Iced Thumbprint Cookies - recipe

It's no secret that my sister has a thing for iced thumbprint cookies - I don't blame her, they are delicious and extremely addictive. I think it's the sweet/salty combo of the cookie with the icing that makes them so addictive.

Anyway, when she presented me with the challenge of duplicating her favorite cookie I couldn't turn her down. I'm always up for a challenge, especially when I get to taste-test the efforts.

After a couple of attempts, a serious fail and many scribbles on my recipe card, I finally came up with a decent contender. While they may not be exactly right just yet, they are pretty darn close.

So, with that, here's a recipe for you to make your own!

Ingredients for the cookie:
1. 1 cup salted butter - softened
2. 1/4 cup sugar
3. 2 cup flour
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for the icing:
5. 2 tablespoons milk
6. 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

7. and 8. are optional but highly recommended: sprinkles and food coloring

 *UPDATED: yes, that is vanilla in the photo but I didn't end up using it in the final version. I tried it in earlier attempts but didn't use it in the end. Sorry for the confusion, I was too lazy to take a new picture!*

In a blender with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on med-high until pale and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the flour and salt until combined and pulls from sides. Form dough into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.

Form little balls, about 1/2 tablespoon or so in size, make an indention with your thumb and roll the sides in sprinkles.



I found it worked best to roll out a couple of balls at a time, then make a thumbprint and immediately roll in sprinkles while the dough was still a little warm from your hands. This helped the sprinkles stay on the best.



Once you have a cookie sheet full, bake for 10 minutes at 325 degrees. You'll have to take the pan out and press the thumbprints back down and then return to the oven to bake another 10 minutes or so. You don't want these browning so watch them carefully.

Let them cool completely before filling them with icing.

To make the icing, just whisk the milk and powdered sugar together in a small bowl and add in some food coloring. If you want to make several colors, just pour a little icing into separate dishes and add the colors you want. I used a teaspoon to scoop up the icing and then poured it into the thumbprints.

Now, here's the hard part. You have to let the cookies sit for at least 6-8 hours so the icing sets and gets hard. It's tough, I know, but well worth the wait.