Pressing the cookie will cause it to lean to one side. After creating all the indents, I turn the cookie sheet around and repress each indent from the other side. This makes then stand back upright.
- I like to use several different flavors of jam or preserves. My favorites are filled with lemon curd, but seedless blackberry preserves run a very close second.
How to Make Thumbprint Cookies
We aren’t going to preheat the oven right away because the cookie dough should be refrigerated for about an hour before baking. You can go ahead and line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper to get ready.
These are very small cookies. We use a teaspoon to scoop out the dough which should yield roughly 145 cookies. You can make them bigger by using a tablespoon which will yield about 45 cookies.
- Cream the butter and sugar, add the egg yolk, then slowly add the orange juice.
- Slowly add in the flour until combined.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Measure out dough in level teaspoons to ensure uniform sizing. Roll balls in your hands to smooth, place on cookie sheet.
- Use your thumb or pointing finger to gently press the center of the cookie, forming an indent. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven, fill indents with preserves, lemon or lime curd, marmalade, or even apple butter. Return to oven and bake 5-6 minutes more, do not let them get brown.
- Cool on wire racks. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
I’m sure I could have altered the recipe, added vanilla or almond extract, experimented with spice additions, maybe nuts or almond flour… but why? They are wonderful just how they are. I wouldn’t change a thing. They are firm but soft and totally delicious.
More Cookie Recipes
- Butter Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Spiral Cookies
- Orange Crinkle Cookies
- Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
- Cornflake Christmas Wreaths
- Neapolitan Cookies
- Cherry Pie Cookies
- Cherry Wink Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Thumbprint Cookies
IMPORTANT - There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 3 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ⅓ cups unsalted butter softened (not melted)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 large egg yolk
- Preserves flavors of your choice
Things You'll Need
Before You Begin
- These cookies are SMALL - hence using a TEASPOON to make the dough ball. You can make them bigger by using a tablespoon or regular sized cookie scoop and you will get about 45 cookies.
- I’ve made these thumbprint cookies with margarine and with butter and they come out great either way. Unsalted butter is my preference.
- If you have a mixing spoon with a round flat end that will work great for making the indentations.
- Calorie count does not include jam filling.
- Use your thumb or pointing finger to gently press the center of the cookie, forming an indent. Pressing the cookie will cause it to lean to one side. After creating all the indents, I turn the cookie sheet around and repress each indent from the other side. This makes then stand back upright.
- I like to use several different flavors of jam or preserves. My favorites are filled with lemon curd, but seedless blackberry preserves runs a very close second.
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar, add the egg yolk, then slowly add the orange juice.
- Slowly add in the flour until combined.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Measure out dough in level teaspoons to ensure uniform sizing. Roll balls in your hands to smooth, place on cookie sheet.
- Use your thumb or pointing finger to gently press the center of the cookie, forming an indent. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven, fill indents with preserves, lemon or lime curd, marmalade, or even apple butter. Return to oven and bake 5-6 minutes more, do not let them get brown.
- Cool on wire racks. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
Nutrition
This post originally appeared here on Dec 7, 2010.
Amanda Davis
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Tammy says
I put all the ingredients together, it seemed dry. What am I doing wrong? I followed each step closely.
Amanda Formaro says
Without know exactly what you did, the most common mishap with this recipe is 1) leaving out the orange juice or 2) measuring the flour incorrectly.
Alanna says
what happens if you use the whole egg and not just the yolk?
Amanda Formaro says
I don’t have the exact answer to this question, but baking is definitely a science. So I’m sure that the egg white would alter the chemistry.
Jessie says
I believe Egg York makes cookies more flaky & soft without using more butter or lard. So, if you use whole egg the cookies will turn out bit harder than original recipe. Hope this helps ;)
Dawn says
My mom uses a melon baller to make the whole. ;-)
Kathy says
Good idea, I was thinking the end of a round stick wooden spoon.
