Almond Thumbprint Cookies - 1986 Winner
Submitted by lowel
Award-winning almond shortbread cookies with a buttery dent filled with homemade butterscotch frosting and topped with chopped pistachios. A 1986 classic.
YIELD
48 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
15 minREADY
45 minThese prize-winning thumbprints earn their title with a melt-in-your-mouth almond shortbread base and a glossy pool of butterscotch frosting in the center, finished with a sprinkle of bright green pistachios.
The trick is double-denting: press once before the first bake, then again mid-bake to create a deep well that cradles the frosting.
That homemade butterscotch frosting, made by boiling butter and brown sugar, beats any store-bought filling.
Pro Tips
- Grated almonds: Use unblanched almonds and grate them on a box grater for a sandy texture that makes the dough extra tender and nutty.
- Double dent method: Make the thumb indent before baking, then press again at the 8-minute mark when the dough is set but still warm enough to shape.
- Frosting consistency: Let the butterscotch mixture cool for the full 15 minutes before adding powdered sugar, or it’ll be too runny to hold its shape in the cookies.
Ingredients
Directions
- Heat oven to 350℉ (180℃). For cookies, sift flour, sugar and salt into bowl.
Cut in 1 cup butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Blend in almonds and vanilla. Work mixture with fingers until a ball of dough is formed.
Then shape into 1-inch balls.
- Place balls on greased cookie sheets; make a depression in center of each cookie.
Bake about 8 minutes; remove from oven. Dent again and bake about 8 minutes longer; cool.
- For frosting, blend 6 tablespoons butter, half-and-half and brown sugar in saucepan.
Boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly; remove from heat.
Cool about 15 minutes, then stir in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla.
Beat until smooth and thick.
- Fill depressions in cookies with butterscotch frosting and sprinkle frosting with nuts.
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