Jam Thumbprints

I have made these tender and crumbly Jam Thumb Prints in the past and they are just these real simple and real delicious little cookies. For this recipe I used raspberry jam and plum butter and they both worked great with this type of cookie, although I really still prefer the raspberry ones :)  Unlike Martha, I place the jam in  the indentations made in the dough prior to baking, opposed  to afterward.

Ingredients ( Jam Thumb Prints from Martha Stewart Magazine, Special Issue; Holiday Cookies. 2001)

1/4 pound (1 stick ) of butter
1/2 cup + 2tbsp  granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 +1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole blanched almonds finely ground
1 large egg white lightly beaten
1/2 cup jam or preserve

Preheat oven to 325*f.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the 1/2 cup of sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the egg yolk and vanilla and mix to combine. And flour and mix on low speed just until the dough comes together.

Combine the ground almonds with the remaining sugar. Form the dough into small 1  inch balls, dip in the egg white followed by the ground almond mixture, place on baking sheet.  Make small indentations in to the dough balls using your finger or the bottom of a thick wooden spoon. Fill the indentations with the jam or preserve. Bake for 10- 15 minutes until lightly golden around the sides.Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Gingerbread Squares

Gingerbread has got to be one of my type of favorite cookies, with a side of creamy 3% milk. When making this Martha Stewart recipe, I slightly adjusted the amount of spice that I added. I halved the recipe but doubled the ginger just because I especially like a spicy gingerbread cookie.

Ingredients ( Gingerbread Cookies from Martha Stewart Magazine, Special Issue; Holiday Cookies. 2001)

3 cups flour
.5 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 pound (1 stick of butter)  at room temperature
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp finely ground black pepper
1 large egg
1/2 cup molasses

In a large bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy. Add the spices, egg, and molasses, mix to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda mix until combined. Divide the dough in half and chill for 1 hour.

Pre-heat the oven to 350*f.  Line several baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Remove the cookie dough fro the fridge and let stand for a few minutes. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick.  place the rolled out dough on a piece of parchment paper and place in the freezer for about 15 minutes to chill and become firm.

Cut the dough using whatever shaped cookie cutter your heart desires or use a fluted pastry wheel  to cut the dough into squares as I did. Bake on the lined baking sheets for 8 minutes, and not a minute more! or they will burn, as did my first batch
Let the cookies cool on a wire rack before transferring to an airtight container.