Assorted Thumbprint Cookies with homemade Marmalade
I haven't been sleeping because I keep thinking about what I should bake next. Last night I was up to 2am just thinking of what and how I should make these cookies. All the recipes I saw were with store bought jelly and just plain butter cookies....they didn't appeal to me.
Here comes this recipe: It's a combination of your basic almond cookie with my own slight twist. The jams, I was able to make fast, with fruit I already had on hand, Blueberry, Strawberry and Blackberry. These sweet crunchy almond cookies will keep you wanting more...
...makes 48 cookies
First make the dough
Ingredients
1 cup of Butter (I used sweet cream butter, it was on sale)
2/3 cup granulated Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract
2 cups Flour
1/2 cup crushed Almonds
Directions
Use room temperature butter. Combine sugar, butter and mix in stand mixer until creamy. Scrape off sides and add 1/2 tsp almond extract. Mix thoroughly. Add flour 1 cup at a time, scraping sides until a dough forms. Add crushed Almonds. Dough should be crumbly. Lift dough out and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Make the Jelly
Ingredients
1/2 pint Blueberries
5 large cut up Strawberries
1/2 pint Blackberries
1-2 tsp Water
2-4 tsp sugar
While dough hardens, make the jelly. I made 3 different kinds for this recipe but its all the same concept. Take berries, 1-2tsp of water and 2tsp sugar in a small pot. Bring to a slow boil, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Simmer for about 10min until berries pop and pot fills with juice. You can speed up the process by squishing the berries with your spatula. You'll see it become thicker. Keep stirring until you are able to move the mixture to one side of the pot and it stay. Pour into little bowls and set aside. You can put in fridge until you are ready to use it.
Assemble
Take the dough out and unwrap, it should be hard but manageable. Take a small piece off and roll it into the palm of your hand making about a 1" ball. Then use your thumb to make a print in the center. The edges will crack. Fill each thumbprint with 1/4 tsp of jelly mixture or to your liking. Continue this process until dough has been used up.
Bake at 350F for 17min or until slightly brown.
Let cool in pan for 1 min then transfer to cooling rack. Drizzle with almond glaze once completely cooled.
Almond Glaze
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp almond extract
3 tsp water
Combine ingredients and mix until smooth
Drizzle over cookies
Eat
