Jam Thumbprint Cookies and Garden Update

April 30th, 2010

I am late with my Barefoot Blogger recipe this month but want to thank Cassandra of Foodie with Little Thyme for choosing this cookie recipe. We have had two cookie recipes this month and I am sure all of those with a sweet tooth are very pleased. But frankly, I hope that we have at least one savory recipe next month so that my scales will stop screaming at me. These cookies were very good and easy to make. For some reason my cookie dough was a little dry, so that the cookies crumbled when I rolled and pressed them. But that did not affect the buttery flavor. The coconut added a nice touch and you can get very creative with the jam that you use. All I had on hand was blueberry and raspberry. If you have apricot jam or orange marmalade it will give you a nice contrast with the raspberry jam if you do half of the cookies with each jam.


JAM THUMBPRINT COOKIES ( The Barefoot Contessa )
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
7 ounces sweetened flaked coconut
Raspberry and/or apricot jam
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until they are just combined and then add the vanilla. Separately, sift together the flour and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix until the dough starts to come together. Dump on a floured board and roll together into a flat disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Dip each ball into the egg wash and then roll it in coconut. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet and press a light indentation into the top of each with your finger. Drop 1/4 teaspoon of jam into each indentation. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the coconut is a golden brown. Cool and serve.
Here is an update on the community garden with the help of garden centers. The below picture shows the view we have of Hickory Nut Falls and the mesh enclosure that we put around our plot. We enclosed two plots because we are sharing time and materials with our friend Don.
Everything is in the ground now. Pole beans will climb the round fence rails. The marked rows contain sugar snap peas, rainbow chard, shallots and green onions. We have two hills of squash and tomato plants, pepper plants and cucumbers.


Hopefully we will be harvesting by July. The Friends of Hickory Nut Gorge Community Gardens have asked all of the participants to donate 10% of the harvest to charity.

7 responses to “Jam Thumbprint Cookies and Garden Update”

  1. Kat says:

    Penny,
    I hope your garden does well. It will be a feast for sure! I used to make those Thumbprint cookies for Christmas. They are good. I did not use coconut though. Like you said, you can get very creative with the type of filling you use. Thanks for sharing your garden, and I will look forward to updates.

  2. Kate says:

    Envious of the garden! The cookies are forgiving…they were actually easier to put together than I thought they would be. Yours look delicious!

  3. if i had these cookies, i would be dusting off the crumbs from my shirt right now hahaha… im sure one will never be enough!
    your garden reminds me of my mom… she loves to garden too!
    you need to put a lot of TLC but im sure by July you will reap its harvest…

  4. Wow I’m jealous that you are going to have a garden. All I have room for on my Hollywood balcony is a little jalapeno pepper plant. Not that I’m complaining because I love it. Keep up the good work. I look forward to more pictures as we head towards July!

  5. Karen says:

    Your garden looks great! Nice variety of plants, too!

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