87 thumbprint cookie recipes

Birds in the Nest cookies with brown sugar dough rolled in ground nuts and filled with jelly. A thumbprint cookie recipe passed down through generations of holiday baking.

Chocolate thumbprint cookies with a double-chocolate base and a creamy peanut butter filling in the center. A bakery-style cookie that looks fancier than it cooks.

Buttery thumbprint cookies filled with jelly or preserves and rolled in powdered sugar. A tender shortbread-style cookie with chopped nuts and vanilla.

Jewel cookies (thumbprint cookies) rolled in chopped pecans, baked with a center depression, and filled with jelly or a maraschino cherry. A vintage Christmas cookie tin staple.

Italian nut ball cookies coated in chopped pistachios with a jelly-filled center. Almond extract and vanilla give these thumbprint cookies classic Italian bakery flavor.

Cream cheese butter cookies with a raspberry jam thumbprint. Tender, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread enriched with cream cheese. No leavening, no spreading.

Frosted pecan cuplets, bite-sized butter cookies rolled in chopped pecans with a tinted buttercream center. A festive thumbprint cookie for holiday cookie trays.

Maraschino heart cookies with a chocolate chip thumbprint center topped with a cherry. Heart-shaped Valentine's Day cookies that are as pretty as they are sweet.

Christmas surprise cookies: brown sugar drop cookies with a hidden jam center and a dusting of sweet coconut on top. A vintage holiday thumbprint for the cookie tin.

Classic walnut-crusted thumbprint cookies with tender shortbread base and jewel-toned jelly centers perfect for cookie swaps and holiday gift boxes.

Jalapeño, raspberry and pecans blend beautifully in this thumbprint cookie from Anna Marie Bleich of California, Mo.

Chocolate thumbprint cookies studded with mini chocolate chips and filled with a creamy peanut butter center. The chocolate-peanut butter combo makes these vanish from any cookie tray.

Chocolate and caramel give this thumbprint cookie from Kathy T. Preston of Milwaukee a different twist.

Tender cream cheese cookies with lemon zest and a thumbprint of apricot filling, finished with a dusting of powdered sugar.

Kolachkies are flaky Polish cream cheese cookies with thumbprint centers filled with apricot jam. A buttery holiday tradition that melts in your mouth.

Lele Party Cookies are thumbprint cookies rolled in egg white and chopped nuts, then filled with colorful jelly. A buttery, nutty holiday cookie perfect for Christmas trays.