Jam Thumbprints

All great kitchens should have a variety of small gadgets to make cooking and baking easier. Microplanes, peelers, mandolins, offset spatulas and ice cream scoops in all sizes. Ice cream scoops are not just for the cold stuff, they make portioning out muffins and cupcakes simple and medium size ice cream scoops come in handy when making cookies. The scoop can be used for all sorts of drop cookies and rolled cookies. I use my scoop for my Jam Thumbprints and they come out perfectly round and all the same size.

Now let's talk Jam Thumbprints. These cookies are butter perfection, coated in coconut and filled with your favorite jam. I typically use raspberry and apricot jam to fill them. Lemon curd is also a good choice, it's tartness goes with with the butter cookie. These are the kind of cookies, you can stack, slide into a cello bag and tie with a ribbon because they make a beautiful gift. My cousin Gene loves these cookies, so I am dedicating this blog to him and here is my recipe for Jam Thumbprints...

3 sticks unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
pinch salt
1 egg
5 oz flaked coconut
your favorite jam (blackberry, raspberry, apricot, cherry, lemon curd)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar using the paddle attachment. Then add the almond extract until incorporated. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Slowly, mix the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. A soft dough will form. Using a medium ice cream scoop, portion out the dough and set on prepared pans. Keep 1-2" between each cookie. When all cookies are portioned out, refrigerate for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, take the cookies out of the fridge. Set up an egg wash in one bowl and the coconut in another. Roll the cookies in the egg wash first and then the coconut. When all the cookies are coated with coconut, using your thumb, press an indentation into the top of each cookie. Do this carefully, as you don't want the cookie to break apart. Fill each cookie with 1/4 teaspoon of your favorite jam. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. When done, cool on a rack. These can be stored in an airtight container at room temp for 3-5 days. Enjoy!