There’s something about the dark cold season and baking cookies. It just feels right on these short moody days. And I promise you that these buttery thumbprint cookies with plum jam can definitely make your day better.
Inspired by the Swedish ‘hallongrottor’
My first thumbprint cookie memory goes back to about 4 years ago, in Sweden. That is when I visited for the first time what was about to become my favorite bakery in Stockholm – Bageri Petrus. And among their delicious cardamom and cinnamon buns, there they were: these small buttery cookies filled with raspberry jam made in house. Swedes call them ‘hallongrottor’, meaning ‘raspberry caves’. And together with ‘kardemumma/ kanel bullar’, kladdkaka and chokladbollar, they’re some of the classic treats to get with your coffee when having a ‘fika’.
The cookie dough
When I started baking these thumbprint cookies at home, I used a recipe one of my Swedish friends pointed me to. Back then I was making the dough with softened butter, creamed with sugar, then adding the flour. And by the time I was forming the small balls of dough, it was all quite warm and they tended to spread out more than I would have liked them to.
But last time I went to Bageri Petrus in Stockholm, since they unfortunately didn’t have ‘hallongrottor’, I ended up buying their book with cookie and other fika treats recipes. And that is how I figured it just works better for me to build the dough with cold butter, as they recommend in their book. So now, I am happy to have reached a consistency that I’m happy with and I think it’s worth sharing with you, my baking friends.
Mix & match
Now the original Swedish thumbprint cookies I fell in love with, are filled with raspberry jam. But since then I tried baking various combinations at home, depending on what jams I had at hand. And that’s the beauty of them. All you need is a base recipe you feel comfortable with, and you can experiment as you please.
One of the very first combinations I tried one or two years ago was ginger and orange. That was a little bit special. And Christmassy in a way. Basically I spiced the dough with ginger powder and filled the thumbprint cookies with homemade cardamom spiced orange jam. If you enjoy a little bit of bitterness in your desserts, combined with warm spices, then this is a combo you might want to try. Another fall-winter specific combo is the cinnamon and apple one. For this, you have to make sure to use a non-sweetened jam, made of tangy apples. That way you can balance the sweetness of the buttery dough with the slightly tart filling. And in the spring, I absolutely love the vanilla and rhubarb jam combination for my thumbprint cookies.
This fall, however, I made a big batch of my slow cooked, no sugar added plum jam. And because I had quite a few jars, I decided to try using some as filling for my thumbprint cookies. Since then I have made and shared several batches, that I now only have half of a small jar of jam left. Both my family, friends and colleagues just loved them.
So here I am, sharing my favourite thumbprint cookies recipe with you. But remember: you can play around with the filling and find your own favourite. Happy baking!
Ingredients (yields around 50 one-bite cookies)
- 150g all-purpose flour
- 150g whole grain flour (fine) – this will give a deeper taste to the dough, but you can use all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 100g sugar (I use cane sugar)
- 1 tsp. good vanilla sugar (or vanilla extract)
- 200g cold butter (straight from the fridge)
- 200g plum jam (or another favourite of yours)
Equipment
- scale
- large bowl
- a grater
- 1/2 tsp measurement
- baking tray(s) and baking paper
Instructions
1. Weigh the flour, sugar, vanilla sugar (if using) and salt in your bowl. Grate the fridge cold butter directly onto the dry ingredients. Start covering the butter in the flour-sugar mix and rub it between your fingers until you get an even crumbly consistency. If you’re using vanilla extract instead of vanilla sugar, here’s where you can add it.
2. Start getting the dough together in the bowl, with your hands. You must not knead the dough, as you are not looking for developing gluten here, as you want a soft, melt in the mouth thumbprint cookie. So you’re looking after getting a nice, bit shiny, homogenous dough that sticks together.
3. Preheat oven to 200C with ventilation, or 210 without. Weigh pieces of around 10g of dough, roll them into small spheres and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, with some distance in between.
4. Using a 1/2 tsp measurement, make small holes in the spherical dough. You can, of course use your thumb for that, as they’re called thumbprint cookies, but I just find it faster and more even with the measurement. Then fill the wholes with jam. You can either use a small teaspoon, or a piping bag.
5. Bake in the preheated oven, on the middle rack, for 10 minutes. I usually need two trays to bake them all, so I prepare the one batch first, and the second one while the first one is baking.
6. Let them set on the tray for half an hour first, then you can transfer them on a cooling rack. They keep well in an airtight container for a week or so.
Enjoy next to your tea or coffee!
And if you’re on the look for more gingerbread-like, kids friendly spiced cookies, I might have something for you as well. Check out my recipe for spiced honey biscuits.
Buttery thumbprint cookies with plum jam
Equipment
- one large bowl
- a grater
- a 1/2 tsp measurement
- baking tray(s)
- baking paper
Ingredients
- 150 g all-purpose flour
- 150 g fine whole grain flour (can be replaced with all-purpose)
- 1 pinch salt
- 100 g sugar (I use cane sugar)
- 1 tsp good vanilla sugar (or extract)
- 200 g cold butter (straight from the fridge)
- 200 g plum jam (or other jam to your liking)
Instructions
- In a bowl, pile up the flour(s), salt, sugar(s) and the cold grated butter. Rub the butter it between your fingers until you get an even crumbly sand-like consistency. If you’re using vanilla extract instead of vanilla sugar, here’s where you can add it.
- Start getting the dough together in the bowl, with your hands. You must not knead the dough, but obtain a nice, bit shiny, homogenous dough that sticks together.
- Preheat oven to 200C with ventilation, or 210 without. Weigh pieces of around 10g of dough, roll them into small spheres and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, with some distance in between.
- Using a 1/2 tsp measurement, make small holes in the spherical dough. You can, of course use your thumb for that. Then fill the wholes with jam.
- Bake in the preheated oven, on the middle rack, for 10 minutes.
- Let them set on the tray for half an hour first, then you can transfer them on a cooling rack. They keep well in an airtight container for a week or so.Enjoy with coffee or tea. Or warm cocoa 🙂
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