Rachelle says
The cookbook you mention is one of my favorite cookbooks as well. I recieved my first good housekeeping illustrated cookbook in 1986 and have used it to pieces. I am also on my second copy! I never thought of turning the spritz cookies (which i have made several times) into thumbprints but will for the holidays! :D
Amanda Formaro says
It’s the best cookbook ever and the thumbprints are fabulous! :)
Sandi says
Are these cookies dry? I recently made a different recipe and they are so dry I can’t eat them.
Amanda Formaro says
If you ate these cookies without the jam, I would say they would seem a bit dry. You have to be careful how long you bake them. If they get overbaked, they will definitely be dry. I suggest placing a small batch in the oven first time around, like 4 or 5, because all ovens behave differently. We love these and make them every year :)
Chris says
Can I use Splenda instead of real sugar?
Amanda Formaro says
I haven’t tried it, but if the package says it’s interchangeable with sugar I am sure you can :)
Graziella says
I am so happy to see an online version of this recipe! I have also made them for a couple of decades…similar story to yours…I received the same book close to 30 years ago and these have always been a favorite in our home. I have never been able to quite master the clean cookie, however….I’ll just keep working on it. I always use raspberry preserves. So pretty and festive! Thx!
Amanda Formaro says
My favorite are with lemon curd! :)
Carole y says
Could these be made with a peanut butter cookie, with a Hershey’s Chocolate Kiss in the middle? Would the chocolate melt too much when baking, to do this?
Amanda Formaro says
i wouldn’t use this recipe for those. There’s already a recipe called Peanut Butter Blossoms – here’s one http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/peanut-butter-blossoms-cookie-exchange-quantity/78806839-e0bd-4710-8b10-82abbece7ce5
Debbie says
Should I assume these were made with white sugar and not confectioner’s sugar? Going to give them a try.
Amanda Formaro says
Yes regular granulated sugar. The powdered sugar is just to dust the tops, but is optional.
Mary says
I can’t wait to try these! Instead of scooping out the dough with a leveled rounded teaspoon, can I use a leveled rounded tablespoon? If yes, do you think that I need to bake them for longer than 8-10 minutes? Thanks and Happy Holidays!
Amanda Formaro says
Yes you can, mine are almost a tablespoon and I stick with that time. i would suggest experimenting with a few different cookies at different times to see which works best
Christine says
I used leveled .5T and got 124, which should be 1.5 tsp. The dough cracked for most of mine when making the prints though. Any suggestions? Warmer dough? Also, one of the preserves I used didn’t warm enough to “melt,” so I think I’ll warm them up a bit before filling next time.
Amanda Formaro says
Yes warmer dough would work I have actually made these without chilling the dough and not had a problem.
Becky says
I just made these for the first time today. Great recipe! I used a 1 T. scoop and got 65 cookies. Instead of using my thumb and turning the pan around, I used the back of a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon and it worked perfectly. I’ll make these again!
Amanda Formaro says
Perfect! I have a wooden spoon that has a handle that works great too :)
CANDICE says
WHEN i MADE THESE I ROLL THE COOKIES IN EGG WHITES AND THEN ROLL THEN IN CRUSHED NUTS AFTER THEY WERE COOK OR BEFORE i FORGOT NOW IT’S BEEN A WHILE lol !
Cindy says
This was a MAJOR fail on many levels. First off, you didn’t specify whether to grease or not grease the pan. The size? You said to use a cookie scoop for uniformly sized cookies. I had forgotten to get one but I saw it in the store and they make one inch balls in diameter, so I made them all that size. After cooking and filling them, I had a grand total of 49 cookies. The recipe states that it yields 144 cookies. A Cookie scoop to make a cookie that small would be minuscule. I never saw anything that small, so, seriously? This completely messed up my holiday cookie swap, thanks so much.
The bottom line? They don’t even taste good. Sorry, I don’t think I’ll be trusting another one of your recipes again.
