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.
They came out perfect? I followed the directions using full tbsp cookie dough & the 1/2 tsp divet with jam and the balance is spot on. Filled half with mango jam & the rest with raspberry, they looked like little gems! I also used lemon extract in the dough rather than almond so they have more of a shortbread flavor.
Hi! Thank you for the lovely recipe! These taste amazing, but sadly enough the spread so incredibly much. Like another commenter, I two, made them small (25g a piece) and the lookers darling going in, but flat coming out. It’s a very warm day in the Netherlands; could that have been the culprit? I,ve tried cooling them for 30 mins, but that did not seem te work, I’m going to try putting them in de freezer before baking and see what happens.
Either way, my question is : any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance!
These are my 4yos favorite!! We topped the jam with chocolate one day-divine
How would I modify this for a gluten free option?
Thanks 🙂
Saba
YUMMMMM! I made these with apricot and strawberry jellies and they were divine! I’m not a huge almond extract fan, but these were very subtle and perfect. I rolled my cookies slightly small and ended up with 25- I mixed my jellies for just a few of them at the end but should have done the whole batch this way. Will be sprinkling with powdered sugar after they cool and bringing along to a Christmas gathering. Thanks for the lovely recipe.
How far ahead of time can I make these?
Hi Barbara, they’ll keep at room temp for a few days. They can be frozen after that.
How many calories are in one serving?
These were so easy and delicious! I will use this recipe for many years to come!
Hi Erin, I’m so glad you loved them!
Hi! If I want to freeze these before baking, at what point should I freeze them? Before adding the jam? Thank you!
Hi Dani, you could make them all the way through and then freeze them with the jam. Just let them thaw at room temp for awhile before you’re ready to enjoy.
Made these cookies last night and they came out amazing! Super easy to follow, and delicious! Followed the recipe exactly (including the room temp butter) with no modifications. Great way to use up the almond flour sitting in my cupboard! Can’t wait to make again and enjoy that I can swap between jam flavours.
Can I use just Almond Flour or any other type of gluten free flour, also would coconut sugar or lakanto work in substitution for the sugar?
Hi Shae, we haven’t tested a gluten free version, so I’m not sure.
We have almond allergy in our household, what other flour can you recommend?
These look beautiful and delicious. Can I freeze them?
yep you can! Let them thaw at room temp for a few hours afterward.
I made these for my mom and she LOVED them! I followed the recipe to a T except I chilled the cookies for about 20 minutes before adding jam and baking out of fear of butter leaking. It was perfect! This is now my go-to thumbprint cookie and the almond flour adds a really nice texture.
I’m so glad you both loved them!!
These look almost like the ones my mom used to make! She rolled in egg whites then chopped nuts before making the indentation. Can’t wait to try these!
It is one of the favorites at our house. My 10-year-old daughter makes them and we joke that after Thumbprints come out of the oven, fingerprints are the only thing left behind!
I would like to have green and red colors for Christmas, I could use strawberry jam for the red color, what could I use for the green color?TIA
You could use lemon filling and then green food coloring!
haven’t had these since, forever, love the jams too and almond flour, thank you!
Can I use a vegan butter? Or other substitute?
Hi Kathy, I haven’t tried a vegan version but I have some vegan Christmas cookies coming up soon.
these look divine. can I make them for gifting? how long do they keep?
Any shortbread gluten free recipes
Hi there. Do you recommend a sub for the almond flour? I’m inclined to just use another cup of all purpose but was wondering if you had a suggestion. We have an almond allergy at home. Thank you very much! I really enjoy your recipes.