Merciful God, You are great in compassion and Your tenderness for us is without measure. We ask You to give us today our daily bread, and also provide for the needs of all of Your hungry children around the world. Through Christ Your Son and Our Lord. Amen.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Icing Thumbprints



Big thumbs up for this one. But, it's a regular at Christmas, so I knew that going in.

My gang likes this cookie filled with icing. I make another thumbprint cookie that is a true shortbread, and I fill that one with raspberry jam. So, this recipe is reserved for icing. The icing couldn't be easier. I put a half cup or so of powdered sugar in a sandwich size ziploc bag, add a dribble of milk and a few drops of food coloring. Zip the bag and rub between your palms until all is combined. Snip a bit of the corner and squeeze into the reservoirs. Voila. No mess. I made green and yellow last night and I'll probably make white and blue over the weekend. I don't make red because you just can't get real red (without buying color paste and that's just too many chemicals for me).

I used to use a recipe from Paula Deen, but Paula's recipe uses more butter (of course it does) and white sugar, so I decided to try this one. This one is just as yummy and a little less fat. We could all use that with so many goodies around. This recipe came from Recipezaar and I used it as is, except for the nuts and the jam. I can't use the nuts because of allergies, but I know they are wonderful with. I just brushed the tops of my cookies with the egg white, so they would shine a little.


Icing Thumbprint Cookies

1 cup butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts
3-4 tablespoons red currant jelly or raspberry jam (or icing as described above)

Icing
Powdered sugar
milk
food color

In large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy.
Separate eggs.
Place whites in a small bowl, lightly beat; set aside.
Add egg yolks and vanilla to butter mixture.
Beat well.
In another bowl, stir together flour and salt.
Gradually add flour & salt to butter mixture, Blending thoroughly.
With your hands, roll dough into balls about 1-inch diameter.
Dip each ball in eggs whites, then roll in finely chopped walnuts to coat.
Place on greased baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart.
With your thumb , make an indentation in the center of each ball.
Neatly fill each indentation with 1/4 teaspoon jelly or jam (if filling with icing, just leave empty for now).
Bake in a 375° oven for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Let cool on baking sheets for about 1 minute, then transfer to rack and let cool completely.
Fill with icing, if desired.


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4 comments:

Barb Szyszkiewicz said...

Those look really cute!

I like the raspberry thumbprints too (do you use the Land O'Lakes butter recipe?) But these might be way more kid-friendly since the kids never want the jam in the cookies--LOL!

Barbara said...

Yes, Barb, I do use the Land o' Lakes recipe. Mmmm.

Anonymous said...

I've been looking for 15 min. for a plain shortbread recipe for thumbprint cookies with icing for my Valentine party tonight with daughter and family. Your recipe is just the one I liked! You sound like a Mother who loves her life and I appreciate you. I love the way you incorporate your faith in your website.

Barbara said...

Thank you, for your kind comment.