I don't know about you, but the first place I always look for easy recipe inspiration is Pinterest. With the holiday season upon us, it's safe to assume that Christmas cookie recipes are a hot topic on everyone's minds. So which cookie reigns supreme? Whether you are baking cookies for a cookie swap or for a fun and festive holiday dessert to serve next to the Christmas tree, finding the best Christmas cookie recipe is a rather daunting task.
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There are thousands of different cookie dough recipes that would be the perfect addition to any Christmas party. From little snowballs, sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, ginger cookies, and gingerbread cookies, there's bound to be a favorite cookie for everyone.
This past year, Pinterest took a look at its analytics and found out which Christmas cookie was the most pinned on their site. In between the recipes for chocolate cookies, peanut butter cookies, and candy cane cookies, I was shocked when I found out what the recipe was.
Assuming it was going to be something trendy like shortbread cookies or classic sugar cookies, I was surprised that the best Christmas cookie was actually a buttery jam thumbprint cookies recipe. Who would have thought this simple cookie would be the hit at the cookie exchange?
How to Make Buttery Jam Thumbprints
Amy, the blogger behind Chew Out Loud, first tasted these cookies over 10 years ago at a friend's house. Immediately she grabbed a piece of paper and jotted down the recipe.
First, preheat your oven to 325 degrees F and prep your baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a paddle attachment on your stand mixer, on high-speed cream together the room temperature unsalted butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and salt then turn your electric mixer to medium before adding the all-purpose flour, making sure the dry ingredients are all mixed in.
Chill dough for 30 minutes.
Once the dough is firm, roll the cookie dough into 1-inch balls using a cookie scoop and indent each dough ball with your finger. Fill with your favorite jam (apricot, jam raspberry jam, and strawberry jam are all great!) and bake until nice and puffy. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with milk. Santa will thank you for making the perfect cookie.
Find the full recipe here.
This article was originally written on Dec 7, 2017.
