Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies

Source: Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients:
for the cookies:
1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (I only ever have salted -  it was fine)
2/3 cup (134g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups + 2 Tablespoons (264g) all-purpose flour (measured correctly)
1/2 cup (160g) raspberry jam

for the glaze:
1 cup (120g) confectioners' sugar
1 Tablespoon (15g) cream or milk
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract (optional) (I left it out)

Directions:
Make the cookies: Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Switch mixer to medium speed and add the the sugar, vanilla, and almond extracts. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed. Turn the mixer off and pour the flour into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and slowly beat until a very soft dough is formed.  Press the dough down to compact it and tightly cover with plastic wrap to chill until firm, at least 4 hours.  (Mine chilled for closer to 9 hours.)

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (silicone mats preferred to reduce spreading) (I don't have either so I just skipped it - maybe I lightly sprayed with cooking spray?  I really can't remember now.). Shape the cookie dough into balls about 1 Tablespoon of dough each. Make sure they're nice and smooth. If you find that the balls of dough are sticky and/or have gotten a little soft after rolling- place the balls of dough back into the refrigerator to firm up. You absolutely DO NOT want soft dough. Make an indentation with your thumb into each ball. The dough may crack slightly when you press your thumb into it. Simply smooth it out with your fingers if you can. Otherwise, it's perfectly fine to have a few cracks. Fill each with a scant 1/2 teaspoon of jam. (Or however much it can hold.)

Bake the shortbread thumbprint cookies for 13-15 minutes, or until very lightly browned on the edges. The cookies will puff up and spread slightly. Do not overbake.  (I stayed toward the lower limits to keep them soft.)  Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before glazing.

Make the glaze: stir together glaze ingredients until smooth. Add more liquid to thin out or add more confectioners' sugar to thicken to your desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cookies. Glaze will set within a couple hours.

Store cookies covered at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for 6 days. Shortbread cookie dough may be frozen up to 2 months; baked cookies (without glaze - or with - ours were fine with glaze in the freezer) may be frozen up to 2-3 months.  Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Notes: 
I had this one saved on my Pinterest desserts board for a long, long time.  Finally I decided it would be one of my Christmas cookies this December (mostly to eat by ourselves at home, but we did share a few with our neighbor, Betty).  I was pleased with how easily the dough came together.

There is a note in the recipe about making sure the dough didn't get too soft.  I found I had the opposite problem - because my dough had chilled for so long the dough was rock hard and I had to chisel it into chunks, which I then had to hold in my hands to warm up a bit before I could even roll them.  What I should have done is put them back in the fridge after I rolled them, but I didn't, and when they cooked they spread a bit more than I was wanting at the edges.  So, it is true that you don't want your dough to get too warm.  But you do need it to be pliable enough to roll into ball, so next time I'll pull the dough out and let it soften for about 15 minutes, roll it into balls, and then pop it back in the fridge for a bit so it they're nice and cold and will hopefully not spread when baked.

BUT - despite the fact that my cookies did not look like the photos on the blog, they really did taste amazing.  I anticipate that these little gems of cookies will be making repeat appearances in my kitchen for many Christmases (or any other cookie-making times) to come.  I'd love to give them a try with other jam flavors, too - blueberry, apricot, strawberry - so many options!