Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Buttery soft cookies with a sweet surprise. These simple, delicious jewel-hued cookies are my new favorite for the holidays, and after one bite they’ll be yours, too!

Jam Thumbprint Cookies – Buttery soft cookies with a sweet jam surprise. These simple, delicious jewel-hued cookies are amazing! | thecomfortofcooking.com

Well, they say you get a spring in your step in the second trimester, and they weren’t kidding. In the last few weeks, my energy (and productivity) has been up tenfold. Every to-do list item, from work deadlines to Christmas presents, is getting wrapped up and it feels gooood. As does my bed at 9:30pm, which is when I end up falling into it after a long day!

Jam Thumbprint Cookies – Buttery soft cookies with a sweet jam surprise. These simple, delicious jewel-hued cookies are amazing! | thecomfortofcooking.com

The thing about finishing one project is, you usually get a little zeal to start another one. And then another one. And before you know it you have five different batches of Christmas cookies, zero things left on your to-do list, but zilch for energy. You get into a pattern. You get it done, then you get even more done than you anticipated, then you get exhausted.

This was me for two weeks. The cookie equivalent of a cat lady.

Jam Thumbprint Cookies – Buttery soft cookies with a sweet jam surprise. These simple, delicious jewel-hued cookies are amazing! | thecomfortofcooking.com

Amidst the holiday rush, I found these jam thumbprint cookies refreshingly quick and simple. Just six basic ingredients and a collection of colorful jams is all you need. Whip together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in one big bowl. Toss in your flour and salt, stir it all together, and form a few dozen little dough balls. Press into each with your thumb, bake for a bit, and then fill with your favorite jams. Back into the oven they go for a few more minutes, and voila!

Honestly, they produced my absolute favorite new holiday cookie. Buttery and soft, with a sweet surprise. No sprinkles, no frills, no red-and-green. Just lovely and delicious!

Jam Thumbprint Cookies – Buttery soft cookies with a sweet jam surprise. These simple, delicious jewel-hued cookies are amazing! | thecomfortofcooking.com

These were the last cookies I made, rounding out what seemed like endless batches before Christmas. Enjoying a couple cookies with a cup of tea, I was reminded to slow down a bit. And that’s what I’ve been doing ever since. It’s all done. It’s all taken care of. So, now it’s just time to snuggle up and enjoy the season… with more cookies. For the baby, of course.

Jam thumbprints make perfect holiday gifts and sweet treats for someone special year-round. Bake a batch with ingredients you probably already have, and share them this weekend!

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Yield: 40 cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 ounces (or so) assorted jam, (I used strawberry, blackberry & peach)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
  2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla extract. Mix in flour and salt until incorporated and dough comes together in a ball.
  3. Form dough into 1-inch balls and arrange on prepared baking sheets. Flatten balls slightly with your thumb or the back of a small spoon, leaving an indentation in the center.
  4. Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until bottoms are just barely golden. Remove baking sheet from oven. If indentations look shallow, further define them with the back of a spoon and then fill each with approximately 1/2 teaspoon jam.
  5. Bake for an additional 3 to 4 minutes, or until jam melts slightly and edges of cookies are lightly golden. Jam should be sticky and soft. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.
  6. Enjoy!

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Join the Conversation

  1. Beautiful thumbprints, they remind me of jewels!

  2. Some of the prettiest thumb print biscuits I’ve seen! I have been meaning to try my hands on these but haven’t yet gotten around to it. After this post though, I have to make them in the near future!
    My favourite jams are peach or apricot, so when I saw you’d used peach for some, I got really excited about it, I’ve usually only seen the more common jams like rasberry and strawberry being used. Which one if your favourite? :)

  3. 5 stars
    I love me some thumbprints! They’re such a classic cookie and so easy just to pop in your mouth!

