Blueberry Jam Thumbprints

I decided to make a cookie for Jo to take to her buds at work…and since Jo has this wonderful Blueberry-Lime Jam, I thought I’d do thumbprints! The cookie itself is very butter cookie/sugar cookie-esque. It’s got the flakiness of the butter cookie, but all the goodness of a sugar cookie. This recipe, for me, made about 20 cookies (+1 scout cookie), plus a little dough for quality control (naturally). Feel free to double the recipe if you’re looking to serve more peeps.

Ingredients:

1 C all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp salt

1 stick (4 oz) Earth Balance Vegan Butter, softened if mixing by hand

1/4 C sugar

1 TBSP canola oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Jam of choice (blueberry, raspberry, cherry, etc)

Optional add-ins: poppy seeds, finely chopped almonds or

other nut

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream the butter with the sugar, until just incorporated – either by hand or with a mixer. Add 1 TBSP canola oil and vanilla extract, stir to mix in.

2. Add in dry ingredients (flour and salt), and stir until just combined.

 

3. Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls and place 2 inches apart (they will spread a little). Using your pinky finger, or the handle side of a wooden/plastic spoon (the one you used to mix the dough will work fine), make indentions in the rounds. Dip your pinky or handle into flour if it becomes to sticky. Make the indention deep, but don’t poke through the bottom.

4. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes (depending on how liz-lovely you like your cookies). Remove and repoke the centers (for this you’ll definitely want to use a handle – too hot for little pinkies). Fill the centers with jam – do not overfill, you won’t use much..maybe about 1/8-1/4 tsp per cookie.

5. Return cookies to oven and bake an additional 3-5 minutes, until the edges golden. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy with a cup of Ceylon or other beverage of choice!

*Note: Store in an airtight container, and these babies will keep for up to 2 weeks – though I don’t think you could resist them for that long.

Happy Baking!