How often are we, as children, actually encouraged to play with our food?
Usually, that’s a manners no-no, but every so often, there’s a dish that not only encourages, it demands interaction. Perhaps that’s why, as a kid, I loved thumbprint cookies so much.
You’ve probably heard of such cookies before, but if you haven’t, the main point is to roll the dough into small balls and then make an indentation in the middle with your thumb — a “thumbprint” — that you can then add filling to. We always preferred jam, which is the thumbprint cookie staple, and I in particular always favored raspberry jam.
From my recipe box, here’s the way to make raspberry almond shortbread thumbprints:
Cookie ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 jam of any flavor
Optional cookie glaze ingredients
1 cup powdered sugar
2 to 3 teaspoons of water
1 1/2 teaspoons of almond extract
Directions: Combine butter, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract into a bowl. Beat until creamy. Add flour and beat until well mixed. Cover and refrigerate until firm (at least an hour). Heat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into one-inch balls and place at least two inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Make an indentation in the center of each cookie with your thumb and fill with about 1/4 teaspoon of jam. (Protip: Best results when dough is still cold before putting it in the oven. If not, pop it back into the refrigerator for a bit first.) Bake for 14-18 minutes or until edges are light brown, then let stand for one minute on cookie sheet before removing to cooling rack. For glaze, whisk all ingredients in a bowl until smooth and drizzle over completely cool cookies. Makes about 40 small cookies.
Editor’s note: Send your recipes and the stories behind them to news@ledgertranscript.com.