  4. I’m with Laura…whenever I bake thumbprint cookies, I am reminded of gems and jewels! Beautiful photography as always, my friend. Meanwhile, I can picture you nibbling on these festive holiday cookies…saying, “One for me, one for baby!” Thanks for sharing, Georgia!

  5. Gorgeous thumbprint cookies, Georgia.

  6. Thanks Julie! Peach was wonderful in these cookies, but my personal favorite is a strawberry jam.

  7. These are so pretty! Love all the fun jams :)

  8. These look so festive with all of those different colors of jam! What great cookies for the holidays.

  9. 5 stars
    I just made my jam thumbprints night before last. They are so pretty on the cookie tray :) Lovely!

  10. Thumbprint cookies have always been one of my favorites because my grandma always made them for me when I was little. Now they bring back such fond memories of her and the time we had together.

  11. I absolutely love thumbprint cookies – these are so simple but just gorgeous with the different colored jams! I’ve been running around like a mad woman lately – I really need to just slow down and enjoy the season!

  12. Love thumbprints cookies, and they’re so colorful with a variety of jams!

  13. These are real festive looking cookies which I am sure you and your little one enjoyed.
    Yes, 2nd trimester is awesome..have fun.

  14. These are so cute Georgia! I can snack on these all day! I adore thumbprint cookies. Pinned! :)

  15. I am blessed with a family member who keeps me all jammed up! Raspberry, peach, strawberry, mixed berry and the list goes on and on. I can’t wait to try these with all of them! Beautiful colors and of course, your photo’s are perfect! Merry Christmas!
    Kathi

  16. I’m such a sucker for thumbprint cookies! These look terrific – pretty pictures, and a super recipe. Thanks.

  17. Awww these are so so pretty! I love that you used different types of jam, they look so colorful ;–)
    The baby must be happy eating all of these haha

  18. Okay, so I can totally tell I’ve taken a step back from blogging and reading blogs in the last few weeks because I had no idea you are pregnant!! Congratulations!!!! I scrolled back to read your initial announcement. So excited for you!

    And the thumbprint cookies are cute, but not as cute as baby will be!!! ;)

  19. Aww, thanks so much, Nikki! We’re very excited!

  20. I do love thumbprint cookies. Yours are beautiful with all the different jams in them!

  21. These cookies are so gorgeous! My great-grandmother used to make jam thumbprint cookies with apricot jam in them and I miss them so… I’ll have to make these in her memory. (Also, YES to the second trimester energy boost… I’m LOVING IT :))

  22. I adore jam thumbprints this time of year! Glad you are getting your energy back!

  23. I have always loved thumbprint cookies with their little pools of sticky jam!

  24. I would eat every kind you made… twice.. Who am I kidding.. I love thumbprints and would want to eat the whole tray. :)

  25. 5 stars
    one of my favorites!

  26. 5 stars
    I love thumbprint cookies. I have not made them in for ever. Yours look really colorful with the use of the different jams.

  27. Hey, i was wondering if it is better to bake the cookies wih the jam or bake them alone and then add the jam and bake for additional time. I want the jam on my cookies to be solid (not too much) , is it better if I bake them for 15 mins with the jam on ? Or the aditional time is enough for the jam to stop being runny.? Thanks! Btw, beautiful pictures! ,

  28. Hi Luciana – The jam in these cookies becomes firm, not wet. If you bake from the start with the jam, the jam may become dry and very solid. The additional time listed is enough to keep the jam from remaining wet and runny. Hope you enjoy!

  29. I was just wondering how long would they keep I wanted to send some to my sister in Portland ?

  30. I’ve shipped these many times before; They will last about 1 week.

  31. 5 stars
    Just wanted to say that this recipe is perfect! I searched a lot of different recipes and I’m so happy this was my final choice. The cookies were so surprisingly, wonderfully good (and easy too!)! Thank you!

  32. 5 stars
    I love these thumbprint cookies. They are great for the holidays and love what you have done with the different flavors.

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