Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
Jam Drops (Thumbprint Cookies) Recipe
Jam Drops! Vanilla shortbread biscuits with a dollop of jam baked within the center, these old school favourites are also called Thumbprint Cookies. Similar to your nana used to make them! Although I feel I’m a bit of extra beneficiant with the jam. 🙂
You know the way folks write about how there’s sooo many issues you’ll be able to bake with simply flour, sugar, butter and eggs, however when you must bake one thing proper now with out going to the outlets, you simply can’t assume what to make?
After all, it must be one thing fast and straightforward, universally adored by everybody, and bonus factors if seems fairly.
Effectively, the following time you’re in that scenario, Jam Drops are your reply! (Don’t attempt to inform me you don’t have a jar of jam in your pantry…). This old-fashioned favorite is a buttery shortbread cookie with a dollop of jam baked within the center, it’s a mix that simply works, is easy to make and cherished by all. Why aren’t we making Jam Drops extra usually??
Right here’s what you must make Jam Drops. The cookie is a cross between melt-in-your-mouth buttery shortbread cookies and basic vanilla biscuits. I mix the 2 as a result of I really feel like shortbread cookies are a bit of too sandy-crumbly for this form of cookie, whereas vanilla cookies are a bit of crisper than what I need.
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Jam – Any flavour you need! Strawberry and raspberry are frequent (strawberry is pictured), apricot can be well-liked. No matter you utilize, and particularly if it’s from the fridge, give it a great combine beforehand to loosen it up so it swimming pools properly within the dent. (Microwave gently if crucial however make sure it’s at room temperature earlier than you utilize it, else it can soften the butter).
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Unsalted butter, softened – Use unsalted slightly than salted butter, as the quantity of salt in butter varies from model to model. Soften it to room temperature so it may be creamed – round 17-20°C is right (63-68°F), if you wish to be actual! If it will get too gentle, it will likely be greasy, melted, sloppy mess.
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Flour – Simply common plain flour / all-purpose flour. Don’t use self elevating flour (ie with baking powder inbuilt), it can make the cookies puff up and get too gentle.
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Sugar – Caster sugar / superfine sugar is right right here as a result of the grains are finer so it ensures you don’t find yourself with any undissolved sugar within the cookie. Nonetheless, common sugar / granulated sugar works fantastic too.
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Vanilla extract – For pretty vanilla flavour. Use vanilla extract slightly than imitation vanilla essence (pretend isn’t nearly as good). I personally don’t use vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste as a result of it’s dearer – I reserve it for creme brûlée, creme anglaise, that kind of factor!
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Egg – Only one giant egg, which is an trade customary weight of 50-55g/2oz per egg (offered in cartons labelled “giant eggs” that are 600g / 1.2lb for a dozen).
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Salt – Simply 1/4 teaspoon, to deliver out the vanilla and buttery flavour within the cookies. Effectively accepted customary baking observe lately.
Right here’s how one can make Jam Drops. Relying in your rolling pace, they take round 40 minutes from begin to end (5 minutes dough mixing, 21 minutes rolling/assembling, 14 minutes oven).
1. Make the cookie dough
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Cream Butter and Sugar – Beat butter and sugar till it’s creamy. It takes about 1 1/2 minutes on medium pace. Initially it will likely be a bit crumbly however then it can come collectively. Use a handheld electrical beater or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (not the whisk, aerates butter an excessive amount of + annoying to wash). Scrape down the perimeters as wanted.
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End dough – Add the vanilla, egg and salt. Beat for about 20 seconds till it’s included. At first the combination will appear a bit break up however it can come collectively (and it comes collectively extra when the flour is added). Add the flour then beat till you not see white flour.
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Crumbly dough – The combination might be crumbly however in the event you seize a bit, you will notice that it presses collectively right into a dough.
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See? 🙂
2. Forming cookies
I’ve a really particular technique to form jam drop cookies in order that they don’t crack. The everyday technique is to roll all of the balls, put them on the tray then make an indent within the center which additionally flattens them barely. While you do the indent, it makes the cookies crack. You’ll be able to repair it by urgent the sides collectively however truthfully, I simply discover it simpler to do that roll > flatten > indent technique, working one cookie at a time (plus the cookies come out so neat!).
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Measure – Tightly pack a 1 tablespoon measure or a measurement 60 cookie scoop (15 ml / 0.5 oz) with the crumbly dough, very barely mounded slightly than completely flat.
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Faucet it out onto your hand.
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Scrunch / press the crumbly combination to type a pliable dough.
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Roll right into a clean, crack free ball.
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Press right into a 1.25 cm / 1/2″ thick disc.
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Indent the cookie utilizing your thumb. (Thumbprint cookies!) My dents are most likely a bit of extra beneficiant in width than most, to carry extra jam (most recipes appear to make use of round 1/4 teaspoon per cookie, I exploit 1/2 heaped teaspoon).
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Repeat with remaining cookies working one cookie at a time. It really works finest to flatten and indent a freshly rolled cookie ball which is barely heat on the floor out of your hand as it’s much less liable to cracking.
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Place cookies on a baking paper lined tray (parchment paper)*. Depart 3.5cm / 1.5″ house between every. They solely unfold about 10% however we wish the air circulation in order that they bake evenly.
