These thumbprint cookies are tender and soft with a sweet jam center. These cookies are just four ingredients and are easier to make than traditional thumbprint cookies. They also don’t require any eggs. The cookies store well and can be made ahead of time.
Thumbprint cookies are one of my favorite cookies to eat this time of year but it’s been a few years since I’ve actually made my own. I always found classic thumbprint cookies a little too time-consuming to make, but this recipe is so easy to make that I am finally baking them again.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Condensed milk
- Butter
- Jam
All purpose flour: These cookies use all purpose flour. Make sure to use all purpose and not self-rising flour.
Condensed milk: The cookies use full fat sweetened condensed milk. The condensed milk helps gives these cookies a tender and soft crumb. It also adds sweetness to the dough.
Butter: Butter is used to give these cookies a buttery soft crumb.
Jam: You can use any flavor of jam of your choice. I like to use more than one so that there is more variety of color and flavors. The ones in these photos are made with strawberry and apricot jam.
How to Make Thumbprint Cookies
The butter and condensed milk are first mixed together until light and creamy. The flour is then added in until a dough forms. The dough will need about ten minutes in the fridge to stiffen up. You then make 1 tbsp dough balls, push your thumb into the center of the dough ball to make an indent and fill the indent with jam. The cookies are then ready to be baked.
Thumbprint cookie texture
Classic thumbprint cookies usually have a shortbread cookie base. However, with so many cookies this time of year using shortbread, I wanted to make these a little different so that they don’t taste like all the other holiday cookies.
These cookies have a softer and more tender texture rather than a firm crumbly cookie texture.
More Easy Cookies
4 Ingredient Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp (82 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (118 ml) sweetened full fat condensed milk
- 1 cup (125 g) all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (76 g) jam
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a large baking with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add butter and sweetened condensed milk to a large mixing bowl. Mix at high speed until light and creamy, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Gradually add the flour to the butter and condensed milk mixture. Mix on lowest speed until a soft dough forms. The dough should come together and be easy to handle but will still be a little sticky. Put the dough in the fridge for 10 minutes to stiffen up.
- Using a 1 tbsp cookie scoop, scoop dough and roll into a smooth ball. Repeat with remaining dough. Place dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
- Use your thumb to make a deep indentation in the center of each cookie.
- Spoon about 1/2 tsp of jam into the indentation of each cookie. You can adjust the amount of jam based on your preference.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet. When the cookies are cooled and jam is set and no longer too hot to the touch, the cookies are ready to eat.
Notes
- You can use different flavors of jams for more flavors and colors. I used strawberry and apricot jam in the photos.
- You can double the recipe to make more cookies.
- Nutrition estimate assumes cookies have 1/2 tsp of jam filling
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Can you use an all purpose gluten free flour instead of regular flour?
Sorry we haven’t tried with gluten free flour
Easy and delicious
Glad you enjoyed it!
About the thumbprint cookies. If I want a more shortbread like texture, could I add cornstarch? If so what is the ratio cornstarch/flour
If you wanted more of a shortbread texture you would likely need to increase the flour and maybe add cornstarch. However without testing it, we can’t tell you the exact amounts needed
Looks great! Have you doubled or tripled the recipe?
We haven’t tried doubling or tripling the recipe – sometimes with baking recipes you have to make adjustments when you do this, so without trying it we can’t say for sure how it will work.