Thumbprint Cookie Recipe
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These soft and buttery thumbprint cookies are flavored with vanilla and almond for a rich flavor. The cute heart centers can be filled with your favorite jam, and they make the perfect sweet treat at Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or any time of year. Make them in under an hour and enjoy!
If you love easy cookies, don’t miss these recipes for classic Spritz cookies and Italian rainbow cookies.
Quick Look: Thumbprint Cookies with Jam
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes (including 30 minutes of chilling)
- Servings: 24 cookies
- Dietary Info: can be made Gluten Free
- Method: Oven Baked
- Technique: Cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs and extract. Add the flour and chill. Shape into balls, then press your finger on top to make the heart shape. Fill with jam and bake.
- Flavor & Texture: These thumbprint cookies are delicate and buttery and aren’t too sweet! Use your favorite jam to add an incredible fruit flavor that complements the cookie perfectly.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
These cookies are easy and fun to make any time of year. Make these heart jam cookies for Valentine’s Day, or try regular round ones for Christmas or an everyday sweet treat. They make a perfect pairing with a cup of tea or a glass of milk.
In Italy, you will find these types of cookies all year round in specialty bakeries. They are filled with sweet homemade jams, dusted with powdered sugar, or rolled in crushed almonds. I keep mine simple and make these without nuts, but you can roll them in chopped nuts if you like.
Don’t worry about making them perfect (mine aren’t!) and enjoy the process of making them and their scrumptious taste. I know you will love these, and might just be your new favorite cookie recipe!
If you are looking for more cookies, you’ll love my recipes for Best Soft Sugar Cookies, Pizzelle Cookies, and Soft Amaretti Cookies.
Made With Amore,
“Super easy to make and delicious…Love the ease of being able to make something fancy and yummy in a short amount of time. Easy to have kids help you make too.”
– Collette
Table of Contents
Simple Ingredients
There aren’t many ingredients in this easy thumbprint cookies recipe, so it’s important to use high-quality products.
- Butter (Softened): In my flaky butter pie crust and other baking recipes, I usually use grass fed European butter. However, these cookies can flatten too much if you use butter with a very high fat content, like European butter. I recommend Land O Lakes or a quality American-style butter for these to hold their shape.
- Extracts: I like to use both vanilla extract and almond extract for a wonderful flavor. Yes, the almond extract makes these cookies extra delicious!
- Eggs (At Room Temperature): Many butter cookie recipes will only use an egg yolk and then add milk or cornstarch to help the cookie consistency. I prefer to use the whole egg since the egg white provides added liquid and is a natural binder. I like the taste better as well.
- Jam: I recommend using either raspberry jam, strawberry jam, or fig jam, but any flavor of jam you like will work beautifully in this recipe.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- Traditional Round Shape: Simplify these by making a simple thumbprint indent instead of two to get a simple circular indent instead of a heart.
- Gluten Free Version: Use your favorite measure-for-measure GF flour, like Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur Flour.
- Citrus Flavor: Add a tablespoon of grated orange or lemon zest to bring a lovely brightness and aroma that complements the jam.
How to Make Thumbprint Cookies with Jam
The butter cookie dough comes together in a little time with the use of an electric mixer or stand mixer. This is basically the same dough as my Italian Butter Cookies.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, and salt until they’re light and fluffy using a hand mixer or stand mixer.
- Add the eggs on low speed, one at a time, until combined. Add vanilla extract and almond extract, then mix on medium speed until well combined.
- Sift in the dry ingredients. At this point, the dough will be very sticky from the butter. That is normal.
- Transfer the dough to a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to make it easier to work with and to keep it from spreading during baking.
- Divide the dough into 24 even pieces, then roll each into a small ball. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet, staggering the rows of cookies and leaving about 1½ inches between each one.
- Add a little jam in the center of each cookie to fill the heart shape. Transfer the trays to the oven and bake cookies until lightly golden at the edges, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Use your thumb or a finger to gently press into each of the cookie dough balls diagonally toward the left side, then rotate your finger to press again on toward the right side, making a small heart shape.
- Take out of the oven, let cool on a cooling rack, and dust the top of the cookie with powdered sugar (if desired) before serving. Enjoy these cute heart cookies!
Thumbprint Cookie FAQs
The cookie base for thumbprint cookies is made from butter, sugar, egg and flour. The jam can range from strawberry jam to marmalade, or homemade fruit preserves. They are similar to Linzer cookies, and are super soft and buttery. Thumbprint cookies get their name from your making an indent with your thumb in the middle of the cookie and then filling it with jam.
Thumbprint cookies should be filled before baking. The jam will set as it bakes with the cookies making for the perfect bite when they are finished.
Thumbprint cookies can crack and that is okay; they will still taste delicious. An important tip to keep in mind is to make sure the cookie dough ball is perfectly smooth on the outside before gently pressing with your thumb to make the indent. Pressing too hard when making the thumbprint on the cookie can also cause the dough to crack if it wasn’t rolled into a smooth ball.
