The Naptime Chef, Kelsey Banfield, shows how to make easy thumbprint cookies with jam.
-Hi. I'm Kelsey Banfield, The Naptime Chef. Holiday cookies are my favorite part of this time of year. I'm gonna show you my recipe for hazelnut thumbprint cookies. You're going to start by toasting the hazelnuts, place them in a dry skillet and one even layer over medium heat and cook. Gently shake the pan to make sure the nuts are evenly toasted and cook them for about 5 minutes or until the nuts become lightly brown and fragrant. Once it's nicely toasted, you're going to remove the nuts from the heat and place them in a food processor and pulse until finally chopped. In a bowl sift together the flour and salt then use an electric mixture to cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This will take about 2 minutes. After that, mix in the vanilla, slowly add the flour mixture followed by the chopped hazelnuts mixing until just incorporated. Form the dough into a bowl and wrap it up in plastic wrap. Pop it in the fridge for about an hour to chill. Now, for the fun part if you have kids who like to help in the kitchen, this is a great step for them to get involved in. Pinch the dough off the bowl and form one and a quarter inch circles and place them on the parchment paper at least 1/2 inches apart. Use your pointer finger to make a small well in the top of each cookie. The last step before getting these into the oven is to use your favorite jam to fill the well. Once they're all filled, pop them in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly brown. Once the cookies have cooled completely, I like to dust them with a bit of powdered sugar before displaying them on the platter for hungry house guests.
