These classic thumbprint cookies are soft, chewy sugar cookies filled with a dollop of your favorite jam! This easy cookie recipe needs just 7 ingredients. They’re perfect for Christmas cookie trays and cookie exchanges.
These jam-filled cookies look so pretty on a cookie platter, you won’t believe how easy they are to make! Thumbprint cookies, named after the “thumbprint” filled with jam in the middle, are classic Christmas cookies. My favorite jam thumbprint cookie recipe has a sweet, chewy sugar cookie dough that won’t overspread, filled with apricot jam and raspberry jam. You can fill your thumbprints with any jam you’d like, or another filling, like chocolate, caramel, or frosting.
Classic Jam Thumbprint Cookies
Thumbprint cookies always make an appearance on my Christmas cookie platters, and they’re perfect for gifting and exchanging. Here’s why you’ll make these cookies again and again:
- Simple ingredients. I rarely need to run to the grocery store when making these, since most of the ingredients are in the pantry already.
- Easy to make. Mix the cookie dough in one bowl, indent each cookie, fill, and bake! Thumbprint cookies are great for holiday baking, and it’s a fun activity to do with kids.
- Endless possibilities. Fill your thumbprint cookies with jam, or switch it up and make chocolate thumbprint cookies, turtle thumbprint cookies, or these festive peppermint thumbprint cookies. Once you have the dough, you can fill it however you’d like!
Ingredients Needed
These are the ingredients you’ll need to make these classic jam thumbprint cookies from scratch. Scroll to the printable recipe for the full measurements and step-by-step instructions.
- Unsalted Butter – Bring your butter to room temperature before starting on your dough. This way, it’s easier to mix. You can soften the butter quickly by microwaving it for 5-10 seconds.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar, or you can make a version of brown sugar cookies and use brown sugar instead.
- Egg Yolks – You won’t be needing any egg whites for this recipe. The yolks contribute to a chewier cookie.
- Vanilla Extract – Use pure vanilla, or an equal amount of vanilla paste.
- All-Purpose Flour – Make sure to measure the flour correctly, using a kitchen scale or the spoon and level method. Spoon the flour from the bag into the measuring cup, and level it off. This avoids overmeasuring, which can lead to dry, crumbly cookies.
- Jam – I use apricot and raspberry. You can use any type of jam or fruit preserve you’d like. Try strawberry, blackberry, grape jelly, or marmalade.
How to Make Thumbprint Cookies
Technically, you don’t have to use your thumb to make the well in the center of the cookie. I use the back of a measuring spoon!
- Prepare to bake. Preheat the oven to 350°F while you line the baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Combine the wet ingredients. Next, cream the butter and sugar together until they’re light in color and fluffy. Then, add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after adding each yolk. Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients. Now, add the flour and salt and mix until the dough comes together. Do not over-mix.
- Form the cookies. Scoop the dough into balls about 1 ½ tablespoons in size, and gently roll them smooth. If you’d like, you can roll the cookie dough in granulated sugar for a crunchy coating. Set the dough balls on the baking sheet.
- Indent the cookies. Use the handle of a wooden spoon, your finger, or the bottom of a measuring spoon to gently press a well in the center of each cookie. Do this immediately after rolling the dough, as it helps to prevent the cookies from cracking.
- Fill the thumbprints. Next, fill the centers with jam. I used roughly ½ teaspoon per cookie.
- Bake. Bake the thumbprint cookies at 350ºF for 10-13 minutes or until the edges JUST begin to brown. Overbaking leads to dry cookies! Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
A Note on Different Fillings
When I fill these thumbprint cookies with jam, I do it before baking. However, fillings like chocolate or frosting, for example, must be added to the cookies after they’re baked. Otherwise, the filling will melt right out of the cookie! In this case, press the thumbprints before you bake them (as directed), and add the filling once the cookies have cooled.
Tips for the Best Thumbprint Cookies
- Use a food scale. For the best results, I always recommend using a food scale to measure your dry ingredients. Flour especially. This cookie dough is already fairly thick to avoid spreading, so over-measuring the flour leads to dry, firm cookies.
- Press the cookies right after rolling. As soon as you form the cookie dough balls (and roll them in sugar, if you choose to do that step), press the centers down. As the cookie dough sits, the edges start to dry out, so waiting to press your cookies can lead to cracking.
- Use a medium-colored baking sheet. Try to use a medium-colored baking sheet for this recipe. Lighter colored baking sheets cause cookies to spread more, and darker baking sheets cause them to spread less and brown more on the bottom. A medium-colored sheet is just right!
- Avoid chilling the dough. There’s no need to refrigerate this cookie dough. You can if you’d like to, but I found that the cookies actually did more spreading after being refrigerated, so keep that in mind.
How to Store these Cookies
- Store the cookies airtight. I recommend keeping these jam thumbprint cookies in an airtight container or resealable bag. On the counter, they’ll last for about 3 days. If you store them in the fridge, they’ll stay good for up to a week.
- Freeze. If you want to store these thumbprint cookies long-term, you can keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the cookies at room temperature before serving.
