Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies with Jam
Buttery hazelnut thumbprint cookies filled with a soft berry jam center. These little cookies are easy to make, flavorful, and would make a lovely last-minute addition to your holiday table! Feel free to substitute the hazelnut flour with almond flour/meal or mix up the filling wtih your favorite preserves (apricot, raspberry, strawberry, or mixed berry).
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (112 g) hazelnut flour or almond flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 ounces (8 tablespoons; 115g) unsalted butter room temperature
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- zest of 1 medium orange
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- powdered sugar for dusting
- ½ cup raspberry jam or preserves or mixed berry or apricot
Instructions
- Note: It can be very easy to over-measure flour, resulting in a drier, crumblier dough, if you use volume measurements for thumbprint cookies. I strongly recommend using a scale and the metric measurements provided below for this recipe. If you don't have a scale, be sure to read my guide on how to properly measure flour before starting.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) with a rack in the center position. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, hazelnut flour, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Combine the softened butter, granulated sugar, and orange zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and mix thoroughly.
- Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the dry flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice until the dough is smooth and comes together and the dry ingredients are fully incorporated. It will be crumbly at first, but will eventually come together and become smooth. If the dough is still too dry and crumbly, you can add a teaspoon or so of water until it comes together.
- Using a small cookie scoop or spoon, shape and roll the dough into 1-inch diameter balls. Place the cookie dough balls 2 inches apart on the lined sheet pans (roughly 12 cookies per sheet). Holding the dough steady with one hand, indent a hole into the center of each dough using the end of a wooden spoon (or you can use your thumb), pushing down until just before you reach the sheet pan. If the edges of the dough cracks, press the edges back together into a circle.
- Bake the cookies for 16 to 18 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are lightly golden. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet pans for about 3 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Using a fine-meshed sieve, dust the cookies lightly with powdered sugar. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, heat the jam or preserves, stirring frequently, until it reaches a boil. It will be smooth and thick. Remove the jam from the heat and spoon ½ to 1 teaspoon of the jam into the center of each cookie. Allow the jam to cool and set completely.
- Serve immediately or transfer to a cookie tin (layer between sheets of parchment or wax paper) and store at room temperature for up to a week.
Tips for Success:
- If you do not have or wish to purchase hazelnut flour, you can substitute it 1:1 with almond flour/meal in this cookie recipe.
- If your cookie dough becomes at all greasy or too soft during shaping, allow the shaped dough to chill in the refrigerator for about 5 to 10 minutes prior to baking.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 147kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Sodium: 65mg, Potassium: 20mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 3IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 21mg, Iron: 1mg