When I was a kid my grandmother would make all our faves and bring over tins of cookies, squares and other goodies that made my little heart sing. I would painstakingly remove lid after lid until I came to the container that held the thimble cookies. As soon as my eyes spotted those jam-filled centers, peace filled my soul. As I got older my mom would let me pull up a stool next to the counter so we could roll the little balls of dough, dip them in nuts and press our thumbs into the centers before placing them in the oven. It always meant Christmas day was officially drawing nearer.
Thimble Cookies
Ingredients
1/2C butter
1/4C brown sugar
2 eggs
1C sifted flour (I used my gluten-free flour blend listed here)
Strawberry or Raspberry Jam
Crushed walnuts, gf corn flakes or coconut
Method
- Cream butter.
- Gradually work in the sugar.
- Add one beaten egg plus one yolk and beat well. Be sure to reserve the other egg white.
- Stir the flour into the egg/sugar/butter mixture and roll into small balls.
- One by one dip each ball into the remaining egg white and roll into the walnuts, corn flakes or coconut.
- Place on parchment lined cookie sheets.
- Press down the center of each with a floured thimble (as I kid I used my thumb).
guess that sewing kit my mom gave me came in handy after all :)
- Bake for 5 minutes in pre-heated 300 degree oven.
- After 5 minutes remove and once again gently press down centers that may have risen.
- Place cookies back in oven for an additional 10 to 15 minutes before removing from oven.
- Upon removing and while still hot, fill the centers with the jelly of your choice.
I so looked forward to whipping up a batch of these just the other day. Spare time has been essentially non-existent recently so that afternoon was especially precious because I hadn't made a gluten-free version of these before, and wanted to get in the cookie zone to do it just right. They turned out just perfectly and I was so happy to feel the cookie crumble in my mouth when I tasted it...just like my mom and grandma's!
Within an hour of completion we had eaten 6 (the recipe yields 2 dozen) and I was dreaming of cookies and tea for breakfast the next morning. Suddenly I heard a crash in the kitchen followed by a loud profanity...all I remember is rounding the corner to find my cookies all over the unwashed floor while the Chef looked up in panic. I might have cried. Ixnay on the 5 second rule...weekend are you here yet??
Do you have a fave cookie for this time of year? Would love to hear it!
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78 comments:
Definitely make some more this weekend! (It's almost here, right?)
The cookies look so yummy, thanks for the recipe
Much appreciated :)
Jemina
xoxo
Awww, seeing these brought back such good memories...my Mom used to make these with me every Xmas:)
Yours look great:)
Stop by and say Hello:)
NEWS EDITOR for Style Sample Magazine♥
these look yummy!
aw, that's a cute story - i can just imagine you as a kid waiting to find the right ones, haha. I love the sugar cookies with the hershey's kiss in the middle...kind of similar? soooo good.and they don't have hershey's kisses here!
stop posting yummy recipes pls :(( i am doing lent (properly with no animal products) and you are driving me crazy!
ummmmm also i was wondering why your blog never comes up on my blogger thingy update list, then i realised THAT I WASN'T FOLLOWING YOU!!!! oh the shame!!
Carrie, I'm blaming you when I can't zip my jeans... let's just say the Peppermint Bark is long gone. I have a similar recipe that is Ina Gartens and they are rolled in coconut... no nuts.... so yummy! xo
That is such a cute story..My grandma used to make those too:) Yum! My favourite cookies this season? Hmm probably oat-cinnamon and chocolate cookies:)
Hugs and kisses, darling
Ps: I am hosting a stunning leather clutch GIVEAWAY later today, just in time for Holiday Parties!
Well ~ at least you got to enjoy a few before they landed on the floor!! Thanks for sharing the story Carrie ~ I think I may have cried...
My favs this time of year are birdsnests ~ yummy. I will be making those this week-end. xo
ah, so lovely!
They look delicious.
In the past I have baked Sugar Cookies, cut them into festive shapes, iced them in Christmas colours and added glitter, then gave away as gifts in personalised tins and jars. I don't think I could face another sugar cookie as in 2009 we made over 1000....
I'm going to try these!
oh my gosh, i have to make these!
I am looking for some new recipes for the cookie platter this year. These look delicious and will make the perfect new addition.
Happy Wednesday!
Those look so good, will have to try them out!
d e g a i n e
http://www.fashiondegaine.com
I love easy cookie recipes b/c I will actually get around to making them! So feel free to post more. and did you and chef eat all of these or did you pass them on to the neighbors??? j/k. I don't know if I have a favorite cookie....maybe oatmeal/raisin.
these are my mum's favorite Christmas cookies. She calls them thumb prints but thimble cookies is such a cute name!
xo
Yum, those look incredible! My mom used to make something similar which I loved when I was a kid.
