Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies (2025)

Table of Contents

Substitutions and Thumbprint Cookie Variations

• Butter: I prefer to bake with salted butter, but unsalted works too. Just be sure to add ½ teaspoon of salt to the dough. Plant-based butter sticks should also work, but keep in mind that I have not tested any butter substitutes with this recipe.
• Eggs - This is an important ingredient in making the shortbread dough, so it isn't a great idea to use an egg substitute. If you want to do your own recipe testing, feel free! For tips and suggestions, read my article on Egg Substitutions for Baking.
• White Sugar: To cut down on the calories of your cookies, feel free to use a cup-for-cup granulated sugar substitute. Monkfruit sugar is a good option.
• All-Purpose Flour: If you'd like to make gluten free, substitute with a cup-for-cup gluten free all purpose flour.

How to Make Raspberry Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

1. Make the dough. You can chill the cookie dough for 1 hour to prevent them from spreading.

2. Portion and shape the thumbprints. Use your thumb or the round handle of a wooden spoon to gently press the center of each ball of dough.

3. fill the thumbprint cookies with raspberry jam.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.

Liz's Tips for the Best Thumbprints

1. Chill the dough:To prevent cracking of your cookie dough, we recommend chilling the dough for an hour.
2. Make ahead of time: Prepare the cookie dough up to 24hrs ahead of time. Makes holiday baking a lot easier when you can plan ahead.

Storage

Storing: We recommend storing these cookies in anairtight containerat room temperature or in the refrigerator. They're best eaten within a week, but can last for a little longer.

Do they need to be refrigerated? It isn't necessary to refrigerate these thumbprint cookies, as there is only a tiny bit of jam on the cookie. If you expect to keep these cookies longer than 2 weeks, then I recommend refrigerating them.

Freezing: After baking and cooling, you can freeze thumbprint cookies in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.

Freezing the unbaked cookie dough is not recommended. I froze a batch of dough and found that the cookies cracked when baked later.

Why did my thumbprint cookies go flat?

Flat thumbprint cookies are likely a result of butter that was too warm. The simplest way to avoid that is to chill the dough before baking.

Why do thumbprint cookies crack?

To prevent cracked cookies press very gently when creating the indent with your thumb or a like tool. For perfect circle indents use the back of a teaspoon or the handle of a wooden spoon.

What do thumbprint cookies taste like?

Depending on the type of dough and the filling, the flavor of thumbprints will vary. This recipe is for raspberry shortbread thumbprint cookies, so the flavor is buttery and sweet. Think, lightly buttered toast with raspberry jam.