| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Prep: | 35 min |
| Inactive: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 4 dozen |
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raspberry jam or jelly
- 1 tablespoon Chambord or kirsch
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter 2 large baking sheets.
- In a small bowl, combine the jam and Chambord. Stir to combine.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk to blend.
- In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in the egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 2 additions and beat just until moist clumps form. Gather the dough together into a ball.
- Pinch off the dough to form 1-inch balls. Place on the prepared baking sheets, spacing 1-inch apart. Use your floured index finger or 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon to create depressions in the center of each ball. Fill each indentation with nearly 1/2 teaspoon of the jam mixture. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
- Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 48 servings |
| Calories | 79 |
| Total Fat | 4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 10 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
| Protein | 1 g |
| Cholesterol | 18 mg |
| Sodium | 22 mg |
Reviews
I’ve been making these for several years, the only change is that I make them with several jams. Always requested by my friend. Perfect recipe.
I did add more lemon zest and changed up the filling second time around, but the recipe is a keeper and a great starting point for alternate versions
Nice light lemon flavor for my first attempt at thumbprint cookies. Mistakenly used 1 tsp measuring spoon to make the indent so they are not as small and pretty as I hoped. Next batch, next Christmas will be prettier haha.
I made these just as written. They are delightful. Such a special cookie. I’ve made a version of these every year for Christmas but those did not contain lemon. I like this one even better. I will use Emeril’s version from now on every Christmas and special occasions. I did roll mine in cane sugar for an added sparkle. And I used strawberry jam. Just so delicious!
Very delicate, buttery with a mellow lemon hint. Absolutely delicious. I used two jam mixes as an experiment after reading other reviews. I mixed seedless frozen raspberry jam with Grand Marnier for half batch and same jam with Kirschwasser (Cherry liquor made in Germany used in Black Forest cake) for the other half. I had two tasters and the Grand Marnier won by very slight edge. The Kirschwasser cookies were fantastic but a little boozy. I believe it may have been my mixing ratio, so will definitely try again. Highly recommend these cookies for ladies luncheon or brunch since they display festive and special. Just soooo good with coffee and tea. But football fans love them, too.
These cookies are great. They are nice and buttery and easy to make. To make them a little more interesting I rolled the balls in egg white and then in pecan chips. It worked out perfectly. (Got that idea from another recipe.). Will definitely make again.
Excellent – a christmas favorite for us. Bright flavors but not too sweet.
My absolute favorite! Wonderful texture and flavor and not to sweet, and the combo of tart lemony taste and sweet berry jam is amazing!
I’ve been making this recipe for a few years. It’s a winner and my daughters favorite cookie! To the person that did the strawberry and grand mariner I’m totally trying that one!
These are my go to cookies! I bake them several times a year, usually following the recipe exactly. Every once in a while I’m really craving lemon and I add lemon curd instead of the jam. I’m about to remake these again. Love this recipe!