Thumprint Jam Cookies

Life's too short. Have dessert first. Okay, maybe that's bad advice... but that's certainly what I do! Just ask my friends. My family loves thumbprint cookies (or jam cookies, as we call them becaues we had no idea what thumbprint cookies were until a recipe was found!). Popular and simple as can be, these cookies are great for afternoon tea or just... gobbling up while waiting for dinner to cook. No, bad. Don't do that. Really. You'll have angry dinner guests. 

The first time I made these, the dough gave me a bit of trouble. The dough seemed too dry at first, and I ended up giving it a few splashes of milk. I'm not sure if any food guru would lecture me about basic food chemistry, but hey they turned out just great. And look how pretty they are!

There are quite a few variations of this cookie. You can add vanilla extract or finely chopped hazelnuts, almonds, or walnuts (Joy of Baking)...  I went with a simple recipe. You can compare my photo with a beautiful one from Simply Recipes that shows the cookies with the nuts alternative.

Thumprint Jam Cookies (Makes 3-3.5 dozen cookies)

• 1 cup of butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces), room temperature
  
• 1/2 cup of sugar
  
• 2 egg yolks, room temperature (keep whites if you decide to use nuts)
  
• 1 TB lemon juice
  
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional)
  
• Pinch of salt
  
• 2 cups of all purpose flour
  
• 1 cup of chopped nuts (optional)
  
• ~6 TB of your favorite jam
  
• Parchment paper (or aluminum foil)
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter two baking sheets or just use aluminum foil (the environmentally un-friendly but easy solution). 

2. Beat the butter and sugar. Cream on high for 3 minutes... or beat by hand until smooth.

3. Beat in the yolks, lemon, and salt. [If using nuts, put the egg whites in a shallow dish on the side and whisk until bubbly and frothy. These will be used to keep the nuts on the cookies. Otherwise ignore this step.]

4. Add flour gradually. Mix until moist clumps form. Place dough into the fridge for 30 minutes. (I skipped this step, which made it very difficult to deal with the dough. But again, it worked out just fine!)

5. Roll the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. If using nuts, dip the balls into the whites and roll them in the nuts. Place on lined/buttered/covered cookie sheets.

6. Use thumb to make indents or "thumbprints" in the center of the cookie. (Don't get too excited. Just make a well big enough for the jam!). Fill with 1/2 tspn of jam. 

7. Bake for 15-20 minutes (really depends on how "golden brown" and biscuity you like them and how big your cookies were. I made mine a bit too big, so I put them in for an extra five.. but keep an eye on them!)

8. Allow to cool. Enjoy!