Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies are so fun to make and completely delicious! I’m adding lemon zest to the cookies and lemon juice to the powdered sugar glaze to give them the best sweet and tart flavor.
Jam Thumbprints are an old-fashioned cookie that has stood the test of time. These little cookies are packed with sweet raspberry jam before baking and then finished off with a sweet and citrusy lemon glaze. They are so good!
I love the combination of lemon and raspberry flavors in this cookie recipe. It makes them irresistible and maybe a little bit addicting! Add Raspberry Thumbprint cookies to a Christmas cookie platter, make them for a baby shower, or whip up a batch to share with someone you love.
Just like these classic Italian Cookies and Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies, Raspberry Thumbprint cookies are a treat that fits any occasion.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe for Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
- Small Cookies: While extra large cookies have their place, little, dainty cookies like these are always my favorite. For one thing, it means I can eat more than a few in one sitting! I’ll teach you a trick to getting a small thumbprint space in these without even using your thumb.
- Lemon Flavor: These aren’t normal raspberry thumbprint cookies. They are extra special from the addition of lemon zest and juice. The flavor combination is perfect, and everyone will be asking you for the recipe.
- Step by Step Instructions: As always, I’m giving you detailed instructions for making the perfect cookie recipe. You can’t fail if you stick with me.
Try my Orange Cookies if you enjoy a soft, melt in your mouth cookie with bright citrus flavor!
Ingredients in Jam Thumbprints
Complete list of ingredients with quantities and instructions is located in the recipe card below
- Flour and Salt: The dry ingredients for this cookie recipe don’t include any baking soda or baking powder! This cookie is most like a shortbread cookie. Thumbprints don’t rise much while baking, and are pleasantly light, buttery, and crisp.
- Unsalted Butter: Always choose unsalted butter when baking. Let the butter sit out at room temperature until softened.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetness is added to this cookie in multiple ways, and regular white sugar sweetens the dough, and then we’ll roll the dough in more sugar before baking.
- Lemon Zest: This is the secret to getting lemony flavor throughout these raspberry thumbprint cookies. Use a microplane to remove just the outer yellow part of one whole lemon.
- Vanilla Extract: A good quality pure vanilla extract will add delicious bakery flavor to all of your homemade cookie recipes.
- Raspberry Jam: When shopping for jam for thumbprint cookies, pick up seedless raspberry jam. The seeds in regular jam add an unneeded crunch that we don’t want in these cookies.
- Lemon Sugar Glaze: The glaze on these cookies is super easy to whip up. You just need powdered sugar, freshly squeezed lemon juice (from the lemon you zested earlier), and a bit more vanilla.
How to Make Raspberry Jam Thumbprint Cookies with Icing
- Get Ready to Bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (Silpats are great!) and set aside.
- Mix the Dry Ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour and salt.
- Cream: In a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, add the softened butter and ⅔ cup of granulated sugar. Cream until light and fluffy. This takes about 3 minutes.
- Finish the Dough: Add the lemon zest and vanilla and stir to combine. Then add the flour, a bit at a time, and mix until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl to mix everything together.
- Roll Cookie Balls: Place the rest of the sugar in a small bowl. Use a cookie scoop to scoop 1 tablespoon sized dough balls, and roll each with your hands to smooth them. Roll each ball through the granulated sugar and place on sheet trays, leaving two inches between each cookie.
- Make Thumbprints and Fill: Make indentations in the cookies using the end of a a round wooden spoon or similar tool. The indention should be about ⅔ of the way down into each ball. Don’t worry if the dough cracks on the edges; this is normal. Fill each cookie with a heaping teaspoon of seedless raspberry jam.
- Bake: Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the tops of the cookies look dry and the bottoms are lightly golden brown. Let the cookies cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before adding the glaze.
- Make the Glaze: To make the lemon glaze, mix together the lemon juice, powdered sugar and vanilla. Adjust the consistency if needed by adding a bit more juice or sugar. It should be thick, but pourable.
- Glaze the Cookies: Glaze the cookies with the icing by dipping a fork into the glaze and drizzling it over the cookies while they are on the rack. Any excess will drip off. Give the glaze 15 minutes to set before serving or storing.
Recipe Tips
To Make the Indentations: I’m using the rounded end of a wooden spoon with a slightly wider handle to make the circular spaces in these cookies. You can also use a rounded measuring teaspoon, or do it old-school with your thumb! If you have a kiddo helping you bake, little thumbs work particularly well for this job.
Try it with Almond: Almond extract is tasty in this recipe, either instead of or in addition to the vanilla extract. Use just ½ teaspoon either in the glaze or the icing for another layer of flavor. A sprinkling over chopped slivered almonds on top of the glaze goes well with this variation too. You could call them Raspberry almond shortbread thumbprints!
