March 10, 2010

TWD- Thumbprint Cookies (late!)


First and foremost I'd like to thank Mike for choosing these adorable little cookies (which were still small even though I made them much bigger than Dorie recommended). Sweet carbs + jam almost equals heaven to my husband so needless to say these were a hit. They're also sans egg so I'm adding them to my repertoire for my sweet niece who is allergic to eggs. She doesn't get many cookies or baked goods so I'm excited to let her try these.

Now I have a little list of things to be excited about I'm sharing. It's been a good week (full of things besides blogging, obviously- sorry!)

+Spring- the AZ weather has been so lovely! Rainy, sunny, back and forth. I love it. I always hated the end of winter when we lived in UT and with summer around the corner I'm going to try to remember this perfect Spring!

+A new toy for me- CSNStores contacted me and wanted to know if I wanted to review something from their enormous family of websites. They have kids beds (I'm loving the four poster- maybe someday for my baby girl), furniture, and cookware- oh the cookware! I'm dying to try this beautiful new pan that will go from stove to oven. New recipes to come. Oh I can't wait! I can't tell you how fun it was browsing and browsing. I love shopping, in stores, online, whatever. Somebody stop me!

+My baby is almost six month (scary, huh?) and her nursery is almost done. My little man keeps saying, "how about we paint..." just about anything. We've been painting a lot. We got her dresser moved in and it's so pretty I want it for myself. Pictures to come as soon as her room is tidied up. And my Baby Strawberry is *almost* sleeping through the night. Yay. That's certainly a topic I'll welcome advice on, particularly from those of you like minded readers who are too soft to let your baby cry much. I read a little Babywise but that's as far as we got there...

+My wonderful cousin is coming into town this weekend with her girlfriends for a sunny springbreak. I'm so excited! She's talented and sweet and I'm hoping we get to do some cooking (and that my new pan arrives in time!)


Thumbprint Cookies
{printable recipe here}
adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking
find the original recipe at Mike's

1 1/2 cups finely ground almonds (I just ground mine in the FP and then mixed in the flour)
2 cups all-purpose flower
2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
Powdered sugar (for dusting)
1 Cup of jam (I used Blackberry- Strawberry or Lemon Curd next time I think)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with silicone mats.

Working with a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the extracts and beat to blend. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the nut-flower mixture, mixing only until it is incorporated into the dough.

Use a small scoop to portion out the dough and roll each cookie in your hands if a more uniform look is desired Place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Use the pinkie of your hand (or the end of a wooden spoon) to poke a hole in the center of each cookie. Be careful not to go all the way down to the baking sheet.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The cookies should be only slightly colored–they may even look underdone, which is fine: they should not be overbaked. When the cookies are baked, remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the cookies rest on the sheets for 2 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks with a wide metal spatula and sifting confectioner’s sugar over them.

Repeat with the remaining dough, remembering to cool the baking sheets before baking the next batch.

Boil the jam in a microwave safe bowl and fill the indentations of all the cookies with enough of the hot jam to come level with the tops. Cool to room temperature. Watch your husband flip out when he tries these. Ah, bliss.

10 comments:

  1. Yay for cookies a hubby loves! They look great. And having lived in AZ for 5 years, I'm a little jealous of your weather. We'll talk again in August! ;)

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  2. You always make such tempting treats!

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  3. looks yummy indeed..creatively yummy

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  4. Those look great! How fun to get to review something!

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  5. What beautiful thumbprints - perfect for spring! I am envious of your lovely green grass. Ours (in Connecticut) is still winter drab.

    Baby will sleep through soon! My second did at 7 months (my first did at 10 weeks, so I was spoiled). I found Dr. Ferber's book helpful for understanding baby sleep needs and habits. I don't like crying babies either, but when they figure out how to put themselves back to sleep at night they are so much better rested. Good luck!

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  6. Oh, I bet these were divine with blackberry jam. I'll have to give that a try next time.

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  7. I used to love these when I was younger, but I had totally forgotten about them!

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  8. Look at all of that lush green grass! I'm so jealous - it'll be months before mine looks anything like that :) Great job on the cookies - glad to hear they were a hit with the hubs!

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  9. Your thumbprints look totally delish! :-)

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  10. Your thumbprints look totally delish! :-)

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