BB: Jam Thumbprint Cookies

When I say I’ve been wanting to make these cookies for over 5 years, I’m not kidding.  Seriously, I printed this recipe off of FoodNetwork long before I knew the power of Ina’s recipes…long before I purchased any of her cookbooks…long before I was blogging…long before blogging was “in.”  The printed recipe somehow got lost in the shuffle of paperwork, made the move from our old house to this one, and periodically reappears in said paperwork when I’m looking for something or sorting through the “stuff.” For whatever reason, the recipe has yet to make it to the kitchen and into my rotation and I subsequently forget about it until I open up Family Style and remind myself that I need to make these cookies.  It never got done until this week.

And now I’m kicking myself for waiting so long because these were some of the best cookies I’ve ever eaten.  And if you love shortbread as much as I do, you’ll agree with me. It took all I had in me not to keep eating these yesterday!  I wasn’t too sure about rolling the dough balls in coconut but I’m so glad I decided to because the toasted coconut added such a depth of flavor to the shortbread and jam that I was overwhelmed with delight.  As for the jam…of course there are tons of different flavors you can use.  Ina recommends raspberry and apricot, neither of which I had so I used strawberry and orange marmalade.  Now, I’m a full-on strawberry jam kind of girl but honestly, I didn’t love it in these cookies and I feel like the flavor almost got lost in the shortbread and coconut.  The marmalade on the other hand, was outstanding!  I know that some lemon or orange zest in the dough would be fantastic since the citrus jam “pops” amongst the other flavors.

Many many thanks to Cassandra of Foodie with Little Thyme for forcing me into finally making these fantastic little cookies!

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

source: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Family Style

• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
• 7 ounces sweetened flaked coconut
• Raspberry and/or apricot jam

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until they are just combined and then add the vanilla. Separately, sift together the flour and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix until the dough starts to come together. Dump on a floured board and roll together into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
3. Roll the dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. (If you have a scale they should each weigh 1 ounce.) Dip each ball into the egg wash and then roll it in coconut. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet and press a light indentation into the top of each with your finger. Drop 1/4 teaspoon of jam into each indentation. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the coconut is a golden brown. Cool and serve.