Christmas Thumbprint Cookies
Christmas Thumbprint Cookies are a staple in my family’s holiday traditions. This recipe is my grandmother’s and she made them for every Christmas I can remember. These
Ingredients for Christmas Thumbprint Cookies:
For Cookies:
- 1/2 cup Confectioner’s Sugar
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped pecans
For Icing 30 Cookies:
- 1 Tablespoon Milk
- 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
- dash of salt
- A few drops of flavoring extract to taste (I’ve used almond, lemon, vanilla, orange and, maple)
- A few drops of food coloring to achieve the desired shade of icing
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Equipment Recommendations:
- KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer
- Scraper Paddle Attachment (make sure to match the size of the mixer!)
- Hand Crank Nut Chopper
- Large, heavy sheet pans for baking
- Cooling Rack
Instructions for Making the Dough for Christmas Thumbprint Cookies:
Step 1:
In a stand mixer bowl, cream together sugar, butter, salt, and vanilla until smooth.
Step 2:
Add in flour and chopped pecans and run the mixer until well combined. I buy the pecans that area already chopped a little bit with large chunks (not ground). And I just let the mixing process take care of the rest. If you don’t like big pieces of nuts in the cookies, you can use a nut chopper or you can buy them finely chopped.
Step 3:
Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough cool in the fridge for at least an hour.
Step 4:
Preheat the oven to 350*.
Step 5:
Once chilled, shape the dough into small balls. Just pinch off a little dough and roll it into a ball. Mine are usually an inch to an inch and a half wide.
Step 6:
Press thumb (or a wooden spoon handle) into the middle of the dough ball to make an indention about 3/4 of the way through the cookie.
Step 7:
Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet about an inch apart.
Step 8:
Bake for 15 minutes in 350* oven. You want the cookies to be a nice golden color on top and on bottom. Put on a cooling rack to cool completely before icing.
Icing for the Cookies:
Somehow I missed taking photos of me actually mixing the icing up in the bowl. BUT, I have all the other steps, so not to worry!
Step 1:
Put confectioner’s sugar in a glass bowl.
Step 2:
Add milk to confectioner’s sugar and stir with a whisk making sure there are no lumps. I use my Oxo Good Grips Flat Whisk for this and I LOVE it. This is hands-down my favorite kitchen tool of all time.
Step 3:
Add flavor extract to your taste (I use a few drops of almond extract as my favorite). You can play around with how strong you like the icing. I like mine pretty strong mainly because only a small amount is going on the entire cookie – so I really want to taste that flavor.
Step 4:
Add food coloring to achieve the shade of icing you want. At Christmas I use red and green!
Step 5:
If your icing is too runny at this point, add a little more confectioner’s sugar. If too think, a few drops more of milk. (It should pour easily into a zip lock bag but not so easily that it’s going to run off the cookies!)
Step 6:
Pour the icing into a small zip lock bag. I like to put my zip lock bag into a mason jar so it stays put while I pour the icing.
Step 7:
Cut a tiny part of the bottom tip of the bag off so you can just squeeze and a little icing will come out for each cookie!
Step 8:
Gently squeeze the bag and pipe the icing into the cookie thumbprint holes.
Step 9:
Let cookies stand on a baking rack for several hours for the icing to harden, then store in an airtight container.
Storage:
After the icing has set and is firm (several hours later), you can store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Recipe Variations:
There are a ton of different ways to change this recipe to make it your own! You can add jam instead of icing or NUTELLA instead of icing. OMG – yum. Or you can roll the cookie dough balls in crushed pecans for extra crunch! Get creative and find the combo you love!
- Jam-Filled Thumbprint Cookies – from Love and Olive Oil
- Nutella-Filled Thumbprint Cookies from www.melissahartfiel.com
- Pecan Thumbprint Cookies from Taste of Home
Display:
These cookies are really pretty to put out for Christmas gatherings or at the office party. They are so beautiful on their own you can just put them on a platter and let the colors do the work!
Wrap Up – Christmas Thumbprint Cookies
I love these cookies year-round, but especially at Christmas. My mamaw made them every year for the holidays. And now that she’s not with us it’s a wonderful way to honor and remember her, having her present in a little way at our holiday gatherings. I hope you give these a try and love them so much you add them to your holiday baking traditions!
Merry Christmas to all and Just Keep Shuffling!
Recommended Items Used for Making This Recipe:
- KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer
- Scraper Paddle Attachment (make sure to match
size ofmixer !) - Hand Crank Nut Chopper
- Small glass mixing bowls with lids
- Flat whisk
- Flavored Extracts – Almond, Vanilla, Lemon, Orange and Maple
- Food Coloring
- Parchment Paper Sheets
- Nordic Ware Half Sheet Pans
- Stackable Cooling Rack
- Cookie Storage Container
Christmas Thumbprint Cookies
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
Ingredients
For Cookies
- ½ cup powdered sugar (Confectioner's Sugar)
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped pecans
For Icing
- 1 Tablespoon milk
- ½ cup powdered sugar (Confectioner's Sugar)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon flavoring extract Almond, Vanilla, Orange, Maple, etc
- ⅛ teaspoon food coloring adjust to achieve desired shade of icing
Instructions
For the Cookies
- In a stand mixer bowl, cream together sugar, butter, salt and vanilla until smooth.
- Add in flour and chopped pecans and run the mixer until combined well.
- Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let it cool in the fridge for at least one hour.
- Once properly chilled, preheat oven to 350*.
- Shape the dough into small balls.
- Press thumb (or a wooden spoon handle) into the middle of the dough ball to make an indention about 3/4 of the way through the cookie.
- Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet about an inch apart.
- Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown on top and bottom.
- Cool completely.
For the Icing:
- Put confectioner's sugar in a bowl.
- Add milk to confectioner's sugar and stir with a whisk making sure there are no lumps.
- Add flavor extract to your taste (I use a few drops of almond extract as my favorite)
- Add food coloring to achieve the shade of icing you want. At Christmas I use red and green!
- If your icing is too runny at this point, add a little more confectioner's sugar. If too think, a few drops more of milk. (It should pour easily into a zip lock bag but not so easily that it's going to run off the cookies)
- Pour the icing into a small zip lock bag.
- Cut a tiny part of the bottom tip of the bag off and pipe the icing into the cookie thumbprint holes.
- Let cookies stand on baking rack for several hours for icing to harden, then store in an airtight container.