More Easy Christmas Cookie Recipes
Jam Thumbprint Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 25–30 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These classic thumbprint cookies are soft and chewy, filled with your favorite jam or preserves. This easy cookie recipe is perfect for Christmas baking!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (104g) sugar (plus 3-4 tablespoons for rolling)
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (260g) all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup jam, any flavor
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy. You should be able to see the change in color happen and know it’s ready.
- Add the egg yolks one at a time and mix until well combined after each.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Add the flour and salt and mix until the dough is just well combined. Do not over mix.
- Create 1 1/2 tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough. Gently roll into a ball, then roll in additional sugar (if using), then set the balls on the baking sheet.
- Use the end of a spatula, your thumb or the bottom of a measuring spoon to press the centers of the cookies down. Do this immediately after rolling them to help prevent the cookies from cracking.
- Fill the centers with jam. I used roughly 1/2 teaspoon per cookie.
- Bake cookies for 10-13 minutes or until the edges JUST begin to brown. You don’t want to overbake them and have dry cookies.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to finishing cooling.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 91
- Sugar: 4.1 g
- Sodium: 18 mg
- Fat: 5.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 10.1 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 24.5 mg
Categories:
Christmas, Cookies, Fall and Holiday Favorites, Holidays, Recipes, Recipes with video, Sweets and Treats, Thanksgiving,
I love this recipe and my go to especially during holidays. It’s great to add color to any gift box of bake goods. Strawberry is my kids fave, but I’ve tried many other filling and the cookies always come out delish!! Thank you so much!
Awesome! I’m so glad to hear that!
Can I make cups like in a muffin thin with this doe and fill that with jam?
I haven’t tested this cookie dough as a cookie cup, so I’m not sure. Not all cookie dough does well. You could use the cookie dough from these cookie cups and fill them with jam, to be safe. Or give it a try with this one and see.
This is a great recipe and I make it every year!! However I believe the yield quantity needs to be updated. I follow the recipe exactly and measure out every single cookie and always get exactly 20 cookies. I forget about this every year and only plan to make 2 batches due to the yield estimate saying 30-35 cookies and always end up disappointed.
These cookies are so dang good! So buttery and they melt in your mouth. I make a half batch when I just need a quick homemade treat. Mine do seem to spread more than the photos here for some reason. Maybe my oven runs hot. Doesn’t affect how great they taste though! Use good jam to make them even tastier!
I’m so glad you enjoy them!
I made these cookies to see if they would be appropriate for a bridal shower I am attending soon. They were fantastic and the recipe was simple. Everyone here loved them. Will definitely be making them for my event.
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed them!
I loved these cookies – added a tart raspberry jam and fresh thyme on the top! I rolled half in sugar so that it wasn’t too sweet. Thank you for such a simple and delicious recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
My mom always used the rounded top of a clothespin to make the indentation.
These cookies were so soft and easy to make. Will definitely be keeping this recipe!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
These are amazingly delicious
So glad to hear that!
It’s a good thing you said to weigh the flour! I had to triple it for my preschool class’s Mother’s Day Tea Party, so I needed 780 grams, which was well under the 6 cups…more like 5 1/3 or so cups. They came out great!
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Amazing! These came out great. They taste good and look nearly identical to the picture, I was a little worried my butter was too warm- but, it didn’t affect it really. Easy to follow directions. Thanks again!
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
The cookies came out great! I was nervous since I did not have an electric mixer, but my weak arms managed without one. I cooked the cookies for about 15 minutes and I am really happy with the results. Don’t be nervous to take them out a bit earlier than that- I have a couple of ones that browned too much (but they still taste good). I made these for my boyfriend for Valentine’s Day and I can’t wait to give them to him!
My cookies spread out and look nothing like your. I even used a scale to measure and did not refrig. So dissapointed
Did you make sure to use just the egg yolks and not the whole eggs? And did you use a good quality butter, like Challenge Butter or maybe Land O Lakes? Some butters have more water in them than others, which could leave cookies to over spread.
I love your mini cheesecake, ALWAYS a HUGE hit! And making more Friday! But I have quick question, these thumbprint cookies, your cookies base is so perfect – nice and round. When I make these it cracks – what is the secret to making it perfect like yours?
I’m so glad you enjoy the mini cheesecakes! As for the cracks, I’m thinking it could be one of two things. It could be that your cookie dough is a touch dry, possibly from adding too much flour. Do you use a food scale? The other thing is that I press them down almost immediately after rolling them. If they rolled ball sits for too long before you press them down, the sides dry out a touch and that can cause cracking. I hope that helps!
I think there’s a typo – 1.5 tbsp dough balls were absolutely massive and yielded less than 20 cookies that took much longer than 13 min to cook through (and still ended up gummy in the middle. Was this supposed to be 1.5 tsp?
Cookie is also super sweet, might have been better with a higher butter to sugar ratio, skipping the sugar roll, or else just a more tart jam (I used strawberry)
Was this supose to be 1.5 tsp. dough vs 1.5 tbsp?
No, 1 1/2 tablespoons is correct. 1 1/2 teaspoons would be a super duper small cookie.