Thumbprint Jam Cookies
This dish 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.
What you'll need
Shopping list (1)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
Diet: not verified. We could not confirm strawberry jam from the ingredient list, so we make no dietary claim for this recipe.
Contains: Gluten Dairy Egg
Allergen labels are informational and may not cover cross-contact; verify every package and consult a qualified professional for medical dietary needs. Diet labels are derived from the ingredient list on this page — how we verify diet and allergen labels.
Food-safety and allergen information is general, not medical advice. Follow current guidance from your local food-safety authority, verify product labels, and seek qualified advice for allergies or health conditions.
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 suitable for my diet?
We make no dietary claim for this recipe: at least one ingredient could not be resolved to a definite plant or animal source, so labelling it either way would be a guess. The full ingredient list is above.
Related recipes
Adapted recipe — rewritten in our own wording from an open-licensed community cookbook, not yet independently kitchen-tested by Consomee. How we source, test & correct recipes.
Thumbprint Jam Cookies is adapted by Consomee from the Wikibooks Cookbook, rewritten in our own wording and used under CC BY-SA 4.0. 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 — how we source recipes.