Sweet treats: Of all the festive holiday cookies, thumbprint cookies are the most versatile, visually appealing and just plain delicious. (Bill Hogan/Chicago Tribune) |
Of all the cookie recipes I bake, thumbprint cookies are the most versatile, visually appealing and just plain delicious.
Best of all, one recipe can cater to varied taste buds. Just fill the cookies with different jams. By varying the fruit spreads, you can create a colorful display for holiday cookie trays.
Thumbprint cookies contain few ingredients, so they assemble quickly, which is good because they won't last long in your cookie jar.
Tips
Use a scoop with a lever to push out dough more easily. Choose a scoop that holds 2-3 tablespoons and pack the dough in firmly before dropping it on the cookie sheet.
Choose juice-sweetened fruit spread over sugar-sweetened preserves.
Select organic canola oil, if possible. Nonorganic canola oil comes from rape seed that can be heavily sprayed with pesticides.
Pecan thumbprint cookies
Prep: 18 minutes
Bake: 23 minutes
Makes: 15 cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup pecan meal, pre-ground or whole pecans ground in food processor
1 cup quick rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup canola oil
1/3 cup fruit spread or jam, raspberry, cherry, apricot or …
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place pecan meal in a bowl with the rolled oats, pastry flour, cinnamon and salt. Mix ingredients together.
2. Whisk the maple syrup with canola oil in a second bowl. Add the dry ingredients. Stir with a large mixing spoon as little as possible, just until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
3. Drop scoops of dough in rows onto a parchment-covered or oil-sprayed cookie sheet. Dip a thumb into some flour; press a dimple into the center of each cookie without poking through the bottom. Stir fruit spread in a small bowl until smooth. Fill the indentation of each cookie with a teaspoon of fruit spread.
4.Bake until bottoms and sides are lightly browned, 20-23 minutes. Remove from oven; cool on cookie sheet, 5 minutes. Transfer to cooking rack to cool completely.
Nutrition Information:
Per serving: 213 calories, 14 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 22 g carbohydrates, 3 g protein, 96 mg sodium, 2 g fiber.
Kay Stepkin is a vegetarian cooking class instructor and former owner of a vegetarian restaurant/whole grain bakery. Email her at foods@tribune.com.
Best of all, one recipe can cater to varied taste buds. Just fill the cookies with different jams. By varying the fruit spreads, you can create a colorful display for holiday cookie trays.
Thumbprint cookies contain few ingredients, so they assemble quickly, which is good because they won't last long in your cookie jar.
Tips
Use a scoop with a lever to push out dough more easily. Choose a scoop that holds 2-3 tablespoons and pack the dough in firmly before dropping it on the cookie sheet.
Choose juice-sweetened fruit spread over sugar-sweetened preserves.
Select organic canola oil, if possible. Nonorganic canola oil comes from rape seed that can be heavily sprayed with pesticides.
Pecan thumbprint cookies
Prep: 18 minutes
Bake: 23 minutes
Makes: 15 cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup pecan meal, pre-ground or whole pecans ground in food processor
1 cup quick rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup canola oil
1/3 cup fruit spread or jam, raspberry, cherry, apricot or …
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place pecan meal in a bowl with the rolled oats, pastry flour, cinnamon and salt. Mix ingredients together.
2. Whisk the maple syrup with canola oil in a second bowl. Add the dry ingredients. Stir with a large mixing spoon as little as possible, just until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
3. Drop scoops of dough in rows onto a parchment-covered or oil-sprayed cookie sheet. Dip a thumb into some flour; press a dimple into the center of each cookie without poking through the bottom. Stir fruit spread in a small bowl until smooth. Fill the indentation of each cookie with a teaspoon of fruit spread.
4.Bake until bottoms and sides are lightly browned, 20-23 minutes. Remove from oven; cool on cookie sheet, 5 minutes. Transfer to cooking rack to cool completely.
Nutrition Information:
Per serving: 213 calories, 14 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 22 g carbohydrates, 3 g protein, 96 mg sodium, 2 g fiber.
Kay Stepkin is a vegetarian cooking class instructor and former owner of a vegetarian restaurant/whole grain bakery. Email her at foods@tribune.com.
