Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
T'is the season for baking many treats to share with family and friends...and the good thing about it is, you can make everything YOU like too! One of my favourites, that my Mom used to make are, thumbprint cookies...buttery biscuits, covered in crunchy pecans and topped with her homemade raspberry jam...delicious!!
In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat 1 lb. of softened, salted butter...
...until light and fluffy.
Next, pour in 1-1/2 cups of icing sugar (the powdered stuff)...If I were you, I would gradually add in the icing sugar...it's a pain in the arse to clean up a powdery explosion of sugar from your kitchen, when you turn the mixer on! Beat the sugar/butter mixture until fully combined.
Gradually add in 4 cups of all purpose flour, mixing until a dough forms...when measuring out the flour, sift it into a measuring cup, levelling the top off with the back of a knife...you don't want to add too much flour to the butter mixture, as it will make your dough too crumbly and hard to work with.
Wrap the dough ball in waxed paper or plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for about an hour or so.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, then take a piece of dough (about 1 tbsp.)...
...and roll it into ball...repeat steps, placing dough balls (about an inch apart) onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
Next, chop about 2 cups of pecans and place them in a small bowl.
Dip the top of each dough ball into egg white that has been whisked in a small bowl...
...then, dip into the chopped pecans.
...and finally, make an indentation with your thumb into each pecan topped ball...
Sometimes the dough ball will crack when pressing your thumb into it but just pinch it back together and it should be fine...mine are cracked too but they will stay together when baked. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
Remove cookies from oven and place on wire racks until completely cool...Fill each indent with raspberry jam (or the jam of your choice). I find it easy and much neater to spoon the jam into a "zip loc" bag, snip a small piece off of the end, then pipe the jam into the thumb print...
Repeat until all cookies have been filled..
Serve these tasty little jewels to holiday guests or kick off your shoes and gobble a few up with a nice cup of tea, enjoying every last minute of your hard work in the kitchen!
Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
1 lb. of softened, salted butter
1-1/2 cups of icing sugar
4 cups of sifted, all purpose flour
2 cups of chopped pecans
1 egg white, whisked
raspberry jam
...In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with electric beaters), beat softened butter until light...gradually add the icing sugar and beat until fluffy. Next, gradually pour in the sifted flour, mixing until a ball of dough forms...Wrap in waxed paper and chill for about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees...remove from fridge and form pieces of dough into balls (approx. 1 tbsp of dough)...Put the chopped pecans into a small bowl and in a separate bowl, whisk 1 egg white until frothy...dip the top of each ball into the egg white, then into the chopped pecans...place onto a parchment lined baking sheet about an inch apart...make an indent with your thumb in the top of each ball. Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and place on wire racks until completely cool. Spoon jam into a "zip loc" bag, snip the end off, and fill thumb prints with raspberry jam.
Makes about 6 dozen cookies.