These are my first Thumbprint Cookies! And I deserve a “Congratulations!” since they were so good! “Are you sure it’s the first time you’re baking these?” asked my husband. Well, thumbprint cookies are quite famous in patisseries in Turkey just like in other countries, and you can see them with various fillings, but they are a bit underrated. People don’t prefer to bake them at home, and these are not sold as much as other cookies. To be honest, I find most of these cookies sold at patisseries too dry and they are not my first choice when shopping. I think thumbprint cookies are not originally from Turkish cuisine and that’s why most pastry shops are not very good at making them.
I must thank a blogger I admire for inspiring and encouraging me to bake thumbprint cookies. I was completely impressed when I saw cherry ginger thumbprint cookies by Sommer from A Spicy Perspective! Upon seeing her crowned jewels, a very well deserved name given to the cookies by her, I started to make plans for making them.
I didn’t have cherry preserves or crystallized ginger. And I didn’t want to buy them, you know my choice is always homemade foods.
Finally when I was making Lemon Jam the other night, I found a brilliant idea! Why not make Sommer’s thumbprint cookies with my homemade lemon jam? Remember the homemade lemon jam I posted yesterday? I could even add a little lemon zest into the cookie dough! I LOVE tangy flavors!
It was definitely great fun to make thumbprint cookies! My favorite part was pressing on cookie balls with my thumb! I’m sure my son will love it too when he grows up and starts to help me in the kitchen! We still have about 6 weeks for his birth, but I’ve already started to imagine him baking with me!
I thought the filling, lemon jam in my case, was added after cookies were baked, but Sommer told in her recipe to fill them beforehand. And I did so.
I think cookies get chewier when you bake them filled with preserves or jams.
I wanted to have a colorful touch on my thumbprint cookies, so I used these sprinkles on them. Don’t you think they made my cookies cuter?
However I made a mistake and added sprinkles before baking, so some sprinkles sank into the jam! It wasn’t a fatal mistake though! I added a little more sprinkles on each cookie when they are still hot and the problem was solved! So it’s better to add sprinkles right after you take them from oven.
If you love tangy and zesty flavors as much as I do, you should try thumbprint cookies with lemon zest and jam!
Other Lemon Desserts
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Lemon Thumbprint Cookies
Zesty and tangy thumbprint cookies with lemon zest and jam!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 30 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp lemon zest, grated
- ⅓ cup lemon jam
- 2 tbsp sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175C.
- Mix butter, sugar, salt and lemon zest until smooth.
- Add in flour and mix with a spatula until combined well.
- Cover and chill it for 30 minutes.
- Line cookie sheets with baking paper.
- Make 1 inch balls from dough and place them on baking paper leaving enough space between each.
- Press on each cookie with your thumb to make dents.
- Place ⅓ tsp lemon jam in these dents.
- Bake them for 20 minutes.
- Add sprinkles on each when they are still warm and cool them on a wire rack.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 115
- Sugar: 6.2 g
- Sodium: 41 mg
- Fat: 6.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 14.1 g
- Protein: 1.1 g
- Cholesterol: 16.2 mg
Keywords: lemon thumbprint cookies, thumbprint cookies
Lucy says
These are so pretty - I love the idea of adding sprinkles for some extra cheery colour. The lemon jam sounds delicious!
Zerrin says
Thank you Lucy! Sprinkles make things cuter, don't they? I love them!
Ozlem's Turkish Table says
Merhaba Zerrin 🙂 these lovely cookies look soo inviting 🙂 I am salivating over the lemon jam and this one is a keeper too, eline saglik!
Zerrin says
Teşekkürler Özlem! These cookies didn't live very long! You must try it!
Sommer@ASP says
Oh , I'm so honored to be your inspiration for these lovely cookies! Wish I could gobble them all down! 🙂
Zerrin says
Hi Sommer! Glad that you love these! I must thank you for inspiring me! I will try your version with cherry preserve and ginger too!
Samah(Good Cooks) says
Gorgeous stunning photos, love thump cookies as well my kids, you've inspired me to try it with lemon jam and zest, love the tangy and sour flavors in the sweets.
Zerrin says
Samah, you should definitely try lemon zest in its dough, you will love it!
Bam's Kitchen says
Beautiful thumbprint cookies. I am delighted you made these with your delicious lemon jam. Your photography is just stunning and love the shots of you putting the jam into the cookie-fantastic!
Zerrin says
Lemon jam is just perfect with these cookies! They have a very nice smell too! Thanks for your nice words about photography here. It's my husband's success!
Reeni says
I bet your son will LOVE making cookies with you Zerrin! Especially ones as beautiful and irresistible as this!
Zerrin says
Thank you Reeni! How I get excited when I imagine him in the kitchen with me!
Julia | JuliasAlbum.com says
Pretty cookies! Love the dripping lemon jam photo! lemon cookies with lemon jam sound absolutely delicious! Pinned!
Zerrin says
Thank you Julia for stopping by! That photo is my favorite too! It was so fun to make these thumbprints!
Monet says
Congrats on your first thumbprint cookies! They certainly do look beautiful! I wish I had a few to help me get through the afternoon. I'm tired! Thank you so much for sharing!
Zerrin says
Thank you Monet!I wish I could send you some! I guess you get tired quicker because of the last months in your pregnancy, just like me! A kind of sweet tiredness, isn't it?
Liz says
Hi Zerrin, these look delicious and I really want to make them! Can you let me know how much 2 sticks of butter would be in grams? Thank you!
Zerrin says
Hi Liz, you will love making these cookies! 2 sticks of butter equal to 226g. Would love to hear the result when you try!
Justine@cookingandbeer says
Yum! I absolutely love thumbprint cookies and this lemon addition has my mouth watering. Looks delicious!
Zerrin says
Hi Justine! Thank you! Lemon zest in its dough gives it a very nice flavor and lemon jam topping completes it!
Nancy/SpicieFoodie says
Congratulations indeed Zerrin! Your cookies and photos are so gorgeous. I haven't made thumprints but your recipe is so tempting and sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing:)
Zerrin says
Thank you Nancy! I was waiting to hear that:) You should try making thumbprints, it's really fun! I'll making different variations!
Rosie @ Blueberry Kitchen says
Your cookies look absolutely delicious!
Zerrin says
Thank you Rosie! They were really so yummy!
Rosa says
They look really tempting! I bet they would not last long at my place...
Cheers,
Rosa
Zerrin says
We served these cookies to some friends and each wanted to learn if we had any left 🙂
Yii-Huei says
Amazing pictures! I love lemon biscuits 🙂
Zerrin says
Hi Yii-Huei, thanks for visiting! Lemon biscuits or cookies are alwys great with tea or coffee!
Dotty says
In Australia, these biscuits are called "Jam Drops".
They are really nice when you use raspberry or strawberry jam in the thumb print and then a pinch of dessicated coconut placed on top of the jam before baking.
Zerrin says
Hi Dotty! I like the name Jam Drops! Filling these with berry jams would be perfect! And topping them with coconut is a great idea too!