This sounds delicious Carrie!!! And I love your tradition behind it.
I laughed at the comment you left me, LOVED IT!! I was on the 4.5 year wagon too... it just means you take a little extra time to enjoy life! I did not know you went to UofA, so were you born in Canada?
xoxo
I've got to get cracking on my holiday baking. I usually make these little cinnamon roll things, they're pretty easy and so delicious. I also try my hand at home made nuts and bolts every year but I can never execute them as well my mom.
xoxo ~ Courtney
http://sartorialsidelines.blogspot.com
Thanks for ALL these great recipes! i'm seriously going through your blog tomorrow and copying the recipes over - you rock (everything except my waistline!)
I have a giveaway today - enter if you'd like! Win All Clad, Le Creuset, or $50 via CSN from Chic 'n Cheap Living!
I got some of these at a cookie exchange that I went to on Sunday!! Mmmm, soooo good!!
Oh yum! These would make a fantastic breakfast. You know, a take on toast and jam... so yummy!
YUMMY!
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
We also make those at home :))) I love them!! :)) great pictures :)
Yum!!! I love these cookies!!! Maybe I should try, yours look amazing!
xx
Nikki
Ah, Thimble Cookies are one of my favorite things, but I have never made them before! I am definitely using this recipe on Christmas Eve (and this weekend!). What a perfect holiday cookie!! :)
I don't think I've ever had thimble cookies, but I'm totally willing to try them now. We always make sugar cookies and decorate them during Christmas time. It's one of my very favorite holiday traditions! Oh, where did you get these pretty bowls? I feel like they may be anthro. Am I right?
yum, thanks for the recipe
kisses
Those look delish!
Ooh, Chef's in trouble! Haha -poor you. :( My mom once dropped my entire homemade birthday cake on the floor. The cookies look delicious, though. I always end up bookmarking your recipes.
These look so yummy!! My favorite Christmas cookie is the chocolate covered candy cane cookie and I will definitely be baking up a batch soon!!
http://www.glamlatte.com
i had a horror day - things were going bad - i went and got my dad munchkins as a 'surprise' - as i'm trying to jungle a million things from my car to house - with the munchkins - BAM - they ALL fall in the MUD ... i tried the 5 second rule - but it was a no go too :o(
These look fantastic!! I may have to bust out my Martha skills and try them out. We always make Italian Sprinkle cookies and I munch on those things like it's nobody's bizzzznesss.
Must. Go. To. Gym. xo
yuuuummmmmmm!!!!!!! just gorgeous with a cuppa!
xx tash
Oh no! Sorry about your cookies, what a bummer. Thumbprints are my favorite cookie too. The best were made by my husband's late grandmother, we tried to recreate them last year and it was a bit of a disaster (we made them entirely too large, comically large in fact). We're giving it another go this year, but we're waiting until Christmas is closer to give us less time to gorge ourselves on them like we always do =)
These look yummy! And I am totally in the holiday spirit this year, much more so than in recent years.
Thanks for your comment, Carrie! YOu're right, any boy who buys you high-end bedding is VERY into you.
Those cookies look delish btw.
Tragedy! I totally still would have eaten them.
Yum!! Too bad the first batch went to waste, but the weekend is almost here!
Oh Carrie...this is TRAGIC!! My Gram used to make a similar cookie with us but it had a cherry instead of jam. I dream about those little bites of heaven. You make some more this weekend.
P.S. My gf pie crust turned out YUMMY!
Oh no!!! Sorry they went to waste! I LOVE these cookies. I'm a cooking baking fiend during the holidays and I've been considering giving these a shot this year. Thx for the recipe, girl! xoxo
I now understand your Twitter-upsetedness about the cookies on the floor. These are absolutely gorgeous, Carrie. And how special that your grandma used to make them for you! I bet your next batch will be safe and just as pretty!
xo Josie
http://winksmilestyle.blogspot.com
YUM, I want one right now!
♥ Leia
Oh, Carrie. THESE were the cookies that fell on the floor?? That's just tragic. Thank goodness you ate a few before they fell! They look incredible and so easy to make! I've never tried making these, but this might be my year.
xo
Valerie
Oooh boo, such a bummer when i drop cookies on the floor - know exactly what that feels like. These look delicious Carrie!!!
I love that story C- you are too cute with your little thimble photos!
I guess any cookie with mint is a hit for me-
I don't think I've ever made these but must try now!
My grandma used to bring JCPenney gift boxes FULL of different cookies. And her marble cake looked fake it was so beautiful. Since she passed my dad and I have started the tradition of making her cookies (from her recipe box) it's just me and him in the kitchen for hours covered in flour and laughing. That is the holidays to me. So perfect. I love this tradition so much :)
I love peanut butter blossoms, oatmeal chocolate chip, and these ones that taste delish but I don't know their name HAHA I'll be making them, though. So I'll definitely blog it!
