Walnut Thumbprint Cookies

The days of summer vacation are fast approaching and the children have been busy bees preparing for their Summer Show at school! Every day for the past two weeks, the twinkling of little girl voices practicing songs and the twirling of dance moves have been spotted around corners or in the backyard or from the rear view mirror while driving.

There is a day show for the older children and the Kindergarten classes prepared their show for night. After the night show, the Kindergarten teachers prepared a special video for the parents of all the photos taken throughout their first year at school. It will be a full day for us tomorrow!

Lana just reminded me today that I had checked off that little box on some passing note saying I would contribute to the festivities by bringing cookies. Oops! What should we make?

“Chocolate chip cookies, of course!”, Lana shouted. I figured this may have been all of her friends’ ideas also. As yummy as they may be, no one wants a dessert table full of only one type of cookie (well, maybe the Kindergarten kids wouldn’t mind so much.)

After much debating, we decided on Walnut Thumbprints. I promised Lana that she would like them even though apricot jam over chocolate was quite a hard sell. Lana and Sophia helped roll and press the cookie balls and I filled them with jam to bake. They taste as delicious as they look!

Here is the recipe:

Walnut Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
Jar of jam (whatever flavor your heart desires)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.
Beat in the egg and vanilla.
4. On a low speed, add flour mixture.
5. Put walnuts in shallow bowl. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and then roll in nuts. Place 2 inched apart on baking sheets.
6. Make a thumb impression in the center of each cookie. Spoon jam in each print.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden around the edges. Cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack
8. ENJOY!

   

*TIP* for cooking with little kids!


I prepared all the ingredients ahead of time in separate bowls. The girls were able to help add the ingredients with a minimum amount of mess and it made for a quicker, more enjoyable baking experience (for all of us)!