Thumbprint Jam Cookies
This vegetarian builds unsalted butter, softened, white sugar and egg yolk into a weeknight-friendly meal you can have ready in about 60 minutes. Below: the ingredients split into pantry staples and a quick shopping list, a built-in serving scaler, and the method in 7 steps.
You'll mainly reach for oven and mixer. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, it's meat-free.
What you'll need
Shopping list (1)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
🔁 Unit converter
How to make it
- Preheat the oven to 175 C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Cream the softened butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla until fully combined, then add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix on low just until a soft dough forms.
- Roll the dough into 20 small balls and arrange them on the tray, leaving room between each, then press a deep well into the centre of each with your thumb or the rounded end of a wooden spoon.
- Spoon a small amount of jam into each well, taking care not to overfill so it does not overflow during baking.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until the edges are just set and lightly golden but the cookies are still pale on top.
- Let the cookies firm up on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely, as the jam will be very hot straight from the oven.
You'll use: Oven · Mixer · Baking tray
Ingredient substitutions
- Butter
- olive oil (¾ the amount) · coconut oil · margarine
Tips & common questions
How long does Thumbprint Jam Cookies take to make?
About 60 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 7 steps and 8 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of butter?
Try olive oil (¾ the amount). See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Thumbprint Jam Cookies vegetarian?
Its ingredients contain no meat or fish, so it's suitable for vegetarians. Check any cheeses for animal rennet if that matters to you.
Related recipes
Thumbprint Jam Cookies is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Maple spice cookies and thumbprint cookies.jpg by kinggrl, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top — how we source recipes.