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Cindy. First of all, I’m sorry that this recipe was a disappointment to you. When I listed the amount of cookies that the recipe made, I was simply stating what the cookbook said. However, with that said I actually made these again tonight, like I do every Christmas, because I truly wanted to see how many cookies I would get from it. You are correct that when using a cookie scoop you will not get that many, and that is in fact my fault. I will take the blame for that. The cookbook says to use “rounded” teaspoons, however, even when doing that I didn’t get that many. So I ended up using level teaspoons to measure the dough and them rolled them into balls. I actually got a total of 132 cookies, 11 dozen. They were smaller than the ones that I usually make, but not miniscule.
I’m sorry that this messed up your cookie swap. I will correct the recipe to reflect the teaspoon measurement to get that number of cookies. I’m sorry you didn’t like the way they tasted. I’ve been baking these for 20 years and everyone always loves them.
Rachel says
I was really disappointed with this recipe. I followed the directions to a T. The batch did not yield 144 cookies, the dough was pasty and did not hold its shape well enough to be filled. I picked this recipe for a cookie exchange and could not recommend it. They taste good, though.
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Rachel. I’m sorry you had trouble. If the dough was pasty there must have been a mis-measurement somewhere. I’ve been making this exact recipe for over 20 years and the dough has never been pasty. I hope you get a chance to try it again. As for the number of cookies, that’s dependent on the size of the balls that you roll.
Martine says
Ok, I just made these and doubled up on the recipe, which turned out fine, as I did not think that one patch yielded 144 cookies? how this possible 12 dozen cookies with the original batch. I tried with the original measurements and only got 37 cookies..am I missing something?
Amanda Formaro says
What size were your cookies Martine? These are small cookies, only about the size of a half dollar.
Carol says
Just made these. Love them! I wasn’t sure how big to make the scoops of dough, so i made 2 sizes. the ones made with 1 level tsp are ideal. I did have to remake the holes though after baking the first time. On the batch that worked the best, I baked them for 8 minutes instead of the 10′ listed. The holes puffed up so that there wasn’t much of a hole left to fill, so i used the back of a small measuring spoon while they were still hot and remade the hole before filling. The next batch were slightly bigger, so I let them go for the 10′. When I tried to fix the holes though to deepen them on that batch, some of them cracked. Will definitely make these again. I just made 1/2 the recipe. Now I’m wishing I made the full batch!!! Thanks for the recipe…
Amanda Formaro says
So glad you enjoyed them as much as we do Carol! I do the same thing after bringing them from the oven and before filling them :)
Laurie says
My middle schooler found this recipe because linked it on Pinterest and said Iwas going to make it for guests at Thanksgiving. Him being who he is decided while I was away at my daughters competition over the weekend, he was going to surprise me and make them for me. Awesome kid right?!! LOL well when it said combine all ingredients, he took that literally and mixed one of the jars of preserves (apricot) into the batter and cooked it that way then put blueberry preserves in the thumbprints (He realized his mistake as he finished the recipe- so Iguess it was a double lesson for him lol). it was interesting to say the least lol. He said well Icouldnt very well call you and ask and Grandma wasnt home so I improvised. I love stories like this. Its a good one to eventually pass down if he has kids =) thanks for the inspiration =)
Amanda Formaro says
What a fun story Laurie, thank you so much for sharing it! What a great kid :)
Carly says
Amanda, can you freeze this cookies with the jam in them already? And/or without them? Thanks!
Amanda Formaro says
I have never tried, however I wouldn’t freeze them with the jam. If anything I would roll the dough into balls and freeze them that way. Then just thaw the dough balls before baking
Jennifer Ellicott says
Did I read that this is also a spritz cookie recipe as well? I’d love to play around and add a little rum extract and leave out the indent and make an egg nog drizzle….. mmmmm, cookies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amanda Formaro says
Yes! The original recipe is a spritz :)
Sadaf says
Well, I just lesrned something new! The trick about indenting twice is a good one! Thanks!
Amanda Formaro says
Thanks Sadaf, glad it was helpful!
Mary Beth White says
Have you ever added peanut butter to the batter to make peanut butter and jelly thumbprints???
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Mary Beth. No I haven’t done that with this recipe. I know there are recipes out there though for that kind of cookie!