Thumbprint Cookies with Icing

These Thumbprint Cookies with Icing are perfect for the holidays- buttery shortbread cookies topped with a sweet icing and festive sprinkles.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings servings

Calories 137kcal

Author Kelly Hamilton

Cost $5

Equipment

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
⅔ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg yolk at room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled

Icing

2 cups powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoon milk use as needed
food coloring I used red & green
sprinkles

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add in the vanilla extract and egg yolk, mixing until combined. Lastly, mix in the flour until a dough forms, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. It will seem crumbly at first but continue mixing and the dough will come together.
Scoop and roll 1 tablespoon of dough into balls and place onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Gently press your thumb or the back of a measuring spoon into the middle of the ball.
Bake cookies for 13-15 minutes, until the cookies are set and the bottoms are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and using the back of a round measuring spoon, gently press the indent back down. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the pan, then carefully transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Make the icing

In a bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of milk. Add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until you reach desired consistency. You don't want the icing to be super runny, but enough to pipe/spoon into the cookies. Divided the icing into separate bowls and color with food coloring (optional).
Use a piping bag, a ziploc bag, or a spoon to put the icing into the thumbprints on the cookies. Sprinkle with your favorite holiday sprinkles. Allow the icing to set completely (about 12 hours) before serving or stacking them on top of one another.

Notes

Storing and Freezing: Cookies may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Baked cookies can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.

temperature butter- This is super important for this recipe because if you use warm butter your cookies will spread too much and not hold their shape. I like to take my butter out about an hour before baking (as long as it's not too warm inside my house). To test, gently press on your butter- it should leave a slight indent but the wrapper should not feel greasy.
spoon and level your flour- I always recommend spooning and leveling your flour when baking. Scooping the measuring cup right into the flour will actually compact the flour and give much more than the recipe calls for. To spoon and level, use a large spoon to gently scoop the flour into your measuring cup. Once it's full, use a flat edge (like a butter knife) to gently scrape across the top of the measuring cup.
allow pans to cool before baking- a general rule of thumb in baking if you don't want your cookies to spread is don't put your dough on a warm baking sheet. Allow your sheet to cool completely in between batches or use a different one.

Nutrition