Classic Thumbprint Cookies (Printable)

Buttery shortbread rounds filled with fruity jam, tender and golden baked to perfection.

# What You Need:

→ Dough

01 - 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
02 - 2/3 cup granulated sugar
03 - 2 large egg yolks
04 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
05 - 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
06 - 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

→ Filling

07 - 1/2 cup fruit jam or preserves (raspberry, apricot, or strawberry)

# How-To Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
02 - In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
03 - Beat in egg yolks and vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
04 - Add all-purpose flour and fine sea salt; mix gently until soft dough forms.
05 - Scoop and roll dough into 1-inch diameter balls; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets.
06 - Press thumb or back of small spoon into the center of each ball to form an indentation.
07 - Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon jam into each indentation.
08 - Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until edges are just golden.
09 - Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • The dough is impossibly forgiving—barely any mixing means you can't overwork it and make them tough.
  • They look fancy enough for a gift but taste like pure comfort, with that tender shortbread that melts on your tongue.
  • You can swap jams endlessly, so they're never boring even when you make them twice in one week.
02 -
  • The jam will look like it's going to overflow during baking, but it sets as it cools and stays exactly where you put it—trust the process and don't use less.
  • Pulling them out when they still look slightly underbaked is the secret to keeping them soft inside instead of letting them dry out in the oven.
03 -
  • Room-temperature butter creams infinitely better than cold butter—pull it out of the fridge an hour before you start, or cut it into cubes to speed things up.
  • Weighing your ingredients on a kitchen scale, especially the flour, eliminates the guesswork and gives you consistent results every single time you make them.
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