Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth and fruity, these cookies are truly a delight! This raspberry thumbprint cookies recipe is easy, quick and best of all, they’re definitely a family favorite, enjoyed by people of all ages!
About This Recipe
This raspberry thumbprint cookies recipe is made with a simple sugar cookies base which is rolled in sugar. this gives it a slight crunch, than filled with raspberry jam in the center before being baked. They’re crispy on the edges and soft and buttery in the center. The raspberry jam adds a kick of tartness to the cookies which really elevates these cookies to a whole new level!
When it comes to the jam filling you can actually add any kind of jam you like, but since this is a raspberry thumbprint cookies recipe, I think it makes most sense that we use raspberry jam.
Ease: This raspberry thumbprint cookies recipe is very easy to make, so easy that it can hardly go wrong! It’s definitely beginner-friendly, so if you don’t have much experience in making cookies, I would definitely recommend you start here! This recipe, however does require a hand/stand mixer, but that does not mean you can’t make this by hand. The electric mixer is mainly needed to cream the butter and sugar, the rest is done with a spatula, so you can either use a whisk or spatula to cream the butter and sugar if you don’t have an electric mixer. A super helpful tip is to have your butter very soft, the softer your butter is the easier it will be to cream with the sugar, with or without a mixer!
Ingredients: I don’t think any cookie recipe can have simpler ingredients than this recipe! All you need are the baking staples like butter, sugar, flour etc. As for the jam you can use any kind that you have on hand, but I really like raspberry jam so that’s what I used.
Ingredients For Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies Recipe
Flour: regular all purpose flour, I haven’t made this recipe with any other type of flour.
Corn Starch: key ingredient that help these sugar cookies to keep their shape and makes then nice and soft in the center.
Egg Yolk: adds richness to the cookies, you won’t need the egg white as it causes the cookies to spread.
Sugar: I used powdered sugar, also known as confectioner’s or icing sugar. If you don’t have powdered sugar you can also just use regular granulated sugar.
Butter: you’ll need unsalted softened butter, the softer your butter the easier it will be to cream with the sugar. Make sure it’s not melted. How to bring butter to room temp. fast?
Jam: any brand of raspberry jam should work.
Granulated sugar: you’ll also need some regular granulated sugar to roll the cookie dough in before they’re baked, This is optional.
How To Make Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
Step 1: In a small bowl, sift and combine all of your dry ingredients and set aside.
Step 2: In a separate medium sized bowl, cream the softened butter and powdered sugar until creamy, about 2-3 min. Add in the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat to combine.
Step 3: Add the dry ingredients into the wet and fold everything together using a spatula until fully combined. Cover and chill the dough for 20 minutes.
Step 4: Scoop 1 Tbsp cookie dough balls(roll into smooth balls) onto a parchment lined baking tray with at least 1/2 inch of space between each ball (the cookies only spread slightly).
Step 5: Roll each of the balls in granulated sugar, then gently press in the center of each ball using a 1/2 tsp or your thumb (it’s called thumbprint cookies after all).
Step 6: Fill each of the cookies with jam in the center, make sure not to add too much or it will overflow. Bake in an oven preheated at 180 °C / 350 °F for 12-15 minutes, until the bottom edges just start to brown. Once they’re baked, let them cool completely on the baking tray before moving them. Enjoy!
Storing/Freezing The Cookies
Store any leftovers in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to a week!
To freeze the cookie dough: scoop the chilled cookie dough on to a baking tray lined with parchment paper and freeze for 2 hours. Then transfer the frozen cookie dough balls into a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and then roll each ball in granulated sugar. Then follow the same steps from step 5 in the recipe.
Pro Tips
- Measure you flour correctly! Adding too much or too little flour will change the texture of the cookies dramatically. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off using the back of the spoon
- If you have a convection oven (oven with a fan setting), reduce the temperature by 20 degrees.
- Chilling the cookie dough is mandatory in this recipe otherwise the cookies will spread way too much. Cold dough results in a thicker cookie, so make sure to chill the dough for at least 20 minutes. You can also make the cookie dough the day before and refrigerate overnight. Just let it sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes to soften it up a bit before rolling into balls.
- Use room temperature butter, this make a huge difference when creaming the butter and sugar together. Even if it’s a bit softer than room temp. it will work beautifully.
- Don’t skip the corn starch, this is the key ingredient that help these sugar cookies to keep their shape and makes then nice and soft in the center.
- Forgot to take your butter out of the fridge in advance? No problem microwave it on the Defrost setting (30%) in 5-second increments until it’s softened.
- If your jam is too thick, warm it up for a few seconds in the microwave to make it a bit runny. This makes it much easier to add into the center of the cookies.
FAQ’s
Can I skip chilling the cookie dough?
No! This step is crucial for getting sugar cookies with nice sharp edges, skipping this step will result in the cookies loosing their shape and the centers will become flat.
Can I make the cookie dough ahead of time?
Of course, the dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Once you’re ready to use it, just let it sit on the counter for 15-20 minutes before scooping it into balls because the dough will be slightly hard.
What other types of jam can I use as the filling?
Some other great options would be strawberry jam, apricot jam, fig jam etc. In fact you can even use more than one to make a variety of different flavors!
What other filling can I add instead of jam?
When it comes to thumbprint cookie filling the options are actually endless, here as some ideas:
- Lemon Curd (add before baking)
- Melted chocolate (add after baking)
- Chocolate ganache (add after baking)
- Nutella/ chocolate spread (add after)
- Cream cheese frosting (add after baking)
- White chocolate (add after baking)
- Salted caramel (can be added before or after baking)
Check out my YouTube Channel for detailed recipe tutorials! Made one of my recipes? Tag me on Instagram, I would love to see your creations!
Recipe Card
Easy Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies Recipe
Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth and fruity, these cookies are truly a delight! This raspberry thumbprint cookies recipe is easy, quick and best of all, these cookies are definitely a family favorite, enjoyed by people of all ages!
Prep Time: 20min
Chill Time: 20min
Cook Time: 12min
Total Time: 52min
Course: Dessert
Servings: 24 (large) cookies
Calories: 158kcal
— Print Recipe —
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (280gg)
- 2 Tbsp corn starch (28g)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (225g)
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar (85g)
- 1 large egg yolk, room temp.
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup raspberry jam
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (for rolling the cookies in)
Instructions
- In a small bowl sift and combine the all purpose flour, corn starch, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate medium sized bowl cream together the softened butter and powdered sugar until pale and creamy, 2-3 minutes. (using hand/stand mixer)
- Add in the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat to combine.
- Add the dry ingredient mixture into the butter mixture and fold everything together using a spatula until fully combined. Cover and chill the dough for 20 minutes.
- Once it’s been 10-15 minutes, preheat your oven to 180 °C / 350 °F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Scoop the cookie dough into 1 Tbsp balls(roll using your hands into smooth balls) and place on the prepared pan at least 1/2 an inch apart.
- Roll each of the balls in granulated sugar, then use a 1/2 teaspoon to press into the center of each cookie dough ball to create an indentation for the filling. Fill each of the cookies with about 1/2 tsp of jam, or as needed.
- Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes until the bottom edges just start to brown.
- Once baked let the cookies cool completely on the tray, or transfer them after 3 minutes to a cooling wrack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Nutrition (estimated per serving)
Calories: 157.82kcal
Total Fat: 7.91g
Carbs: 20.62g
Sugars: 10.56g
Protein: 1.41g
Sodium: 50.28mg
Fiber: 0.33g
** Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more. **
Watch Video Tutorial
Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies Recipe Video Tutorial
This looks really delicious!😋
Thank you so much!