Almond Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

This time of year is a time to celebrate, share and give not only to those who you know and love, but those who aren't quite as fortunate and could use a little help during the holidays. My firm ran a food drive for the Seacoast Food Pantry and the NH Food Bank and I was thrilled with the results. Together with our clients (all located in NH/MA) we were able to donate nearly 2,500 pounds of food! You can check out the article on my company site here.

It was heartwarming to see how generous the local businesses are, and of course I thought they deserved a homemade treat to thank them for their voluntary participation. After making pumpkin cookies for clients of mine who participated in the Epilepsy Foundation clothing drive, I knew I had to follow up strong. Sugar cookies are a well known holiday treat and I felt they would be a perfect way to say thanks ("thank yous" that are edible are the best kind of thank yous).

They can be dressed up to look fancy and they are loaded with butter.... It is clearly an obvious choice.

I love this recipe because there is a perfect balance of buttery, almond cookie and sweet filling. They look beautifully festive and can hold their own on a table spread of even the most gourmet holiday treats. I got rave reviews from clients I gave them to, so I know the recipe is worth sharing!

The fun part about this recipe is that you can get a little creative. Feel free to experiment with different types of jams (raspberry, strawberry, cherry, apricot, etc!) and toppings such as icing or a light dusting of powdered sugar. One thing I would not recommend substituting is the almond extract for vanilla in the cookie. The almond gives the cookies a delicious nuttiness, and the vanilla flavor just seems to fall short in comparison.

My last tip is for those of you who love to cut corners in the kitchen (don't worry, I do sometimes too). Don't skip the step of freezing the dough. These cookies have a healthy dose of butter in them and will spread thin causing the jam to run if you don't freeze them before cooking.

Now that I have shared my last piece of wisdom, let the holiday cooking commence! Fa-la-la-la-la La-la-la-laaaa!




Almond Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 sticks butter, room temp
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup raspberry jam or jam of choice
Icing:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
half and half

Directions:

• Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. 
• In standing mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy - about 3 minutes.  Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add egg and vanilla and beat for about a minute more, until fully mixed. 
• Mix flour mixture into butter mixture, slowly and a little at a time until it starts to combine. It will be a bit crumbly but it will form a ball. 
• Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place spread out on an ungreased cookie sheet. Using your finger (or get this - a chap stick tube works beautifully and is so much easier!) press a hole into the top of the cookie, about halfway through to the bottom. Fill with jam but don't over flow. 
• Freeze the cookies on the cookie sheet for at least 1 hour. 
• Preheat oven to 350 and bake cookies one sheet at a time in preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until just lightly golden. Let cool ten minutes then move to a wire rack.
• While cookies are cooling, mix powdered sugar, vanilla and 1 tsp of half and half or milk at a time until it just turns to icing consistency. Pour into plastic bag and cut the corner to ice.
• Drizzle icing over cookies once they are completely cool.