Shortbread & Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Old Fashioned Shortbread & Jam Thumbprint Cookies? Why not?!

Baking has always been something I loved to do.  Since I was a little girl, I loved getting in the kitchen to bake anything sweet, or maybe even some bread.  I remember the first time I made old fashioned buttermilk biscuits.  It was an Anne of Green Gables Cookbook and I genuinely thought buttermilk was when you mixed butter and milk. I’ve come a long way since then. ;) I never got rid of a cookbook because I thought it was so special and that it could be useful at some point in my life.

A long time ago, I found an amazing cookbook in my mom’s cabinet full of recipes that were popular or somewhat famous years ago.  There were so many delicious things like traditional wedding cookies, snowflake cookies, and homemade Swiss rolls.  Everything looked divine, but as I was skimming the pages, I found one recipe that really stood out to me.

Now let me be clear, I am not a shortbread person.  I think it is just so plain and too buttery and crumbly.  But I think what stood out to me most in this recipe was that these had that little bit of jam in the center.  They were so pretty and delicate and I bet they tasted delicious.  So I gave them a go.  Let me give you a tip about this recipe: the part in the fridge? Definitely necessary.

I thought I could skip that step, and although delicious, they turned out nothing like the picture. They were all that crumbly mess I typically hate about shortbread.  I tried them again the following day, and the recipe turned out perfectly!  However, I knew something was a bit off.  So I played around with the butter and flour portions and found the perfect combination to make these soft and chewy all the way through… without the crumble!  I think you are absolutely going to love these!!

Buttery, soft and chewy with a sweet center.  What could be better with an afternoon tea or coffee?

 Give them a go, and if you do, use the hashtag #toeatdrinkandbemarried.  I’d love to see your creations!

Here are a couple for pinning, if you’d like :)

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Total Time 3 hours hrs

Ingredients

  

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into little pieces
• 2 large egg yolks beaten
• 1 cup of your favorite jam I used a few different kinds: apricot, orange-honey, and guava

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt.  Then, add in the butter, blending the mixture until it resembles coarse meal (consider using your hands, it is much easier!).  Stir in the egg yolks, blending the mixture until it forms a dough.  Chill the dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, for at least two hours, or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Let the dough soften for a few minutes, then roll little balls out of the dough.  Use a cookie scoop like this one for evenly shaped balls. Arrange them 2 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Then, press your thumb in the center to create the well for the jam.  If the dough cracks, just re-roll it, or use a little water to press it back together.
• Fill each little well with a bit of jam and bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes or until the cookie is lightly golden.
• Let the cookies cool for a couple of minutes on the sheet, then transfer them to racks and let them cool completely.

Looking for another scrumptious cookie recipe?4 Ingredient Nutella Cookies