Easy Linzer Thumbprints Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Mix butter and powdered sugar together with a rubber spatula until creamy. Add vanilla extract, almond extract, salt, and egg yolk. Mix with the spatula. Add flour and blend until just combined.
• Use a sorbet scoop to portion dough into 1/2-ounce (1-tablespoon) balls. Roll balls in a plate of white sugar to coat; roll again between your palms. Place several inches apart on a silicone-lined baking sheet. Flatten balls lightly with your fingers.
• To make shortbread cookies with a little jam, poke a well into each cookie using the end of a thick wooden spoon dusted with powdered sugar or using one of your fingers. Fill cookies with fruit jam. Tap baking sheet against the counter to let jam settle.
• Bake in the preheated oven until tops are barely blonde and bottoms are slightly golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack before icing.
• Meanwhile, mix powdered sugar with a little milk until you have a consistency that will hold its shape when piped. Pipe icing on top of cookies in a zigzag pattern. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.
• For a more jam-forward cookie, press your thumb into the cookies to make large, shallow indentations. Spoon in jam. Tap baking sheet against the counter.
• Bake until not quite golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let rest on pan for 5 minutes before transferring a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Mix margarine with sugars in large bowl. Mix in eggs and vanilla until blended. Gradually add in flour mixture; mix just until blended. Stir in almonds and lemon peel. Drop by tablespoonfuls on ungreased baking sheets, 2 inches (5 cm) apart.
• Bake 7 minutes or until edges are golden. Immediately make an indentation in centres of cookies with the back of a round measuring spoon. Cool cookies on sheets for 2 minutes on a wire rack; remove cookies from sheets and cool completely.
• Sprinkle with icing sugar, then fill indentations evenly with jam; about a half teaspoon each.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Beat the butter, granulated sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add half of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Knead a few times by hand to bring the dough together.
• Roll teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and place about 1/2 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Make an indentation in the center of each ball with a small measuring spoon or the back of a pen. Fill each indentation with jam (a scant 1/8 teaspoon).
• Bake until the edges of the cookies are golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 2 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
• In another bowl, whip the butter and the sugar with a hand-held mixer until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until just combined. Slowly beat in the dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing just until incorporated.
• Scoop the dough into 1-inch balls with a cookie or ice cream scoop and roll in sugar. Place about 2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Press a thumbprint into the center of each ball, about 1/2-inch deep. Fill each indentation with about 3/4 teaspoon jam.
• Bake cookies until the edges are golden, about 15 minutes. (For even color, rotate the pans from top to bottom about halfway through baking.) Cool cookies on the baking sheets. Serve.
• Store cookies in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days.

Steps:

• Beat butter and sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in 1/2 cup flour, the ground almonds, and cinnamon. Mix in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until the mixture becomes a slightly stiff dough.
• Shape the dough into a ball; divide it in half. Wrap both halves in wax paper or plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about one hour.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough into a sheet 1/8 inch thick. With a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut as many circles from the sheet as you can. Knead the leftover scraps of dough into a ball and roll it out again into a 1/8 inch sheet. Cut out more circles. You should now have about 12 circles.
• Arrange cookies on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch of space between them. Refrigerate while working with remaining dough.
• Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the other half of the dough, but after placing the second batch on the baking sheet, cut out the center of each circle with a 1/2 inch cookie cutter.
• Bake cookies in preheated oven until light brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes.
• Spread a thin coating of jam on each of the cookie rounds. Set a cutout cookie on top of each, pressing the two together so they make a sandwich. Spoon a dab of jam into the opening of each tart and sprinkle the tops with confectioners' sugar before serving.