Thumbprint Cookies
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The BEST Thumbprint Cookies made with only 5 ingredients. Easy to make and SO delicious – these classic thumbprint cookies are a must try!
Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies are my all time favorite cookie and for good reason!
- They’re made with only 5 ingredients
- They’re little and totally poppable (AKA… I usually eat at least 4 in one sitting!)
- They’re the perfect combo of buttery/sweet
- They’re SO easy to make!
My gram has been making these classic thumbprint cookies for as long as I can remember. They’re perfect for the holidays or really any time!
Fair warning: they will fly off your table! Let me show you how easy they are to make and why this is the best cookie recipe!
Ingredients for Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
These raspberry jam thumbprint cookies are made with only 5 ingredients. You’ll need:
- an egg yolk
- sugar
- softened salted butter
- all purpose flour
- jam of choice. We like seedless red raspberry jam but you can use strawberry too.
Substitutions:
We usually love to provide you with substitutions for our recipes – but sadly can’t provide many substitutions for this recipe. It only has 5 ingredients and is really intended to be made as is!
Chocolate Thumbprint Recipe: We haven’t tried making this recipe with chocolate in the center but I think it would would work. Typically those cookies are made with a chocolate ganache. Here’s a link to a chocolate thumbprint cookie recipe.
Jam: We make these cookies with Seedless Red Raspberry Jam. You can make them with any jam you like- Strawberry, Apricot, Blueberry or even Lemon Curd would all be delicious!
Rolling in sugar/crushed almonds – Some people make their thumbprint cookies like this – but we have never done that. I think it would work with this recipe, but it’s also unnecessary.
They’re perfect without sugar or almonds 🙂
Butter: We always use salted butter when baking. You can sub unsalted butter but it won’t be as tasty.
Gluten Free: We haven’t tried making these gluten free, but I think it might work with 1:1 flour. If you try it, let us know.
Butter/Sugar – We can’t offer substitutions for butter or sugar in this recipe. I don’t recommend swapping with any ingredients.
Low Carb: These Keto Linzer Cookies are a delicious option if you want a jam based cookie.
How to make Classic Thumbprint Cookies
It’s so easy to make classic thumbprint cookies!
- In a bowl combine softened butter, sugar, and egg yolk. Gradually add flour until a thick dough consistency forms. You can chill your dough for an hour to prevent the cookies from spreading, or you can go right to rolling them.
- Form dough into ½ tablespoon balls. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet or nonstick sheet.
- Make an indent in the center with your thumb and fill with jam.
- Bake in a preheated 350° oven until light brown for 10-12 minutes.
Tips for the best Thumbprint Cookies:
These cookies are pretty easy to make but here are a few tips for you!
Indents: Be GENTLE when pressing into the cookies to prevent them from cracking. Use your thumb, or if you want more uniform indents use the back of a teaspoon or the bottom handle of a wooden spoon to get perfect indents.
Prevent Cookies from Spreading/Cracking: We recommend chilling your dough for one hour to prevent the cookies from spreading and cracking. If the cookies crack when you make your indents, just gently fix them.
Fixing your cookies: This dough is pretty pliable. If your cookies start to crack, just fix them gently before baking. If you spill jam on the side, just wipe it away with a napkin before baking!
Measure your ingredients correctly – It is super important to measure your ingredients correctly, specifically the flour! Check out this tutorial on how to measure flour correctly.
Watch when baking! These go from perfectly golden brown to burnt quickly!
Heat the jam: Heating the jam for 10 seconds in the microwave makes it easier to handle.
Thumbprint Cookie FAQ:
Have questions about thumbprint cookies? We’ve got answers!
Why did my thumbprint cookies spread? Your cookies may have spread because of the temperature of the butter. Fat makes baked goods spread. Try putting your dough in the refrigerator for an hour before baking/rolling to avoid cookies spreading.
Do you bake the cookies with the jam in them? Yes! The jam bakes into the cookie and sets really nicely!
Can you make the dough ahead of time? Yes, you can make the dough and keep it ahead of time for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Storing Thumbprint Cookies:
We recommend storing these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
How long can you keep thumbprint cookies? Up to 2 weeks if stored correctly. These cookies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks (if you don’t eat them all before then!)
Can you freeze thumbprint cookies? Yes, you can! Freeze in an airtight container or ziploc bag for up to 3 months for maximum freshness.
Do cookies with jam need to be refrigerated? These cookies only have a tiny bit of jam so they do not need to be refrigerated. Sandwich cookies or cookies with a lot of jam should be kept in the refrigerator, but thumbprint cookies are fine to stay at room temp.
Other delicious Christmas dessert Recipes:
These are some of our favorite Christmas Cookie recipes! You can check out our Healthy Christmas Recipes for other ideas!
Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup salted butter softened (1 ½ sticks)
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup jam of choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and prepare a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer and large bowl, cream the butter on High speed for about 1 minute. Add the sugar and egg yolk, then mix again to combine for 1 minute.
- Scrape down the insides of the bowl. Add the flour and mix on low speed to incorporate.
- Optional, but recommended: Chill the dough for an hour to prevent the cookies from spreading.
- Portion dough into ½ tablespoon balls.
- Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. The cookies do spread a bit, so leave room.
- Make an indent in the center of the dough with your thumb OR grease the back of a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon with cooking spray and use that to make your idents.
- Fill the cookies with jam. I recommend adding jam to a ziploc bag, cutting a very tiny hole in the corner and piping the jam into the ident of the cookies. You can use a spoon, but the bag method is easier.
- Bake the cookies at 350 for 9-11 minutes, or until the shortbread is light golden brown.
- Remove raspberry thumbprints from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 2 minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
I made them gluten free. They were perfect! My husband didn’t even know.
Yay! How did you make them gluten free? Would love to know/if you’re willing to share for other people! 🙂
This recipe is SO delicious! I used homemade blueberry rhubarb jelly because we had that in the fridge and they turned out amazing! I need to work on my shaping some because mine weren’t nearly as cute as yours and I think I overfilled because I had some jelly spill, but I’m hoping that people won’t grab as many over Christmas and I can keep more to myself because they are so tasty!!! Tell Gram thanks! 🙂
This recipe is literally so easy and so delicious. Very buttery and melt in you mouth good! The jam just adds a touch of sweetness…perfection!
So glad you liked them, Kaitlynn!
Made these cookies last year and they are the best! Definitely part of my holiday cookie collection now. They make a great gift too!
I’m so glad you liked them, Judi!
I made these around Christmas time and they were so so good. Buttery and melt in your mouth. Reminds me of the thumbprints I used to make with my nanny when I was little. I tried something different and did half the thumbprints with raspberry jam and the other half with pumpkin butter from Trader Joe’s. SO GOOD 😊 I will be making these again soon.
Yum!! That sounds so delicious with the pumpkin butter! Thank you so much for making them!
These are amazing!! Super easy to make and a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
So glad you liked them!!
These cookies were so good! My whole family loved them. The recipe was so simple and easy to follow. These will definitely become a traditional holiday cookie for us.
Love hearing that, Gina! Thank you!!
These cookies are so light but feel indulgent! I’ve made for friends and family and they love them also. My favorite has been strawberry and apricot jam.
So happy to hear this, Jana! Thank you!!
These thumb print cookies were perfect! We made them for Santa! We had all the ingredients and didn’t have to go to the store. They came out perfectly. We used homemade strawberry jam because it’s what we had on hand. These are great and easy to put together! Definitely recommend!!
So happy. you liked them, Lea! Thank you so much! The strawberry jam sounds great!
Delicious and so easy!! I am just an “ok” baker, and these came out amazing!
Thanks, Cebi! So happy. you liked them!
I’ve never made cookies from scratch and I made these with my daughter. They are dangerous because you will want to eat them all!! Will definitely make again.
So happy to hear this, Gloria! Thank you!
Let Gram know these are delicious .
So easy , quick but full of flavor . Everyone has these ingredients on hand. We used apricot preserves so yummy! Thanks again Liz 🙂
Thanks, Paula! Love the apricot preserves – bet that was delicious!
These came out really good!! The recipe was simple enough for my 12 year old to do and she did awesome on these!! These cookies will definitely be added to our yearly cookie baking tradition for the holidays!!
So happy you liked them, Lindsey! Thank you so much!
So easy! My boyfriend couldn’t stop eating them! Will definitely make them again.
So glad you like them, Gracie! Thank you!
One make these now-SO easy and delicious! My husband and I are the whole batch in two days. I am a very inexperienced baker but this recipe is fool proof even for newbies like me. So yummy!
Thank you so much, Katya! I’m so glad you liked the cookies!
Delicious and super easy!! Such a classic holiday cookie.
Thank you so much, Jessica!!
These are so good and way easier to make than I was expecting. My mom used to make these when I was young so not only are they delicious but they bring back good memories too. I used lemon curd for some and raspberry preserves for the others. I plan on making more to share with family and friends. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!!
So happy you liked them, Sarah! Thank you so much!
Easy & delicious! I recommend everyone to make these cookies, a treat for everyone! Thanks for sharing Liz!
So happy you enjoyed them!
These cookies were not only absolutely delicious but SO easy to make. A new family favorite for sure!!! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
So glad you liked them, Abi! Thank you!!
Such an easy recipe that makes the most perfect cookies 🙂 thank you!
Thanks, Jamie!! I’m so glad you liked them!
I made them & they turned out amazing. I topped some with chocolate chips. My family loves them.
Glad you liked them! Love the chocolate on top!
Oh my gosh! These cookies are so easy to make and taste delicious! My husband and daughter cannot stop eating them. If you are looking for a quick simple cookie that is packed with flavor look no further! This will be a repeat at my house for years to come!
I’m so happy you liked them, Danielle! This makes me so happy to hear!
These are super easy and delicious! I made them for Thanksgiving and used apple jam 😋
Sounds so yummy! Thanks for trying, Jackie!
I’ve used this same recipe for years – a classic!! I use the same base dough recipe and fill some with jam, some with gianduja (more legit nutella), and some with dulce de leche. A keeper of a recipe!! Thanks Liz!
So glad you liked them, Erica!! That sounds amazing with the dulce de leche!
Simple, easy, buttery delicious!
So happy you liked it, Shaina!