These thumbprint cookies are the ultimate holiday treat! Filled with vibrant pools of apricot and raspberry jam, they're melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
These jam thumbprint cookies are some of the first holiday cookies I bake every year. They’re absolutely delicious, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture and warm, buttery flavor. The vibrant jam filling adds a pop of brightness to each one—and it makes them look so pretty too.
As an added bonus, this thumbprint cookie recipe is super easy to make. It calls for just 8 ingredients, and there’s a good chance you have all of them on hand already. Go ahead, bake yourself a batch! I hope you love these thumbprint cookies as much as I do.
Thumbprint Cookies Ingredients
This thumbprint cookie recipe starts with 8 basic ingredients:
- All-purpose flour and almond flour – This combination makes the cookies extra-rich and tender.
- Butter – It adds rich, buttery flavor and gives the cookies a yummy crumbly texture.
- Sugar – For sweetness.
- Vanilla and almond extract – They fill the cookies with warm flavor.
- Jam – Choose your favorite flavor of fruit jam, or use a mix. I love to make my thumbprint cookies with apricot and raspberry jam. Strawberry jam has been a reader favorite. I think homemade lemon curd would be lovely too!
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Why no egg? Many readers have wondered why I don’t call for an egg in this recipe. The cookie base has the same tender texture as shortbread, which is traditionally made without eggs. When the butter is well creamed, it doesn’t need an egg to bind it together.
That said, if you prefer to use an egg in this recipe, several readers have successfully added an egg yolk to the wet ingredients.
How to Make Thumbprint Cookies
This thumbprint cookie recipe has 3 simple steps:
1. Make the cookie dough. Start by whisking together the flours and salt in a medium bowl. Then, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the vanilla, almond extract, butter, and sugar until fluffy. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
2. Shape the cookies. Use a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop rounded tablespoons of the dough, and roll them into balls. Place the balls on two large baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Make an indentation in the middle of each cookie, then spoon in 1/2 teaspoon jam.
3. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, in a 350°F oven until the bottoms of the cookies are lightly golden brown.
They’ll be fragile when they come out of the oven, so let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Best Thumbprint Cookies Tips
- Spoon and level your flour. In order for these cookies to have the perfect tender texture, it’s important to measure your flour accurately. For the best results, use the spoon and level method: gently spoon the flour into your measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. If you scoop it up directly with your measuring cup, you might accidentally use too much, resulting in crumbly cookies.
- Make the indentations with a measuring spoon. Maybe it’s just me, but whenever I press these cookies down with my thumb, I end up with funky-looking indentations. In order to get even indentations that can hold a good amount of jam, I press them down with the back of a 1-teaspoon measuring spoon instead. It creates a round, wide cavity for the jam, making for prettier, evenly filled cookies.
- Measure the cookie dough and jam filling. There’s nothing sadder than thumbprint cookies with a tiny smidgen of jam inside! For the ideal jam to cookie ratio, make sure to keep these cookies on the small side, just using a rounded tablespoon of dough for each one. Then, fill them with 1/2 teaspoon jam. You’ll end up with the perfect amount of jam in every bite.
How to Store
These jam thumbprint cookies keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
They also freeze well. Seal them in an airtight container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Let frozen cookies sit at room temperature for about 1 hour to thaw.
More Favorite Cookie Recipes
If you love these thumbprint cookies, try one of these yummy cookie recipes next:
- Easy Sugar Cookies
- Mexican Wedding Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Perfect Oatmeal Cookies
- Or any of these 21 Best Christmas Cookie Recipes!
Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour,
- 1 cup almond flour,
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ cup raspberry and/or apricot jam
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract until fluffy. Gradually add the flour and mix until combined.
- Scoop rounded tablespoons of the dough, roll into balls, and place on the prepared baking sheets. Gently press down to form disks and use your thumb, or the back of a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon, to make an indentation in the middle of the cookies. Spoon ½ teaspoon of jam onto each cookie.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly browned. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Can you just use almond flour with this recipe?
Hi Susan, I haven’t tried that, so I’m not sure if it would work.
In the last few months I have made these cookies a jillion times. They always a come out very tasty. I make the recipe exactly as written. Only change I make is that I call them Russian Jam Cookies.
Do you think this recipe would work with King Arthur’s Cup for Cup Gluten Free Flour?
Nevermind! I’m seeing that other people successfully made these cookies gluten free.
Very good and easy to make. Yummy:)
This is more of a biscuit recipe than cookies. It would be ok for a breakfast type treat, but didn’t taste anything like a cookie to me.
Are you perhaps British? If so, this may be a terminology misunderstanding. This American cookie recipe is VERY much a recipe that results in delicious cookies… and is nothing like a biscuit, unless you are British. And even then, this is far sweeter than what the British refer to as a biscuit.
Super easy and super awesome cookie
only cookies my husband wants now!!!! delicious! I added 1/2 a teaspoon of anise extract, because we love it, a nice addition if you like anise cookies !
These cookies are amazing, thank you !!!!!!
I’m glad you both have been enjoying them!
Has anyone tried to make these using vegan butter? I have made these cookies several times following the exact recipe., and they were delicious. Now would like to try using vegan butter
Vegan butter is the only butter I use and it works like regular butter.
Brilliant recipe. Perhaps mentioning this an intermediate type dough. It may help those who feel it “needs” an egg or more liquid. If creamed properly, the dough comes together beautifully. So tasty!
I did it! I finally made my favorite cookies 🍪. I followed the recipe exactly not changing anything.Very delicate and buttery.My husband’s valentine 💝 present 🎁 .. For those who add an egg , you just need more elbow grease. I amm 66 years old and if I can mix it ,so can you.🙂
these were super delicious and buttery but I did have to add an egg to bind the dough
This recipe was absolute perfection! The melt in your mouth cookies were a hit in my family!
I read some comments that added an egg to avoid a crumbly dough, it is not needed! You just have to be patient and continue to beat the mixture until it becomes a cohesive dough as you would a shortbread 🙂
Hi Ann, I’m so glad you loved the cookies!
Made these for a holiday party and they were a hit! Super easy to make, delicious flavor and perfect soft texture! Per some of the other comments, I added an egg yolk to the butter and sugar, which helped the dough come together.
I’m so glad you loved them!
I too was surprised there was no “binder.” I ended up blending the butter / sugar mixture and the flour with my hands. Next time I’m going to add an egg. These cookies are melt in your mouth delicious but you do have to be careful cooling and storing because they are so light.