Thumbprints For Us Big Guys Recipes

THUMBPRINTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Beat the butter, granulated sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add half of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Knead a few times by hand to bring the dough together.
• Roll teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and place about 1/2 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Make an indentation in the center of each ball with a small measuring spoon or the back of a pen. Fill each indentation with jam (a scant 1/8 teaspoon).
• Bake until the edges of the cookies are golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 2 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

THUMBPRINTS FOR US BIG GUYS

Steps:

• Position oven racks to divide oven into thirds; preheat oven to 350°; line two baking sheets with parchment.
• In a bowl, whisk together the hazelnuts and flour.
• Working with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
• Add in the extracts; beat to blend.
• Decrease mixer speed to low and gradually add the nut-flour mixture, mixing only until incorporated into the dough.
• Working with a teaspoonful of dough at a time, roll the dough between your palms to form small balls and place the balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
• Steadying each cookie with the thumb and finger of one hand, use the pinkie of your other hand (or the end of a wooden spoon) to poke a hole in the center of each cookie; be careful not to go all the way down to the baking sheet.
• Bake for 15-18 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point.
• The cookies should be only slightly colored-they may even look underdone, which is fine; they should not be overbaked.
• When the cookies are baked, remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the cookies rest on the sheets for 2 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks with a wide metal spatula and sifting powdered sugar over them.
• Repeat with the remaining dough, remembering to cool the baking sheets before baking the next batch.
• Bring the jam to a boil in a small saucepan over low heat (or bring to a boil in a microwave oven); remove from heat.
• Fill the indentations of all the cookies with enough hot jam to come level with the tops.
• Cool to room temperature.