Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies Recipe 475

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, cream together butter and white sugar until smooth. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Mix in flour until dough comes together. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Make a small hole in the center of each ball, using your thumb and finger, and fill the hole with preserves.
• Bake for 14 to 18 minutes in preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Let cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the confectioners' sugar, 3/4 teaspoon almond extract, and milk until smooth. Drizzle lightly over warm cookies.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and extract until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add flour and mix well. Chill for 1 hour., Preheat oven to 350°. Roll into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make an indentation in the center of each; fill each with 1/4 teaspoon jam. Bake until the edges are lightly browned, 13-16 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., For glaze, in a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, extract and water. Drizzle over cookies.

Steps:

• Cream butter. Add sugar, salt, vanilla, and egg yolk. Beat until light. Add flour and stir until combined.
• Wrap in waxed paper and chill well. (overnight).
• Roll into very small balls - around 1/2 inch.
• Dip into slightly beaten egg white, then roll in crushed almonds.
• Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Make an indent in center of each ball. Fill with jam.
• Bake for 20 minutes at 300. Let stand on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
• Meanwhile, combine powdered sugar and milk to make a thick glaze. Adjust amounts as necessary.
• When cookies are cool, frost with a dab of frosting.

Steps:

• Cookies: Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Switch mixer to medium speed and add the the sugar, vanilla, and almond extracts. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed. Turn the mixer off and pour the flour into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and slowly beat until a very soft dough is formed. Press the dough down to compact it and tightly cover with plastic wrap to chill until firm, at least 4 hours. Preheat oven to 350˚F degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (silicone mats preferred to reduce spreading). Shape the cookie dough into balls. Mine were about 1 Tablespoon of dough per ball. Make sure they're nice and smooth. If you find that the balls of dough are sticky and/or have gotten a little soft after rolling- place the balls of dough back into the refrigerator to firm up. You absolutely DO NOT want soft dough. Make an indentation with your thumb into each ball. The dough may crack slightly when you press your thumb into it. Simply smooth it out with your fingers if you can. Otherwise, it's perfectly fine to have a few cracks. Fill each with a scant 1/2 teaspoon of jam. (Or however much it can hold.) Bake the shortbread thumbprint cookies for 14 to 15 minutes, or until very lightly browned on the edges. The cookies will puff up and spread slightly. Do not overbake. In fact, I only baked mine for 13-14 minutes. I prefer them a little soft. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before glazing. Glaze: Stir together glaze ingredients until smooth. Add more liquid to thin out or add more confectioners' sugar to thicken to your desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cookies. Glaze will set within a couple hours. Store cookies covered at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for 6 days. Shortbread cookie dough may be frozen up to 2 months; baked cookies (without glaze) may be frozen up to 2 to 3 months.