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These are the best thumbprint cookies. Tender vanilla cookies, rolled in sugar and baked with jam filling! They are made with only 5 ingredients in under 30 minutes and stay fresh for up to 10 days at room temperature!
These tempting two-bite cookies are soft, tender and just a little crumbly. The jam keeps them soft for over a week, so they are the perfect cookie to make ahead for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day or a bake sale.
Roll them in sprinkles for a birthday party or to make them extra festive on a Christmas cookie tray alongside gingerbread cookies, pfeffernusse, and Mexican wedding cookies. You could also forgo the jam completely and fill them with lemon curd, salted caramel sauce or an easy chocolate ganache.
Table of Contents
Why This is the Best Thumbprint Cookie Recipe
- Flavor perfected by a professional pastry chef. The cookie dough has the perfect amount of sugar for a lightly sweetened cookie. This way you can roll them in sugar before baking and have a nice jam in the center without making an overly sweet cookie. It’s all about balance!
- Unique mixing method for the most tender cookies. We make the dough by cutting the butter into all the ingredients until it comes together in a soft cookie dough. Using this mixing method eliminates the need for liquid ingredients and creates less gluten. This yields a very tender, crumbly cookie.
- Quick & easy recipe. No complicated steps and no chilling the dough before baking.
Professional Tips for Making Thumbprint Cookies
- Press gently to avoid cracking! I use my forefinger to make the indentation because my thumb cracks the dough. Regardless of your finger choice, press firmly, with even pressure and gradually create the indentation.
- Fill with jam before baking. Baking the jam thickens it slightly and further activates the pectin, making for a cookie that stays together. The jam also softens the cookie below and locks in the moisture!
- Choose a thick jam. This is not the recipe for your quick strawberry jam or peach preserves. Thin jams, jellies or preserves will run out of the cookies during baking rather than thickening and staying in the centers! Try this mixed berry jam with pectin if you want to make homemade.
Ingredients Needed
- Unsalted Butter: The cookie dough will come together easier if the butter is softened. Unlike with chewy cookies like thick chocolate chip cookies, room temperature or very soft and pliable is ideal.
- Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar is very finely ground and will mix into the cookie dough better than granulated sugar. It is also sweeter by the ounce than granulated sugar.
- All-purpose Flour
- Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder: I prefer Dutch-processed cocoa powder for its flavor in this recipe, but any quality cocoa powder will be good.
- Kosher salt: Kosher salt is essential in these cookies. It heightens the chocolate flavor, tames the sweetness and gives the cookies depth.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract enhances the chocolate flavor just like in devil’s food cake, and it also adds just enough moisture to the dough!
- Granulated sugar: This is just for rolling the cookie dough in before baking. It adds a nice crunch and just a touch extra sweetness. I use this trick for a lot of my cookie recipes including chewy sugar cookies and chewy molasses cookies.
- Jam: I used a variety of flavors but strawberry, apricot and raspberry jam were my favorite. Also be sure that you use a nice thick jam. If they are too thick to spoon into the center, stir vigorously, which will loosen them just enough.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Possible Variations
- Roll in chopped nuts or sprinkles: Forgo the granulated sugar and roll in chopped walnut or pecan before baking. Rolling in holiday sprinkles is also a great way to add color to a dessert tray.
- Flavor the dough: Add a different extract like peppermint, lemon, orange, or almond extract for a different flavoring. For chocolate, try these chocolate thumbprint cookies instead!
- Roll in flavored sugar: Yes, you can add flavor to the outside of the cookies too! Zest 1/3 orange or 1 lemon into the granulated sugar before mixing the dough. The longer it sits, the more flavor it imparts! You could even do it the night before.
How to Make Classic Thumbprints
Use these instructions to make the best thumbprint cookies every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Make & bake the cookies:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325°F conventional (no fan) and line one baking sheet with parchment paper. I do not recommend using the convection setting for these cookies.
Step 2: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add butter and all the dry ingredients. (Butter, powdered sugar, all-purpose flour, kosher salt, and vanilla extract.) Mix on medium-low speed until a smooth dough forms.
This will feel like it takes forever, so long that you might find yourself wondering if it *will* come together, but it will. Patience!
Step 3: Pinch off pieces of dough about an inch across. Roll into a ball and then roll the cookie dough balls in granulated sugar. You will have approximately 15 cookies.
Step 4: Place on parchment lined baking sheet about an inch apart, offset slightly. Press your thumb or forefinger into the center of each cookie gently, making an indentation. It should go about halfway into the cookie. Press any cracks that form back together or the jam will run out through the cracks!
For perfectly round center use the back of a round teaspoon measuring spoon.
Step 5: Pipe or spoon jam into the center of each cookie before baking. It will be about ½ teaspoon each, but it depends on your thumbprint!
Chose a thicker jam for the filling and do not use a low or no-sugar jam. I tried and it was a disaster. They just liquified and ran right out of my cookies!
Step 6: Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until the surface looks matte and no longer glossy. I rotated my trays after 6 minutes.
Step 7: Cool completely on a wire rack before filling.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
If you over-filled or under-filled your thumbprints, or if the jam ran out cracks in the dough during baking, just add more jam after they are baked. They will still taste delicious and look beautiful.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 10 days or frozen for up to 3 months. They taste best when eaten within 5 days, but those filled with jam will stay soft & moist for 10 days! There is no need to refrigerate thumbprint cookies and they will have the best texture when stored at room temperature.
You can freeze baked thumbprint cookies for up to 3 months. I would not recommend freezing the dough because it will crack and not spread nicely when baked.
Thumbprints crack if the dough is too cold or pressed to aggressively. I recommend using your index finger and pressing firmly but make the indent slowly. I know they are called “thumbprints” but most people’s thumbs are actually too big for this task and will crack the dough! If the dough does crack, just form it back into a round shape around the fingerprint. No big deal!
It is important that you don’t chill this dough. The butter solidifies and it will make the dough crack and fall apart when shaped and pressed with your thumb. Shape and bake immediately after mixing, or if you accidentally chilled the dough, allow it to warm up to room temperature before continuing.
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup granulated sugar for rolling
- ⅓ cup jam any flavor
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F conventional (no fan) and line one baking sheet with parchment paper. I do not recommend using the convection setting for these cookies.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add all the ingredients. (Butter, powdered sugar, all-purpose flour, kosher salt, and vanilla extract.) Mix on medium-low speed until a smooth dough forms.
- Pinch off pieces of dough about an inch across. Roll into a ball and then roll in granulated sugar. You will have approximately 15 cookies.
- Place on parchment lined baking sheet about an inch apart, offset slightly. Press your thumb or forefinger into the center of each cookie gently, making an indentation. It should go about halfway into the cookie. Fill with jam before baking, but bake unfilled for a chocolate filling.
- Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until the surface looks matte and no longer glossy. I rotated my trays after 6 minutes.
- Cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
Variations – Try orange, coffee, peppermint or lemon extract in place of the vanilla. Roll in chopped pecans or walnuts.
Storage – Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 10 days. They taste best when eaten within 5 days, but those filled with jam will stay soft & moist for 10 days!
Nutrition
Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other cookie recipes or you might enjoy these Neapolitan thumbprint cookies!
