These melt-in-your-mouth thumbprint cookies with icing are soft and buttery, and are filled with easy and simple icing and powdered sugar!
These cookies are named for the small indentation made by your thumb in the center of each dough ball before baking, which is then filled with icing after they cool.
The buttery base of the cookie melts in your mouth, providing a rich flavor that perfectly complements the sweet icing filling.
What makes these cookies truly special is their simplicity; both the dough and icing require only basic ingredients you likely already have at home.
This combination of ease and deliciousness makes thumbprint cookies an irresistible choice for any occasion.
For more buttery cookies, check out my lemon curd cookies, dulce de leche cookies, almond thumbprint cookies, and Linzer cookies.
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Why this recipe works
- Texture- the soft, buttery texture of thumbprint cookies is truly irresistible. Each bite melts in your mouth, and has a perfect balance between the tender cookie base and the smooth icing on top.
- One bowl- making these cookies is easy with their simple one-bowl preparation. Minimal cleanup lets you enjoy baking more and wash dishes less.
- No chill needed- unlike many other cookie recipes, these cookies don't require chilling the dough before baking. This means you can whip up a batch quickly without waiting for hours, making them perfect for last-minute dessert.
- Versatile Fillings- one of the best things about thumbprint cookies is their versatility in fillings. While classic jam or icing is always a hit, you can fill these with different flavors like chocolate ganache or lemon curd.
- Holiday-Themed- with just a touch of food coloring in the icing, these cookies can easily be transformed into festive treats for any holiday celebration. Whether it's red and green for Christmas or pastel hues for Easter.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this iced thumbprint cookies recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of these delicious cookies.
Egg yolk- you will need 1 egg yolk for this cookie dough. Make sure that your egg yolk is at room temperature.
Granulated sugar– I like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Flour– I used all-purpose flour for this recipe. Cake flour will work great as well.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
Vanilla extract- for vanilla flavor. I used vanilla paste, but you can use a whole vanilla bean or pure vanilla extract.
For the icing
Powder sugar- is known as confectioners sugar. For a smoother icing, sift it before adding it to the butter.
Milk- use your favorite milk for this. Can be plant-based or whole milk.
Vanilla extract- if you want to make these even better, use a vanilla bean vanilla extract.
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Into a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter, vanilla extract, kosher salt, and sugar. Mix with an electric hand mixer until well combined and creamy.
Add the egg yolk and mix until the mixture is smooth.
Add the flour, and mix the dough until it is just combined and there are no lumps of flour visible. The dough might look crumbly, but it will come together beautifully.
Using an ice cream scooper, scoop out about 1 tablespoon of the cookie dough and roll it into balls. Using your thumb or a teaspoon, make indents on each cookie.
Bake the cookies in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10 minutes. Don't overbake these cookies so they will stay soft!
When you take the cookies out of the oven, immediately reshape the cookies using a spoon or your thumb.
Let the cookies cool to room temperature and make the icing: in a small mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix with a spoon or a mini spatula until it's silky smooth.
Transfer the icing to a piping bag and cut off the tip. Fill each cookie with the icing, and top them with powdered sugar.
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. You must use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Use high quality butter. Start with high-quality, unsalted butter to ensure your cookies are rich and flavorful.
- Create even indents. Use your thumb or a small spoon to make even indentations in each cookie before baking. This ensures a perfect spot for the icing.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with the back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cookies release easily from the pan.
- Cool completely before icing. Allow cookies to cool completely on a wire rack before adding icing; this prevents melting or running.
Faq's
If your dough is too sticky, you may have used butter that is too warm when making the cookie dough. Your butter should be at room temperature and it should be soft to the touch.
Another reason can be that you didn't measure your flour correctly. You may add not enough flour to the dough. Make sure that you measure your flour correctly.
If your thumbprint cookies spread too much, you might need more flour. Flour stabilizes and gives structure to the cookies as they bake.
Without enough, dough lacks firmness and spreads excessively. To prevent this, measure your flour accurately.
Cracking in thumbprint cookies often results from dry dough, usually due to too much flour or not enough butter.
To prevent this, measure ingredients accurately. Chilling the dough before forming it also helps maintain its integrity when pressing your thumb into the center.
Storing
Store these cookies at room temperature for up to 5 days. Store them in an airtight container so they won't dry out.
Freezing
Arrange the cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet and place them in the freezer until they are solid.
Once frozen, transfer the cookies to an airtight container or a resealable plastic bag, separating layers with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
Label the container with the date, and store it in the freezer for up to three months. When you're ready to enjoy them, simply thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Substitutions
Dairy-free - If you are dairy-free, replace the butter with vegan butter or plant-based butter. For the icing, swap the milk with plant-based milk.
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour.
Variations
Filling- fill these cookies with your favorite filling like hazelnut spread, chocolate ganache, jam, dulce de leches, caramel, etc.
Sprinkles- top these with your favorite kind of sprinkles. They can be holiday-themed to make them festive!
Lemon zest- add lemon zest to the cookie dough for a delicious lemon flavor and aroma.
Food coloring- you can color your icing with holiday-themed colors like red and green food colors for Christmas. I recommend using gel food coloring and use a little bit at a time.
Icing- make this icing with your favorite flavoring, you can add lemon or orange zest or juice, or add almond extract for an almond flavor.
Equipment
More buttery cookie recipes
Lemon curd cookies- These lemon curd cookies are made with a shortbread thumbprint cookie and filled with homemade lemon curd.
Italian wedding cookies- Italian wedding cookies are shortbread-like cookies that are tossed in powder sugar and made with only a few simple ingredients!
Almond snowball cookies- These snowball cookies are made with almond flour and almond extract for extra almond flavor. These cookies will completely melt in your mouth and you won't be able to stop at one!
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to leave a rating and a comment below. We love hearing from you.
If you liked this recipe
📖 Recipe
Thumbprint Cookies With Icing
Ingredients
- ½ cup Butter room temp, unsalted
- ⅓ cup Granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 Egg yolk
- 1 ¼ cups Flour gluten free if needed
Icing
- 1 ½ cup Powder sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon Milk add more if needed
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Into a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter, vanilla extract, kosher salt, and sugar. Mix with an electric hand mixer until well combined and creamy
- Add the egg yolk and mix until the mixture is smooth.
- Add the flour, and mix the dough until it is just combined and there are no lumps of flour visible. The dough might look crumbly, but it will come together beautifully.
- Using an ice cream scooper, scoop out about 1 tablespoon of the cookie dough and roll them into balls. Using your thumb or a teaspoon, make indents on each cookie.
- Bake the cookies in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10 minutes. Don't overbake these cookies so they will stay soft!
- When you take the cookies out of the oven, immediately reshape the cookies using a spoon or your thumb.
- Let the cookies cool to room temperature and make the icing: in a small mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix with a spoon or a mini spatula until it's silky smooth.
- Transfer the icing to a piping bag and cut off the tip. Fill each cookie with the icing, and top them with powdered sugar.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. You must use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Use high quality butter. Start with high-quality, unsalted butter to ensure your cookies are rich and flavorful.
- Create even indents. Use your thumb or a small spoon to make even indentations in each cookie before baking. This ensures a perfect spot for the icing.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with the back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cookies release easily from the pan.
- Cool completely before icing. Allow cookies to cool completely on a wire rack before adding icing; this prevents melting or running.
Gina says
How can you shape with your hands once the cookies are out of the oven? It doesn’t make sense
RichandDelish says
You can use a teaspoon!
Marissa says
Just made these for my mom and nana for Mother’s Day and they are exactly what I was looking for, thank you!