* Not the top of the world in the event you don’t have paper, you’ll be able to bake on an un-greased tray as they gained’t stick as a result of they’re so buttery. The paper protects the bottom of the cookie barely so it cooks a bit of extra evenly.
3. FILLING & BAKING
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Fill the indent of every cookie with jam. Be sure the jam is sweet and unfastened so it oozes into the dent slightly than sitting upright in a stiff dollop (which mightn’t correctly unfold within the oven).
⚠️ Don’t be too grasping with the jam! Fill so it’s degree with the floor of the cookie. It’s going to unfold and we don’t need overflow. Additionally, you’ll be able to high the jam up after they arrive out of the oven, in the event you really feel they want it.
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Able to bake! We are going to bake each trays on the identical time.
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Bake for 14 minutes, till they’re mild golden across the edges and pale golden on the floor. Rotate the trays and swap the cabinets* on the 10 minute make, in order that they prepare dinner evenly.
* By this, I imply transfer the tray on the decrease shelf onto the highest shelf and the tray on the highest shelf onto the decrease shelf.
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Cool the cookies on the tray, throughout which era the underside will end cooking. Then seize and devour!
Jam Drops will final for five to 7 days in an hermetic container within the pantry, although they’re at their finest within the first 2 – 3 days after baking. After this, the jam begins to melt the cookie a contact, I discover.
And lastly, I’m dropping in one other FAQ part for this recipe! It’s a brand new perform on the web site that I began utilizing for current recipes. A neater strategy to embody additional data to reply questions, in addition to a spot for me to put in writing (but conceal) extreme volumes of details about recipe testing and growth! As a result of typically (okay, usually), I’ve quite a bit to say a couple of recipe however I don’t need to muddle the put up with my outpourings. So I’ve to train extreme restraint.
No extra! I can chatter away and conceal it within the collapsable part. I find it irresistible. – Johnsat x
Ingredients
- 225g (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup caster sugar / superfine sugar (regular/granulated sugar ok too, Note 1)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg , at room temperature (~50-55g/2oz)
- 2 1/2 cups plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- 1/2 cup strawberry or raspberry jam , or any other flavour, mixed well to loosen (Note 2)
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar. Beat in vanilla, egg and salt, then beat in flour. Roll 3cm/1.2" balls (#60 cookie scoop), flatten, indent, fill. Bake 14 minutes 180°C/350°F (160°C fan), cool on tray.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced). Line 2 trays with baking paper/parchment paper.
- Cream butter and sugar – Beat the butter and sugar until creamy – about 1 1/2 minutes on medium speed using an electric beater or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
- Crumbly dough – Add the vanilla, egg and salt, then beat for ~20 seconds until incorporated. Add the flour and salt, then beat until you cannot see white flour. The mixture will be crumbly.
- Form cookies – Measure out 1 tablespoon of mixture, very tightly packed (#60 cookie scoop). Tap out onto your hand, scrunch in your first to press into a dough then roll into a smooth ball (3cm/1.2"). Flatten into a 1.25cm / 0.5" thick disc then use your thumb to make an indent. (This method avoids cracks, see Note 3).
- Fill – Place cookie on the tray, and repeat to make 25 – 28 cookies, leaving 3.5cm / 1.5" between each. Fill the indent with slightly heaped 1/2 teaspoon jam (Note 4).
- Bake for 14 minutes (both trays at the same time), or until the edges are light golden and the surface is pale golden. Rotate and switch the tray shelves at the 10 minute mark, so they cook evenly.
- Cool fully on the tray (the base will finish cooking). Then grab and devour!
Notes
1. Caster sugar (superfine sugar) is finer than regular sugar so it bakes it a wee bit better in stiff doughs like this, I find. However, regular white sugar works fine too. Brown sugar can be substituted but the cookie will be softer and a little more golden.
2. Loosen jam by microwaving briefly then stirring vigorously, so it sort of thickly oozes when dolloped into the dent rather than a lump of jam (might not spread when baked). But make sure it’s not hot when you fill the cookies (will make butter in cookies melt = bad)
Apricot is also another popular jam flavour. Try a mix so you have lovely colours!
3. Stop crackage – Roll > flatten > indent each cookie one at a time, as you go, as the dough is slightly warm and pliable, so less prone to breaking. (Rather than rolling all, putting on tray, then indenting them all at the same time – dough surface dries out / goes slightly cold = crackage)
4. Jam filling – Though it’s tempting, don’t be greedy. The jam spreads slightly in the oven and you might get overflow. Restrain now, and you can top up later.
Different measures – Cup sizes differ slightly between the US (1 cup = 226ml) and the rest of the world (250 ml). While the difference is not enough to make a difference in most recipes, for some baking recipes it can mean the difference between success and failure. I made this recipe using US cups, Australian cups and the weights I’ve provided and there was no difference in the end result.
Storage – Biscuits will keep for a week in an airtight container though they are at their best for the first 2 to 3 days (jam starts to soften base). Dough can also be made 2 days ahead and refrigerated, then bring to room temperature (else it’s impossible to roll balls). You could even form the cookies, refrigerate (covered in cling wrap), then fill with jam just prior to baking (factor in extra baking time for cold tray).
Nutrition per cookie, using 28 cookies.
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