Thumbprint
Cookies, or maybe you know them as Polish Tea Cakes
or Butterballs, are a popular holiday cookie made with a shortbread-like dough
that is formed into balls and then each ball of dough is rolled in either
coconut or chopped nuts. The name 'thumbprint'
comes from
the fact
you use your "thumb" to make an indentation into each ball of dough,
which is then filled with the jam.
You can
use a variety of nuts to cover the balls of dough; hazelnuts, pecans, almonds or walnuts are
all excellent
choices. Toasting the nuts first brings out their flavor and once they have
cooled, they are finely chopped. Although I have filled
the cookies with raspberry jam, feel free to use any flavored jam you like. If
you decide to use preserves, just make sure to strain
the preserves first to remove any large pieces of fruit. (Note: Jam
and preserves are similar in that they are both a cooked combination of
fruit and sugar (and sometimes pectin). The difference being that
preserves still contain chunks of fruit, whereas jam is more like a fruit
puree.)
Some
recipes do call for filling the centers of the cookies with jam after they
are baked. This is best if you want to store the cookies for more than a few
days as the jam will soften the cookies over time.
Preheat oven to
350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking
sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of
your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugar
until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract
and beat until combined.
In a
separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture to
the batter and beat just until combined. If the batter is too soft to roll into
balls, refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
In a small
bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy. Place the chopped nuts on a plate. Roll the dough into 1 inch (2.54 cm) balls. Taking one
ball of dough at a time, dip first into the egg white and then lightly roll in
the nuts. Place on the prepared baking sheet spacing about 1 inch (2.54
cm) apart. Using your thumb or end of a wooden spoon, make a indentation
into the center of each cookie and fill with about 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of jam.
Bake for
about 13-15 minutes, or until cookies are set and the nuts have nicely browned. Remove from oven
and place on wire rack to cool.
Note: To toast the nuts.
Spread nuts on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree F (180 degree C) oven for
8-10 minutes (almonds, pecans and walnuts). The nuts are done when they are
light golden-brown in color and
fragrant. Toast the
hazelnuts for about 15 minutes or until fragrant and the outer skins begin to
flake. Remove from oven and place the hot nuts in a dish towel. Roll
up the towel and let the nuts sit (steam) for a few minutes then rub the nuts in
the towel briskly to remove the skins. Let cool completely. Once
the nuts have cooled, place them in your food processor and process until finely chopped. Alternatively,
you could chop them by hand.
Note: If you are
planning to store these cookies, I like to bake them without the jam. Just
reduce the baking time by a few minutes. These cookies can be stored for about a
week. Fill the cookies will jam the same day as serving.
Makes about
20 cookies.
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted
butter, room temperature
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