Ooh (I seem to be doing a lot of ooh-ing and aah-ing these days) - I always think of the holidays when I think of thimble cookies. Something so festive, sweet and holiday-perfect about them! I love your long personal history with these and also the more recent story, as disastrous as it was at the time! (For T-day, the pumpkin pie literally flew out the oven onto the floor within 2 seconds - we watched in helpless horror, like it was happening in slo mo :)).
This looks super yummy!!! Thanks for sharing!
xo
Boho Market
Oh, how adorable! I love the use of the thimble (genius), and I'm actually drooling over the thought of a jam filled cookie right now!
Aww that sucks!! I love all cookies, my favorites are ones I don't have to make, come beautifully wrapped, and homemade from trustworthy people! ;)
xo Carlina
AllergicToVanilla.com
Never heard of these cookies before but they look yummy and have such a cute name. I am a chocolate chip kinda girl :)
I've had these cookies before but I never knew what they were called until now! My Mom makes the best butter tarts. I could eat them morning, noon and night and even middle-of-the night ; )
I have never ever heard of these before!! I HAVE to try now x
Tastyyyy!!! My mom and I make so many cookies for Christmas! And we make truffles and candy canes :D
http://aclosetfashionista.blogspot.com/
We finally have a FREE weekend this weekend so I'll be doing a bit of pre-Christmas baking. Always so fun. I'm sure I'll be trolling your archives in search of some good gluten-free recipes to make for my sis in-law, too :)
OH NO!!! That's the pits......I totally would've cried.I just let out a big 'uggggghhhhhh' for you :)
Hope you find a little more spare time for a new batch!
So I'm totally obsessed with baking Christmas cookies as well. Therefore, I need to be on your new workout plan. I am uncontrollable! All I want to do is bake! And now that I have a tree, the urge is even more insistent. What' a girl to do . . .
um claire...did you just say tree?
I am so sad that these are the ones that end up on the floor!! noooo.. I would have cried too! These are some of the best cookies EVER. I would love some with raspberry jam and a cup of tea to go along with them just sounds like perfection right now. I love that they're such a happy tradition to you :)
mmmmm those look AMAZING! you're making me hungry! : )
X
http://www.thefashionhash.com/
YUMMMMMM. Those look awesome!
Melanie@UnravelledThreads
Follow @UnraveldTreads on Twitter!
This is super yummy!!! xxxxx to you!
Those look perfect!! And I would love to have one with a big cup of tea! YUM!
LOVE those! My fav are "stripies" as we call them, the pink, white, and green italian stripe cookies- we make them every year :)
yum! that look perfect with coffee or tea on the couch. seriously..IS it the weekend yet? i've been having one of those weeks, too.
xx
Yummm! I really need to bake something this year - I have pretty much never baked in my life! These remind me of visiting my aunts, though, they always make cookies like these and now I wannnnt some! Delish!
I love thimble cookies! I recently discovered fig jam so now of course I'm just always looking for things to help get it in my mouth. Thimble cookies will do nicely!
Our sister -- The Rescue Baker www.therescuebaker.blogspot.com -- makes these and they are delish! Great recipe!
i honestly don't remember what they are called but those little balls that blow a puff of powdered sugar into your face when you bite down- love those little suckers!
www.indramaticfashion.com
ohhh im making these tonight!!!
they look so easy and yummy!!! i think i might be able to actully make them!!!
xx
ps. my fav is xmas fruit cake.
www.themidnightbloom.blogspot.com
we make these every year too.... they're my all-time favourite!
oxo
These cookies look absolutely amazing. I might try them for the holidays.
I could do some serious damage to a batch of those right now!
I have been looking for a new cookie to try this year. This is the one! Every year I make oatmeal scotchies and peanut butter cookies with hersheys kisses on top. Not fancy.. but the family loves them.
I will "bring it" the very minute the interview is done! Thank you for your comment!
Have a pretty day!
Kristin
These look so delicious!!! I think I will try this out this weekend and test them on my office :) They are always my guinea pigs!
the cookies look like a 'biskut raya' to me:)
Oh, such a sweet post! Those cookies look so yummy...I'm not much of a baker but when it comes to Christmas, I love to have yummy Christmas cookies around the house.
Oh, ya.. forget that 5 second rule! Only a crazy person would throw out freshly made favorite xmas cookies!! I may be posting some of my favorites soon.. Chocolate frosted chocolate cookies. Its a family recipe, and since I got it a few years ago, I go rogue and sometimes make them at other times of the year when I'm feeling the xmas spirit. (such a rebel)
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