Other Flavors: Don’t stop at just raspberry! You can fill thumbprint cookies with any type of jam or preserves. Try lemon, strawberry, or blueberry.
How to Store Jam Thumbprint Cookies
These cookies will keep fresh at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week. You can also freeze them in an airtight container for up to three months.
Store them in a single layer or put wax paper between layers to keep them from sticking together.
More Tasty Cookie Recipes to Bake
Try more of our fun to make and tasty cookie recipes!
- Twix Thumbprint Cookies
- Banana Bread Cookies
- Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Cookies
- Eggnog Cookies
- Monster Cookies
Recipe FAQs
There is no need to refrigerate these cookies once they have been baked. Store them at room temperature for up to a week.
The original version of this cookie style was made by pressing a thumb into the dough to create an indentation for fruit filling. Here I choose to use a tool to make them look a bit neater, but using your thumb instead is traditional.
For jam thumbprints, you should fill the cookies with jam before putting them in the oven. The jam bakes along with the cookie, and reduces a bit to make it thicker and a bit chewy – yum!
While testing this recipe I didn’t find it necessary to chill the dough before baking. If yours seem to be spreading too much in the oven, or if you are in a warm climate, you may need to let them chill for 15-30 minutes.
That’s it, you now hold the key to making butter, crispy, sweet, and tart raspberry cookies! You’ll probably want to Pin this recipe so you can make it again in a week or so when the first batch is gone.
Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies with Lemon Glaze
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups (300g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks, 225g) butter softened
- ⅔ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- lemon zest from one lemon
- ¼ cup seedless raspberry jam
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Glaze:
- 1 ¼ cup (155g) powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (Silpats are great!) and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, add the softened butter and ⅔ cup of granulated sugar. Cream until light and fluffy. This takes about 3 minutes.
- Add the lemon zest and vanilla and stir to combine. Then add the flour, a bit at a time, and mix until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl to mix everything together.
- Place the rest of the sugar in a small bowl. Use a cookie scoop to scoop 1 tablespoon sized dough balls, and roll each with your hands to smooth them. Roll each ball through the granulated sugar and place on sheet trays, leaving two inches between each cookie.
- Make indentations in the cookies using the end of a round wooden spoon or similar tool. The indention should be about ⅔ of the way down into each ball. Don’t worry if the dough cracks on the edges; this is normal.
- Fill each cookie with a heaping teaspoon of seedless raspberry jam.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the tops of the cookies look dry and the bottoms are lightly golden brown. Let the cookies cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before adding the glaze.
- To make the lemon glaze, mix together the lemon juice, powdered sugar and vanilla. Adjust the consistency if needed by adding a bit more juice or sugar. It should be thick, but pourable.
- Glaze the cookies with the icing by dipping a fork into the glaze and drizzling it over the cookies while they are on the rack. Any excess will drip off. Give the glaze 15 minutes to set before serving or storing.
Notes
- To Store: Keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
- To Freeze: Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
- Be sure to store these in a single layer, or put wax paper between layers to keep them from sticking together.
- To make the indentations: use the end of a wooden spoon, a measuring teaspoon, or your thumb.
- To make Almond Raspberry Thumbprints: add ½ teaspoon of almond extract to the dough, and/or replace the vanilla in the glaze with ½ teaspoon of almond.
- Other Flavors: any type of jam or preserves can be used in this recipe. Try lemon, strawberry, or blueberry.
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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Comments & Reviews
Laura Elsworth says
Made there today and OMG they are SO good! Very easy, just the right amount of sweet/ tartness. Found my new Christmas cookie recipe
Effie says
They look great
Nena Morrison says
Every time I make thumbprint cookies they spread. What’s the key to keeping their nice shape?
Diana says
A big part is the recipe that you’re following, these thumbprint cookies should not spread much. I suggest that you make the dough, and then bake just one and see. If it spreads, chill the cookie dough for half an hour and that should solve the problem.
Angie says
Hi!
Just about to start baking this recipe.
If I sub almond extract for vanilla, would I still add lemon zest?
Thanks in advance!😃
Diana says
I think that would be delicious!
Margaret Williams says
I think your list of ingredients is incomplete for the Raspberry Thumbprint cookies. You only listed vanilla extract in the glaze section, but yet you say to add vanilla and lemon zest in the dough in instructions without including the quantity of vanilla for the dough. The lemon zest is listed but not the vanilla extract in the list of ingredients for the dough. How much vanilla extract for the dough?
Diana says
Thanks for the heads up! You need half a teaspoon of vanilla extract for the cookie dough.