Jam Thimble Cookies

Whenever I hear about how blogging is ruining the internet, magazines, restaurants, or whathaveyou, I get a little smile on my face. It's just a quirk to the side of my mouth, a little twinkle in my eye. Because really, how egotistical do they think most bloggers are? We aren't here to take down Gourmet or Bon Appetit! Most of us just want that little corner of the world in which to share a little of ourselves. I think. I mean, please raise your hand if you feel like taking over the world. I thought about it for a bit, and decided that was way too much work. That's when I began baking and blogging - much easier, and I still have time for eight hours of sleep! WIN!


And in the midst of all this baking and blogging and sharing, I realized that I've crossed a barrier. This barrier? It's like the freaking Great Wall of China here - I don't want you to think this is anything less than monumental. You want to know what it is? I'm mushy. I've become friends with people in this little corner of the internets. Friends! With people I have a 34876324 * 10 ^ -789334 chance of meeting, for the most part! And when they hurt, or bad things happen, I just want to fly to them and hug them. I want to cry with them, talk to them about it, and provide any means of comfort I can.


Why is this such a fantastical thing? Why am I devoting an entire post to it, when I obviously have better things to talk about, like how guys on the floor refuse to eat cake without frosting, or have unhealthy obsessions with hunting, fishing, and Packer football? Because this is so not me. Yes, I was in a sorority, but dear god - there was no way I was getting involved in the giggling and dressing up and makeup and deargodtheamountofpink that went on. But comment by comment, email by email, you guys have softened me up. I address some of you as sweetie or hon, end messages with xxoo, and oh my is this not normal. But it's good, I swear. Those of you on Twitter with me were the first (the first!) to know about my engagement, the first to see my wedding dress. This is good for me, good for the soul.


That's why I'm on this blog, truly. It isn't just to have my little corner of the internets to share baking exploits. It isn't, by any means, so that I can take down some big media conglomerate (although wouldn't that be fun? just not the nice ones. we'd spare the nice ones, right?). Piece by piece, I'm becoming a better me, a more approachable me.


And so I want to share these with you. Thumbprint cookies. They are, with zero false modesty, the best damned thimble cookies you will ever eat. It's my great grandmother's recipe - a buttery dough, rolled in crushed walnuts, and baked. Filled with a dollop of raspberry jam, these are my gift to you. Get thee unto the kitchen and bake. Bake these, and as you're popping them in your mouth (they are eminently pop-able) remember - these are hugs. My hugs to you. Because dear lord, do you think I'm made of money? There's no way I can come visit all of you. But I can surely share these, my ultimate favorite cookie. Share them with those you love, because they're worth it. And I don't mean just the cookies.


Oh, oh! And at the risk of sounding silly after all this, I just wanted to mention one little thing. This is my entry into Bon Appetit's Blog Envy Holiday Baking Contest. And while I think all of you are super awesome, I hope you think the same of me. Or at least of my cookies. So I would love to have you go vote for my entry into the contest. Because really, these cookies are amazing.

Thimble Cookies

1 cup butter (2 sticks, 16 Tablespoons), at room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar (go ahead, use light if you want - I just never keep it on hand)
2 eggs, separated
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups walnuts, finely chopped (for the love of god, do this in the food processor. it'll help maintain sanity)
Raspberry jam, for filling (okay, you can use other jam, but really, why would you?)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and get out a cookie sheet or two. No greasing, no parchment paper. My great grandma wasn't into fussy baking.

Using a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth, then add in the brown sugar. Cream until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Mix in the egg yolks one at a time, then add in the vanilla. Switch to a spatula and add in the flour, mixing until just combined.

I used a small cookie scoop (2 tsp) for this next step, but most times I just use two spoons. Form the dough into balls, about 1 1/2" in diameter. Dip them in the egg whites, then in the walnuts, rolling them so the entire cookie is coated in walnuts.

Place the cookies on the ungreased cookie sheet. These don't spread much at all, so feel free to leave as little as 1-2 inches between the cookies. Using your thumb, indent the center of each dough ball, making a deeper impression than you think you'll want in the end - these do puff a bit, so you'll lose some definition during baking.

Bake for 12-14 minutes. Edges will begin to look a slight golden brown, and you should really smell the brown sugar and nuts. Tops of the cookies will look dry, but not very browned. Cool cookies on a rack.

Once the cookies are cool, fill with 1/2 tsp raspberry jam each.

Makes ~40 cookies.