I love filling my jam thumbprint cookies with sweet summer jams I’ve picked up at the farmer’s market, just as much as I love them during the holidays filled with rich, festive jams. Each season brings its own unique flavors that make these cookies perfect to make year round.
Jam Thumbprint Cookies
These quick and simple thumbprint cookies with jam are one of my favorite sweet treats to make. They’re so tasty and easy! I gently flavor them with vanilla and almond, making these buttery sugar cookies even more delicious.
Plus, I’ve made sure this cookie recipe can be easily scaled or adapted. They’re great any time of year, but they feel especially festive during the holidays.
Why I Love This Recipe
- I like to switch up the jams depending on the time of year to match the seasons. It makes these cookies even more special and fun to make.
- These thumbprint cookies are surprisingly simple to make.
- The visual appeal of these cookies makes them a lovely homemade gift.
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour
- salt
- confectioners’ sugar
- unsalted butter – If you use regular butter, omit the salt in the recipe.
- vanilla and almond extract – You can use all vanilla if you do not like almond.
- egg yolks
- apricot and raspberry jam – I used apricot and raspberry jam for these cookies, but feel free to use any flavor jam you prefer.
How to Make Jam Thumbprint Cookies
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Step One: Grab a large mixing bowl and place a sieve over it. Sift in the flour, salt, and powdered sugar. Give it a good mix to combine everything.
- Step Two: Add the cubed, cold butter to the bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour mixture until it looks like fine breadcrumbs.
- Step Three: Pour in the vanilla extract, almond extract, and egg yolks. Use a knife to cut the ingredients together until they start to come together.
- Step Four: Gather the dough into a ball and return it to the mixing bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge for an hour.
- Step Five: When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350ºF and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Step Six: Take the dough out of the fridge. Scoop out 1-tablespoon portions and roll them into balls. Place the balls on the lined cookie sheets, leaving some space between each one. Use your thumb to make an indent in the center of each ball.
- Step Seven: Fill the indents with jam, alternating between apricot and raspberry for a nice variety. Or make your own blackberry jam.
- Step Eight: Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes, or until the edges are a very pale brown and feel set. Once done, remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the cookie sheets for 10 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Step Nine: Just before serving, dust the cookies with confectioners’ sugar for a little extra sweetness and a lovely presentation.
Recipe Tips
- Make sure to measure your flour properly by spooning it into a measuring cup and leveling off the top. Too much flour will make the cookies dry. If you have a baking scale, 2 cups of flour should weigh 240 grams (8.5 oz).
- You can substitute confectioners’ sugar with the same amount of granulated sugar.
- I use cold butter in this recipe because I’m mixing the dough by hand. It makes it easier to incorporate the butter into the flour mixture and improves the overall texture of the baked cookie.
- It’s important to chill the dough for an hour before baking to prevent the cookies from spreading. You can chill it for longer (up to 2 days) if you’re making them ahead. If the dough has been refrigerated for a while and is very hard, let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before shaping the cookies.
- You can use a 1-tablespoon measure to scoop out the cookies, or if you prefer to be more precise, you can weigh the balls of dough. Each of our dough balls weighed 22 grams, and this made a total of 23 cookies.
- Jam is made with mashed fruit, while preserves contain whole fruit or large pieces of fruit. For this recipe, it’s best to use preserves if you want those larger fruit pieces. However, raspberries don’t really stay whole during processing, so there might not be much difference between raspberry jam and raspberry preserves.
- The cookies took 12 minutes to bake in my oven, which gives them a softer bite. If you prefer your cookies with a bit more crunch, you can bake them for 14 minutes.
Storage and Freezer
- Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Thumbprint cookies can be frozen for up to one month. Just make sure to store them in an airtight container to keep them fresh.
More Cookie Recipes
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Jam Thumbprint Cookies
Filling jam thumbprint cookies with sweet summer jams from the farmer's market is delightful, just as much as enjoying them during the holidays with rich, festive jams. Each season brings its own unique flavors that make these cookies a delight all year round.
Servings: 23 cookies
Calories: 125kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1/4 tsp. table salt
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar more for dusting
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp. almond extract
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup apricot jam
- 1/4 cup raspberry jam
Instructions
- Place a sieve over a large mixing bowl and sift in the flour, salt, and confectioners' sugar. Mix to combine.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/4 tsp. table salt, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
- Add the cubed, cold butter and use your fingertips to rub it into the flour mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
- Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, and egg yolks, then use a knife to cut the ingredients together.1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp. almond extract, 2 large egg yolks
- Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Use your hands to briefly knead the dough until it comes together into a smooth ball.
- Return the ball of dough to the mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for one hour.
- When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350ºF and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove the cookie dough from the fridge. Scoop out 1-tablespoon portions of dough and roll them into balls.
- Place the balls on the lined cookie sheets, leaving some space between them. Use your thumb to make an indent in each.
- Fill the indents in the cookies with jam, alternating between apricot and raspberry.1/4 cup apricot jam, 1/4 cup raspberry jam
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes, or until the edges are very pale brown and feel set. Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Dust the cookies with confectioners' sugar before serving.
Notes
For optimal outcomes when preparing these jam thumbprint cookies, it's recommended to refer to the recipe details within the post. The recipe post commonly includes valuable notes, expert tips and frequently asked questions, that are not presented in the recipe card, often including how to make this recipe dairy-free, gluten free or vegan and ideas for healthy ingredient substitutions or variations.
The provided nutrition information is merely an approximation, as variations can arise depending on the specific ingredients/brands you select.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Jam Thumbprint Cookies
Amount Per Serving (26 g)
Calories 125
Calories from Fat 59
% Daily Value*
Fat 6.5g10%
Saturated Fat 3.9g24%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.9g
Cholesterol 32mg11%
Sodium 30mg1%
Potassium 18mg1%
Carbohydrates 16g5%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 6g7%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 57IU1%
Vitamin C 0.3mg0%
Calcium 6mg1%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Sara Welch says
Whipped up a batch of these for an afternoon treat, and they did not disappoint! Quick, easy and delicious; exactly what I needed to cure my sweet tooth, indeed!
Kristyn says
These are always so fun to make!! We love using all kinds of jams. They are always a hit!
Kristen says
I loved these cookies, personally, the raspberry was my favorite between the two but I could not stop eating either of them.