1988 1St Place: Fay Kuhn's Thumbprints
Submitted by CJCAT
Award-winning thumbprint cookies with buttery dough rolled in finely chopped nuts, pressed with your thumb, and filled with ruby raspberry jam: elegant holiday baking that won first place.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
80 minREADY
100 minFay Kuhn didn’t just bake thumbprints, she won competitions with them.
Her secret? Chilled dough that holds its shape, an egg white wash for serious nut adhesion, and that signature thumb-press divot filled with bright raspberry preserves.
The result is a cookie that’s crisp-edged, tender-centered, and looks like you spent way more time than the simple ingredient list suggests.
Perfect for cookie exchanges, holiday platters, or proving you’ve got skills.
Pro Tips
- Refrigerate dough for at least an hour so balls hold their shape and don’t spread flat
- Press thumbs firmly but not all the way through to create a good jam well
- Fill cookies after baking and cooling to prevent jam from burning or bubbling over
Ingredients
Directions
- Beat together butter and sugar in a mixer bowl. Add vanilla and egg yolk.
Mix well.
Mix flour and salt, add to butter mixture and mix well. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Heat oven to 325℉ (160℃). Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Beat egg white lightly in a small bowl.
Put nuts in another small bowl. Dip each ball into egg white, then roll in nuts.
Put balls 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
Press thumb in the center of each to make an indentation.
- Bake until light golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Fill indentation with a small amount of raspberry jam.
Comments