I just had the odd realization that I have never made a thumbprint cookie in my life until this last month.
Huh.
Weird. Especially since the two batches that I have made( these and my absolute favorite, these Chocolate Cherry Thumbprints) have been some of the best cookies I’ve had in my life.
There is something about thumbprint cookies filled with jam that is so festive. Especially thumbprints filled with raspberry jam. They look like round little stained glass windows. And jewel tones are SO winter, you know.
These are enhanced with a little coconut flavor. A little bit of extract in the dough, and then they are rolled in finely shredded coconut. You can use regular, sweetened shredded coconut if it’s all you can find, but it won’t look quite as delicate. I use THIS shredded unsweetened coconut
by Bob’s Red Mill. It’s fine and delicate and stops me from being too heavy handed with the coconut. Big strips of coconut have never been my thing, though.
These cookies are totally customizable. You could use any flavor of jam you wanted in the center. I’m partial to the color of the raspberry(which also pairs so nicely with the coconut), but apricot, peach, blueberry…those would all be gorgeous too.
If you leave these cookies just a tad under-baked, they will have a soft, meltaway texture to them. If you bake them until they are a bit golden, they will be more of a delicate shortbread.
I love them both ways.
If you’re feeling extra fancy, a little melted white chocolate drizzled over the top of these certainly wouldn’t be wrong.
If you didn’t have white chocolate, a little glaze made with powdered sugar and a tiny bit of water drizzled over the top would work just as well.
Either one will gussy up these little ladies.
I hope you are having a great holiday season and are getting some good baking time in!
- 14 T. Butter, softened
- ½ C. Powdered Sugar
- 1½ C. All-purpose Flour
- ½ C. Cornstarch
- 1 t. Coconut extract or flavoring
- ½ t. Vanilla Extract
- ½ C. Finely Shredded Coconut, unsweetened(I use Bob's Red Mill brand)
- 3-4 T. Raspberry Jam
- Melted white chocolate, for drizzling
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or non-stick mats.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on medium speed.
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour and cornstarch.
- Add to the butter and slowly mix in until combined.
- Add the coconut and vanilla extracts and mix until just combined.
- Divide the dough into 20 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and roll in the shredded coconut.
- Place each coconut rolled dough ball 1½" apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten each dough ball slightly and press the center of each ball down with your thumb to make a small well. Place about ½ t. of jam in each well.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until the coconut is slightly toasted.
- Remove and let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes. Place on a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Drizzle cooled cookies with white chocolate, if desired.
