A Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies Recipe made with a cream cheese cookie batter and delicious pecans. Reminds me of a raspberry cheesecake in cookie form. The jewelled centres are the perfect way to make any cookie tray look special for the holidays!
When I first found this recipe in my grandmother’s recipe index I thought she was crazy adding cream cheese to an almost shortbread-like batter. Boy was I wrong! I can’t stand cream cheese on its own, but in a cookie… well that is an entirely different story. It actually gives a richness to the cookie and is not “cheesy” at all.
My grandmother’s shortbread recipe is one of my faves so when you get a chance to be sure to check it out too!
Tips or making Raspberry thumbprint cookies
- You don’t have to use raspberry jam. You can use any jam you love the most or mix it up and use a variety of jams. On a cookie platter, they will look like beautiful little jewels!
- Be careful not to burn your thumbs. Many thumbprint cookie recipes suggest poking the hole in the centre before they go in the oven but I find that they crack more often this way. I like to bake halfway through and then take the cookies out and use the end of a wooden spoon handle to put the hole in the cookie. Not your actual thumb… or ouch!
- Let them rest on the cookie sheet for about a minute after taking them out of the oven. Then transfer them to a wire cooling rack. They do tend to be a bit fragile so moving them right away when they are super hot sometimes causes them to crack or fall apart.
- Don’t go overboard and overfill the jam holes. When the jam gets hot it will expand and if overfilled it will leak over the sides and they won’t look as pretty. A 1/2 a teaspoon should do.
- Be careful not to overbake! These cookies can really dry out. Take them out just as soon as the batter feels firm to the touch and is just starting to turn golden brown on the bottom.
How To Make Raspberry thumbprint cookies
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- Add cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla to a large bowl.
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- Beat on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy.
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- Add the flour, baking soda and pecans and mix will with a spoon until just well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for abut 1/2 an hour to chill.
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- Preheat oven to 350F and on a ceramic cookie sheet or regular cookie sheet lined with parchment paper place hand rolled balls about 1″ in diameter about 2″ apart. 12 per sheet.
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- Bake for 7 minutes and then remove from the oven using the end of a wooden spoon make holes in the centre of each ball.
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- Add a 1/2 tsp of jam to each centre and place back in the oven for another 7-10 minutes. Remove from the oven as soon as they begin to turn light golden brown. Let rest on the cookie sheet for 1 minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Can you freeze Raspberry thumbprint cookies?
This recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies so you can certainly eat them all they are so good but if you decide you want to save some for later simply place them in an airtight freezer container for up to 3 months. I freeze them all the time!
Thumbprint cookie variations
- Be creative. Roll the dough in coarse white sugar before placing them n the oven or drizzle them with icing once they are cool to make each one look unique and pretty in its own way.
- Use a variety of your favourite jams – strawberry and apricot work very well
- Not a fan of nuts, leave them out
Raspberry Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies
A Raspberry Thumbprint Cookie Recipe made with a cream cheese cookie batter and delicious pecans. Reminds me of a raspberry cheesecake in cookie form. The jewelled centres are the perfect way to make any cookie tray look special for the holidays!
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Servings: 4 dozen
Calories: 112kcal
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Sheet
- Large Bowl
- Hand Mixer
- Spoon
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 1/4 cup pastry flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
- 1 cup jam raspberry or strawberry work best
Instructions
- In a large bowl beat the cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth and fluffy
- Add flour, baking soda and pecans and mix well
- Cover and put in the fridge for a half-hour
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Shape dough into 1" balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet
- Bake for 7 min then remove from oven and use the end of a wooden spoon to make an indent in the centre of each cookie.
- Fill the indent with 1/2 tsp of jam.
- Continue baking for 5-7 longer minutes or until batter is firm and bottom just turning light golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for one minute before transferring to a wire rack to further cool.
Notes
Store in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 112kcal | Carbohydrates: 13.7g | Protein: 1.1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2.9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 33mg | Potassium: 28mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 7.7g | Vitamin A: 153IU | Vitamin C: 0.6mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 0.38mg
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Do you have to use pastry flour? I’m having trouble finding it and was wondering if all purpose flour or another flour would be okay to use instead?
I prefer to use pastry flour for all my cookies because it makes them lighter but if you don’t have it for this recipe all-purpose flour will work just as well. To substitute all-purpose flour for pastry flour replace 2 tbsp of the all-purpose flour with 2 tbsp of cornstarch. Let me know how they turn out!
Your cookies look so delicious! I just love jam cookies and these are right up my alley…perfect holiday treat!
Cream cheese in cookies. I must try this ASAP. And I’m going to experiment using all sort of jam for this. 🙂
These look so good! I love how you added cream cheese. I have a cookie exchange coming up and think these might be just the cookies to make for the event.
Love a thumbprint cookie! Can’t wait to try this one, all my favorite flavors!
Hands down my favorite cookie to make for the holidays! So easy and delicious! I definitely prefer the raspberry filling!