jam thumbprint

This cookie stole my heart at the last Christmas cookie exchange. If there had been a contest, it would have won first place.

thumbprint cookies {bwd}

I have sweet memories of my mom making Thumbprint Cookies with us when we were children. She would fill them raspberry and apricot jams after we jammed our thumbs into the dough. Having no recollection of what her recipe was, I looked forward to trying Dorie's and also seeing all the other bakers' cookies. I previously made one with almond paste, but otherwise haven't made a thumbprint in many, many years.

After perusing the recipe, I realized that this isn't a regular thumbprint. This is a pb&j thumbprint cookie. I then thought, "Why not double the peanut butter pleasure?"

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.