Maybe your looking for new inspiration. Every day in December we will feature a different idea for you. These will be a mix of baked goods, sides, main dishes and cocktails. Who doesn't need a good festive beverage to get you through the season. Think of this as your advent calendar of holiday ideas.
The season in general is full of iconic dishes and deserts that we only enjoy during this magical time of the year. There are many dishes that bring back memories from childhood. This collection of dishes are a collection of personal recipes along with ideas taken from others worthy of a share. Enjoy, have a happy holiday season and Merry Christmas.
Every year there's one cookie in particular that my wife HAS to make, almond thumb prints. They are my favorite. They should be your go-to cookie recipes throughout the year and people especially love them around Christmas time.
Best part is they only take 7 ingredients to make!
Ingredients:
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Unsalted Butter
- Granulated sugar
- Almond extract
- Raspberry or Blackberry jam
- Powdered sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a mixing bowl whisk together flour and salt, set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, blend together butter and sugar until combined (it will take a minute or two since the butter is cold.) Mix in almond extract then add in flour blend until mixture comes together (it will take a bit of mixing since the butter is cold, so be patient, it will seem really dry at first).
- Shape dough into 1-inch balls, about 1 Tbsp each, and place 2-inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Make a small indentation with thumb or forefinger in each cookie (large enough to fit 1/4 – 1/2 tsp of jam). Fill each with 1/4 – 1/2 tsp jam. Note that if jam is stiff and clumpy you may want to stir first so it spreads better.
- Chill in refrigerator 20 minutes (or freezer for 10 minutes).
- Bake in preheated oven 14 – 18 minutes.
- Cool several minutes on baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool (at this point you can add a little more jam if you’d like to, it just won’t be set like the other is).
- Drizzle cookies with glaze when when cool. Store cookies in an airtight container.
For the glaze:
Whisk all glaze ingredients together in a small mixing bowl, adding enough water to reach desired consistency. Pour or spoon mixture into a sandwich size resealable bag, cut a small tip from one corner and drizzle over cookies.
**Tip -Only use real butter. Margarine will NOT for these cookies. Also if cookies are cracking around edges when pressed every time, try re-rolling the balls once more then pressing again. The warmth of your hands will soften them up a bit making them crack less and If you only have one baking sheet be sure to wash and cool between batches.