Just to be clear, this is not a food blog. It’s a bonus post. I am sharing one of my tried-and-true recipes as a thank you for reading my blog. That is all.
This is my go-to recipe for any occasion. My friends and neighbours love these cookies. I get requests for them, and I even give them out as gifts. The funny part: they’re pretty-much a “kitchen cupboard” recipe. You can get fancy with equipment and decorations or just mix them up by hand and serve as a basic thumbprint cookie. You can substitute, add ingredients, or mix-and-match, and they will still turn out cute and delicious! It’s an excellent beginner recipe. There are only a couple areas where you could go wrong, and I’ll be flagging those as we go along. Let’s jam!
Ingredients:
- 1 stick butter (that’s ½ cup) at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, also at room temperature (use 1 egg & 1 yolk-only)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons flour
- ¼ tsp salt (or just use salted butter instead)
- ¼ tsp baking powder (not crucial—see my note below)
- At least ½ cup jam (any flavour)
Recommended Equipment:
- Stand mixer or hand-held mixer (stirring by hand is fine, but will take longer)
- Plastic wrap (because it’s best to make the dough in advance)
Critical: In preparation for this recipe, you’ll need to set your butter and eggs out first. No, you cannot just take them out of the fridge and hop to it. Give it a few hours on the kitchen counter. Sometimes I’ll bring the butter out the night before and take the eggs out the morning-of just so I know they’ll be ready. If you’ll be mixing by hand, the eggs can be more on the colder side to start because your body proximity will warm them up.
Note: The sugar just needs to be 1 cup total. You can use granulated, brown, confectionary, or any combination thereof. My go-to is to use about ¼ cup brown and the rest is granulated white sugar. Use brown sugar if you’re planning to use a more citrus-y jam, as it enhances the flavour. If you’re mixing by hand, it will be simpler to use confectionary sugar.
Mix the butter, sugar, and salt together in a bowl until it turns pale and is soft and combined. Next, add the eggs and vanilla. Mix together. If you’re doing it by hand, this part takes a long time. You want it to be on the fluffy side, not soupy. Next, add the baking powder and give it a quick mix. It will bubble.
Note: The cookies turn out just fine without the baking powder. In fact, the first dozen times I made these, I didn’t use any at all. The difference with baking powder is that it helps add some air so they will rise and hold together more. Don’t go buy a whole container of baking powder just for this recipe. And that’s baking POWDER, not soda. If you use baking soda by mistake, your cookies will flatten out while baking. It will be terrible.
Now it’s time to add the flour. Don’t fret if the dough is a bit sticky. Just ensure the flour is combined. Do not over-mix.
Critical junction: Do not try to bake this yet. Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough overnight or anywhere from 12-48 hours. I usually just do about 24 hours.
When you’re ready to bake, bring your bowl out of the fridge. I also bring the jam out of the fridge at the same time.
Make sure your oven rack is set in the middle. (The cookies will go weird if too close to the bottom. Still edible, but weird.) Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place parchment paper on your cookie tray(s). Use a small spoon to gather the dough into your palms. Roll into balls and place on cookie tray. If you have a standard-size tray, you should be able to fit a dozen cookies. When in doubt, make smaller balls. This recipe yields about three dozen cookies.
Use your thumb to press an indent (not a hole!) in the middle of each ball. Spoon jam to fill the indent of each ball. This is a good step to hand-off to a willing participant. My husband enjoys doing “jam duty.” Anyways, bake these for 10-15 minutes. My cell phone’s timer is set to 14:30, as this seems to be the best amount of time for my oven. Your oven will differ, so your time will too.
Let these cool on a wire rack. Pro-tip: slide the parchment paper with the cookies still on it from the baking tray to the rack. Enjoy!
Variations:
More moisture: For a chewier cookie, use two full eggs (don’t separate the second yolk).
Vanilla cookies: No jam? No problem! Double the vanilla extract and have yourself some cute little Nilla bites.
Chocolate-coconut: Add 1/3 cup shredded coconut and replace 1/3 cup flour with cocoa powder. Use almond extract instead of vanilla. Skip the jam and just press a chocolate chip on top.
Citrus boost: Zest one lemon in with the wet ingredients and top with blueberry jam. So good!
Orange-you-glad: Zest ½ orange in with wet ingredients and mix 1/4 cup brown sugar and 3/4 cup granulated white sugar for your one cup sugar total. Top with seedless raspberry jam. Yum.
Please ask questions and start the discussion in the comments section below. Stay tuned for my next blog post. Wanna get it in your email inbox? Subscribe to stay informed of my newest articles, story reviews, updates, and more.
Cover Image: Photo by Dmitry Zvolskiy on Pexels.com
Pauline Shen 