raspberry thumbprint cookie {cookie carnival}

After making the trifecta of Rice Krispies Treats, m&m Cookies, and Brownies for my students' recitals, these Thumbprint Cookies seemed a good way to round out the reception offerings.  They are always fun to make with The Kids, who enjoy poking gently indenting the dough with a finger.

Or in The Boy's case, for the sake of maximum impact with minimum effort, four fingers.

I have never made a thumbprint cookie with almond paste before and was curious to see how it would turn out.  The cookies were on the sweet side (so I decreased the amount of sugar below,) but nevertheless, they were delicious, soft, and almondy.  They stayed soft for several days in an airtight container.

In the craziness of baking, I got this shot for a Friday post, 

and then forgot to take a close-up, plated shot.  Oh well,

the Thumbprints are a fantastic cookie, any which way you look at them.

Raspberry Thumbprint Cookie for {cookie carnival}
slightly adapted from Cooking Light online

3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated almond paste
1/2 cup sugar
5 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg white
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 325º F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (I used Silpat.)

With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the almond paste, sugar, butter until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.  Add the vanilla and egg white; beat well.

Add the flour and salt to the almond paste mixture; beat at low speed until well-blended. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and shape dough into 1- inch balls.  Place balls 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets, and press thumb into the center of each cookie, leaving an indentation.  Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon jam into each cookie.

Bake for 12 minutes or until golden.