These raspberry thumbprint cookies are made with a nutty dough and loaded with tart raspberry jam. Perfect everything from a holiday cookie tray to summer BBQ!
Raspberry thumbprint cookies are festive enough for the holidays, yet neutral enough to be eaten year round. I love making them for everything from BBQs to Christmas parties. You’ll love the way each bite just crumbles and melts in your mouth…
While this recipes calls for raspberry jam, feel free to use whatever jam you love. You can even get super creative and mix a few! Whatever you do, good luck eating just one…
How to Make Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
Making raspberry thumbprint cookies only requires under 10 ingredients and a few simple steps. Below, find a quick hitter overview of the recipe before you dive in.
- Make the Dough: Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar together. Next, add the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Finally, add in the flour, salt, and chopped pecans and stir until well-combined.
- Form the Cookies: Using a cookie scooper, portion out the cookie dough into little mounds and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using your thumb, press a well into the center of the dough and fill it with raspberry jam.
- Bake the Cookies: Bake the cookies at 350°F for about 30 minutes or until they turn golden brown. Serve right away or allow the cookies to cool completely and enjoy them at room temperature.
Tips & Tricks
Below, find a couple of pro tips and tricks to help you make the best thumbprint cookies.
- Use softened butter. To make the cookie batter easier to mix, allow the butter to soften at room temperature for 30 minutes before you get to baking.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion out the dough. Evenly portioned cookies will bake evenly. It’s as simple as that!
- Experiment with different jams. This recipe is super forgiving, so feel free to use any jam you love. Strawberry, apricot, and mixed berry are a few great options.
Storing Thumbprint Cookies
There are a couple different ways you can store you thumbprint cookies. From keeping them at room temperature to storing the dough in the freezer for later, find the instructions you need below.
- Room Temperature: If you plan to eat the cookies within a week, store them on the counter in an airtight container.
- Refrigerator: If you’d like to increase the shelf life of the thumbprints, pop them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
- Freezer (Baked Cookies): You can freeze baked thumbprints for up to three months. To do so, pop the cooled cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and pop the baking sheet in the freezer uncovered. Once completely frozen, transfer the cookies to a freezer-safe bag. To thaw, place them on the counter for a couple of hours.
- Freezer (Cookie Dough): If you’d like to prep the thumbprint dough and bake later, you can freeze the dough for up to 3 months. To do so, place the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap and roll it into a tightly wrapped log. To thaw it, place it in the refrigerator overnight.
FAQ
Do I fill thumbprint cookies before or after baking?
You should fill your thumbprints with jam before baking. This will allow the sugars in the jam to caramelize and seep into the dough. Yum!
Why did my thumbprint cookies go flat?
To prevent your thumbprint cookies from turning out flat, make sure you properly measure your flour. If you go too light on the flour, the butter will take over and your cookies won’t get that signature thumbprint shape.
How do I stop my thumbprint cookies from spreading?
Prevent your thumbprint cookie dough from spreading by baking it on a silicone mat or a parchment lined baking sheet. There’s no need to grease the baking sheet with butter or cooking spray, as they will only make the cookies spread.
Do cookies with jelly need to be refrigerated?
Jelly-filled cookies do not need to be refrigerated unless you want to increase the shelf life. They will stay fresh for up to week when stored in an airtight container on the counter.
Can I freeze jam-filled thumbprint cookies?
Yes, you can freeze jam-filled thumbprint cookies for up to 3 months.
Other Tasty Cookies To Try
- Meringue Sugar Cookies with Jam – Festive sandwich cookies
- Sochniki (Sweet Cheese Cookies) – Sweet and salty cookies
- Russian Walnut Cookies (Oreshki) – Festive dulce de leche walnut cookies
- Italian Pizzelle – Light and crunchy, these are a great addition to any cookie tray!
- Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies – Caramel sandwich cookies
Big thanks to Dina from Simply Home Cooked for this wonderful recipe. Make some time to check out her other recipes – I find her Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream to be beyond delicious!
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter softened at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 1/3 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup toasted pecans finely chopped
- 1 cup raspberry jam
Instructions
- Whisk together the softened butter and sugar using a stand or hand mixer. Next, add in the egg yolk and vanilla extract.
- Lastly, mix in the flour, salt, and chopped toasted pecans.
- Using a cookie scoop, portion out equal-sized mounds of the cookie dough into a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using your thumb or the back of a teaspoon, press into the center of each cookie.
- Fill a piping bag with raspberry jam and pipe the jam into the center of each cookie. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until they turn golden brown.
Dough was very dry & crumbly after chilling. Dry hard to make into balls.
Hi Ann, yes, chilling the dough would not work in this recipe. You want it to be soft to shape them. But if you leave the dough on the counter, bring it back to a room temperature, it should still work out. Enjoy!
Have you tried using half brown sugar and half regular granulated?
Hi Don- that's a great question. I haven't tried that, so I can't guarantee what kind of outcome you'd get. I don't see why it couldn't work though!
The recipe looks straight forward, but before I try it can you tell me if these are chewy or somewhat on the "short" side, i.e. crumbly.
Hi Don- they are on the more crumbly side! Enjoy!
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing raspberry cookies recipe! Will surely have this again! It's really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
Allyssa,I'm so glad you loved these cookies, they really are super simple to make and taste amazing!
By far our favorite Christmas cookie! We love these!
Right?! Cute and delicious, glad you loved them!
These are so pretty and so tasty! I brought them to a block party and they were a big hit!
Stephanie, I am so glad you loved these cookies, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback, these really are the perfect cookie to share!
Hi , Can you substitute count flakes for the pecans ? Or will the coconut burn ?
Hey Lily, I haven't tried using coconut flakes. I am not sure how it would work. If you try it, please share feedback!
Can I substitute pecans with walnuts?
Hey Elena, I haven't tried using walnuts. If you do, please let me know how they come out.
Does it need to be baked 30 min?
I noticed they get really brown.
Just wanted to make sure I don’t overbake them.
Thank you!
Hey Olha, we just updated the recipe to 20 minutes of bake time. You do want to pull them out when they are golden brown. Thanks for your feedback!
These turned out amazing! Thank you for the recipe. Just wondering, I put extra dough in the fridge and it got really hard even though it was in wrap. Is there an easy way to soften dough that has been refrigerated? Thank you again
Hey Tanya, you keep the dough out in room temperature, it should soften up.