Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies
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These are the perfect Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies! Tender and buttery shortbread cookies made with only FOUR ingredients, flour, powdered sugar, vanilla, and butter, then filled with strawberry jam. They are a simple treat that’s a real crowd-pleaser!
I am SO excited to share this recipe with all of you! Since our lemon thumbprint cookies are consistently one of our most popular recipes, my mom and I thought it would be fun to create something similar.
Strawberries are in season here, and they are so good and so sweet right now. What better choice of fruit could there be?! So…strawberry jam it is!
Next was the cookie base. We wanted a base that would hold it’s shape when baked. We tried a couple of different doughs – such as our chewy sugar cookies and soft sugar cookies – to find what would be the best. Ultimately, we found that a classic shortbread cookie is the PERFECT base to hold our sweet strawberry jam. It’s buttery, tender, not too sweet, and holds it’s shape with little to no spread!
Fresh Strawberries Make A Difference
While you can use frozen strawberries, fresh in-season strawberries really make the jam into something special. Not only does it add a natural sweetness, but it also creates a brighter more flavorful jam!
Make The Homemade Strawberry Jam First
Have you ever made jam before? It’s such a delicious addition to your morning toast, a sweet accompaniment to a charcuterie board, and even a filling for your favorite snacks and desserts! While store-bought jam can be used in a pinch, we highly recommend making your own. It’s so simple, requires only 3 ingredients, and takes 10 minutes or so to make.
Tip: Make the jam ahead of time to make prep work easier!
This Is What You’ll Need
For The Jam:
- Strawberries – Fresh strawberries will give you the best flavor.
- Granulated Sugar – Sweetens the strawberries while also helping to preserve them.
- Lemon Juice – The acidic element to “activate” the pectin and make the jam thicken.
For The Cookies:
- Salted Butter – Adds richness and moisture while eliminating the need for additional salt.
- Powdered Sugar – Sweetens the dough while the corn starch in the powdered sugar keeps these cookies from spreading.
- Vanilla Extract – Adds a delicious vanilla flavor to the dough that really complements the flavor of the strawberry jam.
- All-Purpose Flour – Using plain all purpose flour is the way to go here. The protein content gives the dough the structure it needs to hold it’s shape.
Here’s How To Make These Cookies
First, Make The Jam
Combine strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Cook and stir over medium low heat until sugar dissolves, strawberries break down, and jam starts to thicken, about 5-10 minutes. Set aside.
Then, Make The Cookie Dough
With an electric mixer, beat butter and powdered sugar until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
Add vanilla.
Mix in flour. (You may need to use your hands to bring the dough together.)
Shape, Fill, and Bake
Use a 1½ Tablespoon scoop to portion dough onto prepared pan. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll into a smooth ball.
Use the back of a rounded measuring spoon, a regular spoon, or your thumb to make an indention in the dough.
Fill indentions with jam. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the cookies are set.
FAQ’s
This depends on what you like. The seeds don’t bother us in a jam, so we tend to leave them in, but if you would like to make this jam seedless, go ahead and use a sieve to strain out the seeds after cooking!
If your jam is runny, it may not be cooked enough (though, there’s no worries. You can simply just cook it some more)! We recommend cooking your jam for 5-10 minutes, or until it starts to thicken. Once it begins thickening, turn off the heat and allow it to cool. It will continue to thicken as it cools!
A jam that’s too thick may be caused by over-cooking! Don’t worry, you can still fix this. We found during testing that you can add 1-2 Tablespoons of water to loosen the jam without affecting the structure or flavor.
If your shortbread cookies are crumbly, this could be caused by a few things. The most common cause is the butter or flour was improperly measured. If too little butter was added or too much flour was added, this would cause crumbly dough/cookies. If you are sure the ingredients were measured properly, then it may be due to overbaking.
Of course! Make the indentions as directed and bake the cookies. Keep in mind, since there is nothing to hold the indentations down, the cookies will rise slightly. Just be sure to use your rounded teaspoon and press the indentations back down immediately after baking.
More cookie recipes you’ll love:
When you make these Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.
Happy baking!
x, Caylie
Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
Strawberry Jam
- 1 pound fresh strawberries, chopped
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup lemon juice
Cookies
- ¾ cup salted butter, room temperature
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1¾ cups all purpose flour*
Instructions
Strawberry Jam
- Combine strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan.
- Cook and stir over medium low heat until sugar dissolves, strawberries break down, and jam starts to thicken, about 5-10 minutes. Set aside.
Cookies
- Heat oven to 350℉.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- With an electric mixer, beat butter and powdered sugar until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add vanilla.
- Mix in flour. (You may need to use your hands to bring the dough together.)
- Use a 1½ Tablespoon scoop to portion dough onto prepared pan.
- Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll into a smooth ball.
- Use the back of a rounded measuring spoon, a regular spoon, or your thumb to make an indention in the dough.
- Repeat with remaining portions.
- Fill indentions with jam. (This will take anywhere from ½-1 teaspoon depending on how deep you made the indentions.)
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the cookies are set.
Notes + Tips!
- Room temperature is about 70℉.
- Use an oven thermometer to ensure accurate cooking temperatures.
- While cooking, mash the strawberries with your wooden spoon!
- You can strain the seeds out if you want, but you will end up with much less jam.
- Overcooked the jam? No problem! We found that you can add a few Tablespoons of water to loosen it.
- Use the back of a rounded teaspoon or small cookie scoop to make the indentation into each cookie. Just be careful to not go all the way down to the pan. About ½ to ¾ of the way through the cookie should do.
- Since it won’t be exact for each cookie, be careful not to overfill! Fill each cookie just to the top. If it’s filled anymore, it may make a mess!
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Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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I made this recipe to see if it would be good for my son’s class for Valentine’s Day. They’re so good that he asked if we could keep them for ourselves!!! 🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