Stick a finger in it!

A little impaired but slowly healing, I am now definitely in the mood and motivated to make more cookies! the only thing is that I've been doing nothing but rolling balls of dough. At this point I've likely rolled several hundred balls of every kind; nutty balls, ginger balls, chocolate balls and I am getting bored. As I was rolling the Peppermint Pixies, I stopped for a moment, stared at the round sphere and stuck my finger in it and thought duh! that's easy what about some jam thumbprints!


This recipe appeared in Gourmet maybe a year or 2 ago. They ran an article on Gourmet's Favourite Cookies over the years. Not sure what year this was originally published but all I know is that this simple basic recipe is one of best I've eaten and quickest to make; no fancy equipments necessary and just one bowl to wash! The crust is tender and delicate and balances well with a preserve that is not too sweet. Unable to locate the link on their site to the recipe, I've quoted it below.

Strawberry Jam Tarts
from Gourmet: This is just one of Gourmet’s Favorite Cookies: 1941-2008. Although we’ve retested the recipes, in the interest of authenticity we’ve left them unchanged: The instructions below are still exactly as they were originally printed.

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
2 large egg yolks, beaten lightly
1 cup strained strawberry jam

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, the sugar, and the salt, add the butter, and blend the mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in the egg yolks, blend the mixture until it forms a dough, and chill the dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Let the dough soften slightly, roll level teaspoons of it into balls, and arrange the balls about 2 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets. Using your thumb, make an indentation in the center of each ball, being careful not to crack the dough around the edges. (If the dough cracks, reroll it and try again.) Fill each indentation with about 1/4 teaspoon of the jam and bake the cookies in batches in the middle of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are pale golden. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 2 minutes, transfer them to racks, and let them cool completely. The cookies may be made 1 month in advance and kept frozen in airtight containers. Makes about 100 cookies.