These light, melt-in-your-mouth gems are both elegant and so much fun! Versatile, too, as you can change frosting colors to match the occasion, or even fill them with your favorite jam or jelly. They’re a bit of work as far as cookies go, but worth it!
Festive Thumbprint Cookies
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup shortening (I use palm shortening.)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups flour
- 3 cups finely chopped nuts (I like pecans.)
Cream butter, shortening, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg yolks. Mix well. Stir in salt and flour until well combined.
Shape dough into into balls. Beat egg whites slightly with a fork. Dip each ball into egg whites and roll in nuts. Place on cookie sheet; press thumb deeply into the center. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350°, or until lightly browned. Fill thumbprints with frosting.
Frosting
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 Tablespoons milk
- food coloring
Mix powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk until smooth. Add food coloring. Pour frosting into a sandwich baggie. Snip the corner off to pipe frosting into thumbprints.
Makes about 7 dozen cookies.
:: The handle of our pizza cutter just so happens to have the perfect round end to press holes in the cookies. If you use a tool like that, simply dip it in flour and then press so that it doesn’t stick to the dough.
:: If the cookies puff up while baking, simply press them again once out of the oven. *** Wait until they cool a bit, or use a tool like above.***
:: Empty condiment containers (think ketchup or mustard) would work great for piping the frosting.
I had to look at the recipe just to figure out what was in the middle, I was thinking sprees? No…my mom used to make these with those weird red and green candied cherries…………
ha ha At first I thought, only 1 cup of sugar in the whole recipe…maybe these will be OK now that I officially have gestational diabetes. Then I got to the frosting part. ha ha!! I’m thinking maybe these would be off-limits.
Amy, I am just amazed that you have energy to turn out a plate of cookies like this, while having such a little to care for. That Zumba is really helping. You’ve inspired me to go through with this program for myself. I sure could use some energy to turn out treats and take care of my little one!
Please don’t be amazed. She took a LONG nap that day, and I totally ditched the house cleaning in favor of making cookies.
This made me laugh so hard. I ditch my housework in favor of playing in my kitchen too
Boy this brings back memories! Thumbprint cookies have been a tradition in my family for years. My mom made the cookies, my dad made the print since his thumb was the biggest and we liked more frosting, and we kids made a mess with the frosting. Good times and good memories!
Awww, sounds like a Hallmark card.
Hi Amy,
Just wanted to share my happy mistake. I attempted to make these and the Amish sugar cookies. I wrote one recipe under the other and was reading both recipes while measuring so I ended up using brown sugar and powdered sugar. I realized this after mixing in my sugars so I just went with it. I followed the rest of the Amish cookie recipe but for gluten free purposes used sorghum flour and rice flour, went ahead and rolled them in nuts, added a “thumbprint” with a hand like you suggested andfturned out a cookie similiar in taste to the Keebler pecan sandies. Delicious delicate cookies
Yay! I love happy mistakes, especially when they turn out something delicious.