Rule of Thumb: Thumbprint Cookies Recipe from Cake Gumshoe Alana

Hi, my name is CakeSpy. And as a professional sleuth of sweetness, I just want to give you fair warning: if you give me a secret family recipe, I will share it.

Oh, just kidding. Clearly this recipe, from Cake Gumshoe (and buddy) Alana isn't a big secret, otherwise she wouldn't have given me a recipe card along with the tin of yum she delivered last week, brimming with soft molasses cookies and (my favorite!) jam-filled thumbprints.

And I'm totally passing on the recipe to you, sweet readers. 

Alana's No-Longer-Secret Family Recipe for Thumbprint Cookies

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 eggs, yolks and whites separated
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts
  • 8 ounces raspberry jam

 Procedure

  1. In a large bowl, mix butter, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla until smooth. Sift together f lour and salt and then work into batter. Chill  dough for at least one hour.
  2. Preheat oven to 375. Form dough in 3/4 inch balls.
  3. Beat egg whites in a bowl with a fork til slightly bubbly.
  4. Roll the balls in the egg whites, then in the chopped nuts.
  5. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
  6. Bake at 375 for 5 minutes. Remove cookie sheet from oven and press the back end of a wooden spoon into the centers of the cookies to form a small indent.
  7. Return cookies to the oven; bake for 8 more minutes, or until golden brown.
  8. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and fill with a generous dab of jam. Let cool.