As seen in the pictures, the cookies flatten slightly, but the heart shape still holds a heart jam center. The cookies can flatten too much if you use butter with a very high fat content, like European butter. I recommend Land O Lakes or a quality American-style butter for these to hold their shape. Also, be sure to chill the dough thoroughly before rolling into balls.
These heart jam cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, or in the fridge for a week. They can also be frozen for up to 1 month.
Serving Suggestions
These thumbprint cookies are perfect to enjoy at Valentine’s Day or Christmas. Serve them as a sweet treat after trying one of my 25 best Valentine’s Day recipes or one of my 40+ best Christmas dinner recipes.
Round out your cookie tray with other favorites, like Italian S Cookies, Italian Christmas Cookies, or Chocolate Spice Cookies.
My Pro Tips
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients, especially for the butter and eggs. This ensures a soft and uniform cookie dough that bakes more evenly.
- Chill the cookie dough before baking. This makes sure the cookies hold their shape and don’t spread too much while baking.
- Do not over bake. You’ll need to keep an eye on them to ensure they don’t get too brown. I baked them for about 10-11 minutes to achieve a very soft, light golden brown on the edge. That way, they stay nice and soft. This is key to achieving the beautiful thumbprint cookie look and taste!
More Italian Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
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Thumbprint Cookie Recipe
Equipment
- hand mixer if you don't have a stand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup raspberry or strawberry jam, or your favorite jam
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two 11×17-inch cookie trays with parchment.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy using a hand mixer or stand mixer.
- Add the eggs on low speed one at a time until combined. Add vanilla and almond extracts, then mix on medium speed until well combined, about 5 minutes.
- Slowly add the flour to the mixture and mix until a dough forms. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until a semi-soft, sticky dough is formed.
- Transfer the dough to a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or longer if you prefer.
- Grease hands with a bit of oil. Divide the dough into 24 even pieces, then roll each into a ball. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet, staggering the rows of cookies and leaving about 1½ inches between each one.
- Grease your hands again and gently press your thumb or index finger into the dough diagonally toward the left side, then rotate your finger to press again toward the right side, making a heart shape. Fill the indents with your favorite jam.
- Transfer the trays to the oven and bake until lightly golden at the edges, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Remove the cookies from the oven, cool them on a cooling rack, and dust them with powdered sugar (if desired). Enjoy!
Notes
- Use quality American-style butter, not European. Butter with too high of a fat content will cause the cookies to spread more. I recommend Land O Lakes.
- Use room temperature ingredients, especially for the butter and eggs. This ensures a soft and uniform cookie dough that bakes more evenly.
- Chill the cookie dough before baking. This makes sure the cookies hold their shape and don’t spread too much while baking.
- Do not over bake. You’ll need to keep an eye on them to ensure they don’t get too brown. I baked them for about 10-11 minutes to achieve a very soft, light golden brown on the edge. That way, they stay nice and soft. This is key to achieving the beautiful thumbprint cookie look and taste!
- How to store: These heart jam cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, or in the fridge for a week.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Oh My!! Iโm not a great baker but this recipe was out of the ball park easy and accurate.
The cookies were soft and chewy as the recipe syas they will be
I am so happy you loved this recipe! Yes, they are easy to make~ and eat!
Iโm so sad. They flattened out. ๐ what did I do wrong? I kept them in fridge for almost an hour!
As seen on the pictures they do flatten a bit, but the heart shape should still hold! This can sometimes occur with the butter fat in the cookies. If you use a butter with very high butter fat like European butter then tend to flatten! I recommend Land O Lakes or similar for these. I am sorry! I hope they tasted amazing. You can also try an overnight in the fridge.
Mine completely flattened ๐ how sad
As seen on the pictures they do flatten a bit, but the heart shape should still hold! This can sometimes occur with the butter fat in the cookies. If you use a butter with very high butter fat like European butter then tend to flatten! I recommend Land O Lakes or similar for these. I am sorry! I hope they tasted amazing. You can also try an overnight in the fridge.
I LOVED these cookies!! They are not super sweet – just the right touch of sweetness and I love anything raspberry so used raspberry preserves which was delicious and red for Christmas. I also only used real vanilla bean and not the almond extract. Just personal preference, if you like almond flavoring Iโm sure itโs delicious. It was really great without it too!
YES! That is exactly why we love them as well.
I made these for my daughterโs 7th birthday party. We did a cute tea party theme and they were a hit! So perfect and tastes amazing!
Cute idea for a birthday party! Happy everyone loved them.
I adore this recipe and have done lots of fun variations for filling. Elena, you are the best! I just adore you! Blueberry, apricot, lemon curdโฆ they are all great and Iโm obsessed with the almond flavor! XOXO
Thank you! So happy to hear that you love them! Wow, all the variations- so yumm!
Love these! I think my dough could have chilled a bit longerโฆbut they are delicious and cute! Thanks for sharing!
You are welcome! Yes, sometimes it depends on what kind of butter you use (and the butter fat content) for how long you chill! Happy you loved them.
Super easy to make and delicious. I would for our taste do 3/4 tsp of almond extract as strong flavor. Love the ease of being able to make something fancy and yummy in a short amount of time. Easy to have kids help you make too.
Yes, adjust to taste! Happy you loved and had fun with the kids.