Blackberry Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

in , , , , , on Tuesday, December 20, 2011



Of all the Christmas cookies I’ve baked in the last week, this is the one that got Bill’s attention.  I have baked them every year since his mother introduced me to them many years ago.  He adores them and so do I! 

Thumbprint cookies are an old standard that are filled with great ingredients that people like.  Make them with your favorite jam or jelly, with just frosting and no jam, with nuts or without, or drizzled with chocolate! However you like them!  They’re all great! 

I added a little blackberry brandy to the blackberry jam and lemon zest to the dough for extra flavoring.  It’s a great mix of flavors that turns out a delicious cookie with the well being filled with jam and frosting.   Blackberry thumbprint cookies are really a huge hit in our house and love at first bite!


Blackberry Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients:

½ cup blackberry jam
1 tablespoon Blackberry Brandy
2¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, at room temperature
2/3 cups sugar
2 eggs, separating yolks from whites
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pecans, chopped fine
1 can your favorite frosting
Few drops of red food coloring
Few drops of green food coloring

Method:

Preheat oven 350 degrees.
Lightly butter baking sheets or line with Silpat mats or parchment paper.
In small bowl, combine jam and brandy well. Set aside.
In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt, whisking to blend.
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla.
Add the flour in 2 additions and beat until the dough forms a clump.
Gather dough into a ball.
Pinch off the dough and make a 1-inch ball.
In a small bowl, with a fork, gently beat egg whites until foamy.
Dip a dough ball into the egg whites, shaking off the excess.
Place pecans in a small bowl and gently roll cookie in the nuts, coating it completely.
Do the same with the remaining dough. 
Place on baking sheet one inch apart.
Using your thumb, make a well in the center of each ball.
Fill each well with approximately ½ teaspoon of the jam mixture.
Bake until golden and firm to the touch, about 15-18 minutes.
Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.
Mix half of the frosting with 2-3 drops of red food coloring in a small bowl and the remaining frosting with 2-3 drops of green food coloring in another small bowl.
When cookies are completely cool, apply a dab of frosting to each.
Let frosting dry some before storing (I do over-night).
Store between layers of waxed or parchment paper.
Makes 4 dozen


Do these have you drooling yet?

They would be a great colorful addition to your Christmas cookie tray!



Be sure to enter my CSN Giveaway for a $35 gift certificate that I posted on December 17th!



Also, check out my friend, Linda’s blog, at My Kind of Cooking for her great recipes and cookbook giveaway!




This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 6:46 AM and is filed under , , , , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response.

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