Blueberry Tarragon Thumbprint Cookies

My Mom makes these thumbprint cookies every year for Christmas, I just stole the recipe and put hipster jam inside of them. I’d give them out to people in December who aren’t good enough for an actual gift, but you still appreciate them – maybe your barber, Fedex lady, or therapist. Nothing sends a message of distant appreciation like some cookies on a paper plate, covered in plastic wrap. The odd tang of cream cheese and the even odder almond extract flavor always excited me. Round that out with the crunch of pecan, and an herbal tart jam, and you my friend have created a luxurious and time consuming cookie. I’ve made them a hundred times, but the best ones were with blueberry tarragon jam from SQIRL, but unfortunately it doesn’t look like Jessica makes that flavor anymore. I tried to “craft” my own but obviously didn’t come anywhere close. Just buy some fresh tarragon and add it to your favorite pre-made jam. “Recipe” for that below too.

Blueberry Tarragon Thumbprint Cookies

Around 30 cookies depending on how big you make ’em.

Ingredients:

8 ounce package cream cheese, softened (not low fat!)

1 cup unsalted butter (softened)

1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed if you’re into sweet, not if you’re not)

1 tsp. Kosher salt

2.5 tsp. almond extract

3 1/2 cups All purpose flour

Zest of ½ lemon

½ cup – 1 cup chopped pecans (depending on how much you like nuts)

1 egg white (for egg wash, not for the mixture)

1 cup blueberry tarragon jam* (probably won’t use it all, but better than running out)

Equipment:

Large mixing bowl

Baking sheet(s)

*Jam recipe:

You can google one of thousands of jam recipes, but I like to take a jar of my favorite blueberry jam, mix it in a small pot with 1 tbsp of finely chopped tarragon, heat it up slowly for a couple minutes until almost bubbling, stir thoroughly and let cool (overnight if you can) for the tarragon flavors to absorb. It’s a lot of dumb work just to make it taste like tarragon, but it should help you take it to the next level, as I think the flavor goes really well with the blueberry, almond extract, and, cream cheese. Or just don’t do that at all, you don’t even care!!!!

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl add flour, brown sugar, cream cheese, butter, salt, almond extract, and lemon zest.
2. Using your hands, slowly mix everything together, squeezing and moving slowly at first so you don’t get flour everywhere. Once mixture is combined, knead with your hands for a couple minutes.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for an hour for all the flavors to combine, extracts to absorb, sugar crystals to dissolve.
4. Preheat your oven to 400°
5. Lay out your cookie station with a bowl of chopped pecans, bowl of jam, and bowl with the egg white.
6. Rip off your chunk of dough just slightly smaller than a golf ball, roll it in your hand until you form a nice and round globe, then flatten it out like B.o.B. until you get something like a hockey puck, or a flat falafel, if you’ve seen those.
7. Now using your thumb or finger depending on what you’re comfortable with, bore out a hole in the center. There are many ways to do this efficiently – you’ll figure out your fav after a while. You want to make sure the hole is big enough to receive the jam, but not too deep where you might puncture the bottom.
8. When you’re happy with your hole (you won’t be, who cares) flip it upside down and gently drop in egg wash, just so the top gets wet with white.
9. Now straight into the chopped pecan bowl, don’t smash it down too hard, let gravity do it’s job, if you didn’t get enough pecan, just do it again.
10. Gently line them up on your ungreased baking sheet, careful not to overcrowd the pan. I always have to do two sheets.
11. Make sure do a few without pecans for your friends and family that can’t eat nuts, even though they will be disgusting.
12. When all your cookies are lined up and laid out, I use the back end of a spoon to gently scoop jam into each hole. If you have a tiny spoon that would probably work too.
13. Bake on 400 for 15-18 minutes. ( I rotate the pan after 10 minutes).
14. Please note that after 15 minutes, your cookies will look more or less the exact same. This is normal, just pull them out and let them cool for 30 minutes before you move or eat them. If 30 minutes have passed, and on the off chance that they still seem a little too soft and mushy, put ’em back in the oven for a few minutes.
15. Done!