Last week I tried making thumbprint cookies for the first time after a blog post at simply recipes. They looked simple enough to make on a week night, and I was in the mood for something tasty.

nutella_cookie

A Nutella and Chopped Nuts Thumbprint Cookie

I halved the amounts mentioned in the recipe (as I had no real need for 3 1/2 dozen cookies) and the way I made them I ended up with 7, although mine were possibly a bit on the large side. Mine also took a bit longer to cook than 12-15 minutes, which I think again was down to the cookie being too big and that my oven is temperamental. 

The one major change I made to the recipe stated was that I subbed some of the flour for bran, this gave me a small feeling that what I was eating was reasonably healthy (despite the fact that there was 100g of butter in them!) and it didn’t affect the taste (bran has a tendency to make cookies and muffins quite heavy). I also omitted the salt, I am sure it tastes better with it, but I prefer to limit my salt intake where I can.

In order to experiment with different types of cookie I made half my cookies with Bon Mamman Apricot Jam, and the other half with chopped mixed nuts and Nutella. (The Nutella ones by far came out the best). I noticed that my apricot cookies fell apart more, both when trying to put the “thumbprint” on them and also just generally while cooking. This could be for a few reasons, the nutella cookies were rolled in egg whites, the egg might hold it together more, or the act of rolling may make them stick together more – I am not sure. 

I think I may experiment with this recipe quite a bit over the next while, as it seems such a versatile recipe that you could add almost anything sweet for toppings.

This recipe is taken almost directly from this one at simply recipes.

  • 100g of butter, room temperature
  • 57g of sugar
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 100g of plain flour
  • 40g of bran
  • chopped nuts
  • 1/2 tsp of jam / nutella per cookie
  • Parchment paper

METHOD

  1. Cream the butter and sugar on high speed for about 3 minutes.
  2. Separate the eggs. Add the yolks and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. If using nuts place the egg whites in a shallow dish on the side and whisk them until bubbly and frothy (the egg whites will be used to keep the nuts on the cookies).
  3. Add the flour and bran. Mix until just combined. Place the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 175 C.
  4. Roll the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. If using nuts, dip the balls into the egg whites then roll them into the nuts until covered. Place the balls on parchment lined cookie sheets.
  5. Press down with your thumb to make a small well in the center of the cookie. Do not press too hard or the cookie will fall apart. Fill with 1/2 teaspoon of jam.
  6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until slightly firm. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet to firm up before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.