Light, buttery, almond flavored shortbread thumbprint cookies have been the most requested cookie I make for scrutinizingly as long as I can remember. My friend Augusta gave me this recipe years ago and it became a forever favorite at first bite.

Thumbprint Cookies with Jam

There’s something so endearing and winsome well-nigh jam thumbprint cookies. Fruity jam adds the perfect value of sweetness to the flaky shortbread cookie. The easy glaze on top of these thumbprint cookies adds a trappy touch.

These cookies are unconfined as a snack, tucked into lunches, or when served as dessert. I expressly enjoy them with cafe con leche, chai, or a London Fog on a dank afternoon.

Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

With just the right value of sweetness, filled with jam, and then lightly drizzled with icing, these cookies are a hit with everyone who tries them. Don’t be fooled by their unassuming appearance. They’ll surprise you by just melting in your mouth.

Almond pericope is what gives these cookies just a hint of almond flavor. It adds a nice layer of nuttiness that complements the velvety savor of the shortbread cookie and the fruitiness of the jam.

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

I often reach for a jar of my family’s favorite homemade peach jam to use in these cookies. You can use whatever savor of sweet preserves you like. I’ve made these cookies with several varieties of jam and the cookies turn out succulent every time.

I typically just use whichever flavors of jam I happen to have on hand at the time. For this last batch, I used tangerine jam and a mixed semen jam. You really can’t go wrong with the jam choice. If you enjoy eating the jam, you’ll likely love it in the cookies.

How to Make Thumbprint Cookies

Chilling the dough for a solid hour in the refrigerator is an important step in this recipe. So plane if you’re in a hurry to torch these cookies, don’t skip that step.

Chilling the dough helps alimony the butter in this recipe solid. And the unprepossessed butter helps the cookies maintain their structure in the oven.

When it comes to filling thumbprints with jam, less is more. A quarter teaspoon or so should do it. Too much and you risk disrupting the structure of the cookie and the jam to cookie ratios. (Yes, jam to cookie ratios are a thing!)

The last thing to remember here is to be uneaten shielding not to overbake these cookies! You want to take these cookies out of the oven surpassing they are plane slightly brown.

Overbaking will result in a much harder cookie without that crumby soft-hued shortbread texture. If you love thumbprint cookies like we do, you’ll want to try Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies and Marmalade Thumbprint Cookies too.

Almond Thumbprint Cookies

Combine the butter and sugar in a mixing trencher and write-up with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the flour and almond extract. Write-up then to combine. Chill the dough for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

When ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F. Roll the dough into 1″ balls or use a 1″ scoop to place them onto a parchment-lined sultry sheet.

Press lanugo on the top of each cookie and use your thumb to create a small indent. After all the indents are made, fill the indents with well-nigh ½ teaspoon of jam.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes. Remove from the oven surpassing the cookies are browned. Let tomfool on the trays for 1-2 minutes and then remove to a wire cooling rack.

To make the glaze, add the almond pericope to the powdered sugar and then slowly add the milk. Stir constantly and stop subtracting milk when you reach the consistency of icing. It should drizzle off the tip of a spoon in a thin white stream.

When the cookies are completely cooled, drizzle the icing over the tops. Allow them to sit until hardened and then store in an snapped container.

Shortbread Cookie Recipes

Shortbread cookies don’t get as much love as they deserve, in my opinion. Delicious, simple, and not-too-sweet, they request to the palettes of kids and adults alike.

If you’re looking for increasingly unconfined shortbread cookies, I recommend Sugared Shortbread Cookies for sure. They’re a simple cookie sprinkled with sugar crystals that you can torch and serve all year round.

If the perfect slice of cinnamon toast met Pecan Sandies, these Cinnamon Pecan Shortbread Bars would be the result. This is a tender shortbread, filled with pecans, and then generously topped with cinnamon sugar.

Espresso Chocolate Chip Shortbread is a flaky shortbread that is barely well-done on the outside. These shortbread bites melt in your mouth with chocolate and just a hint of coffee flavor.

Buttery and just barely sweetened, Brown Sugar Whole Wheat Shortbread is a succulent surprise. The wing of whole wheat changes the texture and adds a new dimension to the savor as well.

For a seasonal shortbread treat, Chocolate Dipped Candy Cane Shortbread Cookies are delightful. They squint impressive and festive but take whimsically any time in the kitchen making them perfect to whip up during the rented holiday season.

Print

Almond Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

Light, buttery, almond flavored shortbread thumbprint cookies are a kid and sultana favorite.

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 40 small cookies

Calories 101kcal

Ingredients

COOKIE INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup butter softened
• ⅔ cup sugar
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• approximately ½ cup any savor jam I used our favorite peach jam

GLAZE INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

Instructions

• Combine the butter and sugar in a mixing trencher and write-up with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the flour and almond extract. Write-up then to combine. Chill the dough for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
• When ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F. Roll the dough into 1" balls or use a 1" scoop to place them onto a parchment-lined sultry sheet.
• Press lanugo on the top of each cookie and use your thumb to create a small indent. After all the indents are made, fill the indents with well-nigh ½ teaspoon of jam.
• Bake for approximately 10 minutes. Remove from the oven surpassing the cookies are browned. Let tomfool on the trays for 1-2 minutes and then remove to a wire cooling rack.
• To make the glaze, add the almond pericope to the powdered sugar and then slowly add the milk. Stir constantly and stop subtracting milk when you reach the consistency of icing. It should drizzle off the tip of a spoon in a thin white stream.
• When the cookies are completely cooled, drizzle the icing over the tops. Allow them to sit until hardened and then store in an snapped container.

Notes

FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS: These cookies freeze beautifully. When the icing has hardened, layer them into containers with wax paper between the layers. They will alimony in the freezer for at least a month. They would probably alimony much longer than that, but I wouldn’t know. Mine never last that long.

Nutrition

Calories: 101kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 42mg | Potassium: 11mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 142IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg

{originally published 8/12/11 – recipe notes and photos updated 12/13/23}