Thumbprint Cookies with Icing

Save the jam for PB&J sandwiches and fill your next batch of Thumbprint Cookies with icing. This buttery sugar cookie recipe makes soft, sweet treats perfect for cookie trays and coffee breaks.

My husband acts like he is high on drugs. Not street drugs smuggled across the boarder via a baggie shoved up somebody’s rectum. I am talking about the good stuff: high-grade pharmaceutical cocaine. In case you were wondering, scientist-produced nose candy is real thing. The FDA actually gave a Philadelphia lab approval to produce nasal sprays containing cocaine. Apparently it makes an effective local anesthesia when used in moderation, but when used in excess you start seeing flying saucers.

In the kitchen.

Of course there is not a flying saucer in my house, only a flying lid from the empty sour cream container. The same container my husband ate the entire contents of before I could use it to make cheesecake for my son’s birthday. So, yes, something disc-shaped barreled toward his head at warp speed but it was not a UFO. It was an OFU or, specifically speaking, Oh F-you!

Don’t judge me for committing assault with a plastic container lid. I know a taser would have been better suited for the job, but the battery is only good for 50 firings. Besides, 50 jolts is just too lenient for a crime of this magnitude. In case you couldn’t tell, my crazy runs wide and it runs deep — especially when it comes to cheesecake. So while my husband is at the store restocking our sour cream supply (and getting a bottle of Advil for his sudden-onset headache), I am trying to stay sane by baking a batch of cookies.

Since pink is a calming color, I am making thumbprint cookies with pink icing and topping them with pink sprinkles. These are the perfect little cookies for Valentine’s Day–or for the days we choose marital violence over love. Wondering how to make thumbprint cookies? Simply start with a buttery sugar cookie dough that’s indented on top then filled to the brim with a sweet icing. Scratch made with simple ingredients, these thumbprint cookies are the path to inner peace. Plus, they’re cheaper than a divorce lawyer.

Before sharing the easy recipe for Thumbprint Cookies, here are a few baking tips to help you out:

Ingredient Tips

Eggs and butter need to be at room temperature before beginning. Having all ingredients at the same temperature before baking is the key to cookie success.

I recommend gel dye for the icing because gel is more vibrant and less diluting than liquid dye. I use pink, but feel free to switch things up with a different color.

Preparation Tips

Above all, take care to avoid overmeasuring, overmixing and overbaking.

Chilling the dough in advance helps the cookies keep their shape while baking, therefore, do not skip this step or your cookies will spread in the oven.

How to Store Thumbprint Cookies with Icing

Unbaked dough can be covered then stored in refrigerator for 1 week or frozen up to 3 months.

Store iced cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

I hope you enjoy this Thumbprint Cookies with Icing recipe. Please leave a rating and review below when you try it yourself. And, while you’re at it, sign up for my Recipe Newsletter so you never miss a tempting recipe.

Finally, if you like pink cookies then you’ll love this recipe for Pink Velvet Thumbprint Cookies with Cream Cheese. Soft and chewy with a creamy cheesecake filling, these eye-catching cookies will be the hit of your cookie tray.

Thumbprint Cookies with Icing

Heather Wolf

Save the jam for PB&J sandwiches and fill your next batch of Thumbprint Cookies with icing. This buttery sugar cookie recipe makes soft, sweet treats perfect for cookie trays and coffee breaks.

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Chill 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 27 minutes mins

Course Cookies and Bars

Cuisine American

Servings 26

Ingredients

  

Thumbprint Cookies

• 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 large egg room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract pure
• 2 cups all-purpose flour unbleached
• 1/4 tsp sea salt fine

Icing

• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp whole milk
• 3 drops pink gel food coloring
• pink sprinkles optional

Instructions

 

Thumbprint Cookies

• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy — approximately 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add egg, beating until combined.
• Add egg yolk and vanilla then beat until combined. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and salt.
• Add flour mixture to wet ingredients then beat on low speed until just incorporated. Avoid overmixing.
• Using a 1 Tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, form dough into evenly-sized balls.
• Place cookie balls 1.5 inches apart on the parchment-lined baking sheets. Dip the bottom of a drinking glass into granulated sugar then flatten a cookie ball to 1/4 inch thickness. Continue dipping the glass bottom into sugar and repeat the flattening process for the remaining cookie balls.
• Using the backside of a 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon, make an indent in the top of each cookie.
• Place cookie sheets in the refrigerator and chill dough for 1 hour. 
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees then bake cookies for 12 – 14 minutes or until bottoms are golden and edges are set.
• Remove baking sheet from the oven then deepen the thumbprint indents with the backside of the 1/4 teaspoon.
• Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before adding icing.

Icing

• Add powdered sugar and milk to a small mixing bowl then stir until smooth and lump free.
• Add a few drops of pink food coloring then stir until color is evenly distributed.
• Spoon icing into the thumbprint indents on the cookies.
• Top with sprinkles then allow icing to set before enjoying.

Storing

• Place cookies in an airtight container and store at room temperature up to 1 week.

Keyword cookies, icing, thumbprint