Winston Cookies

These little thumbprint cookies prove you don’t need a mountain of sugar to bake something worth reaching for. Lightly sweetened with brown sugar and scented with vanilla, they bake up golden with a tender, shortbread-like crumb.

The trick is pressing a dent into each ball twice during baking so you get a neat little well that holds a spoonful of raspberry jam. That bright berry sweetness against the buttery cookie is the whole show.

With only seven ingredients and 30 minutes start to finish, this is a batch you can pull together on a weeknight without breaking a sweat.

Kitchen Tips

• Use the rounded end of a wooden spoon handle for perfectly shaped wells
• Don’t skip the second dent at the 5-minute mark; the dough puffs back up during the first bake
• Fill with jam while the cookies are still warm so it settles into the indent
• Swap raspberry for any sugar-free preserve you like: apricot and strawberry both work well