Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies with Jam
Classic thumbprint cookies are given a festive twist with homemade pistachio flour, chopped pistachios, and a raspberry jam filling.
It feels as if Christmas has descended in full force, and I’m not fighting it. We decorated our tree a few weekends ago, and I loved reminiscing as we unpacked our ornaments.
I’ve also been baking up a storm! Everything from fruit cake to orange bundt cake, triple chocolate cookies, and today’s Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies with Jam.
The original recipe, which I shared just over five years ago, had a tart blackcurrant jam filling. While I love that variation, (and have included it as an option below), it can be tricky to find.
The updated recipe, which includes metric weights, uses easy-to-find raspberry jam as the filling. I love the contrast of the green pistachios with the red jammy filling, particularly for the holidays.
What are Thumbprint Cookies?
Thumbprint cookies are originally from Sweden, where they go by he name “Hallongrotta,” translating to “raspberry cave.” They are a classic Christmas cookie, traditionally made with a shortbread-like dough and jam filling.
The dough is rolled into rounds, then indented in the center with your thumb (hence the name) or, as I prefer, the end of a wooden spoon.
After baking, the centers are filled with jam, in this case, raspberry or blackcurrant jam. I always recommend using a jam that is more fruit forward and lower in sugar content.
Why You’ll Love These Thumbprint Cookies:
Similar to last year’s Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies, these cookies are elevated with homemade pistachio flour (which comes together in seconds!). It makes them a bit more exciting and special – which is exactly what the holidays are all about!
For added texture, the cookie dough balls are dipped in a frothy egg whites, then rolled in chopped pistachios.
This adds an extra step, but adds so much flavor. Regardless, these pistachio cookies can be made start to finish in under an hour!
They’re buttery, crisp, and rich in pistachio flavor with that classic jammy center.
How to Make Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies:
1. Pulse half of the shelled pistachios in a small food processor until medium-coarse in texture. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
2. To make the pistachio flour, combine the remaining pistachios and two teaspoons (6 grams) all purpose flour (this helps prevent it from clumping!) in the food processor bowl. Pulse continuously until fine in texture, similar to an almond meal/flour).
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the pistachio flour, 120 grams (1 cup) all-purpose flour, and salt.
4. Combine the softened butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, and beat for 3 to 4 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine. Over low speed, slowly add the dry flour mixture until the dough comes together. Note: If the dough appears dry and crumbly, you can add a small splash of milk to help it come together.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg white until light and frothy. Gently roll the dough into 1-inch diameter balls.
6. Working one at a time, dip the dough balls into the egg white mixture to coat lightly, then roll in the crushed pistachios.
7. Place the cookies on a parchment-lined baking pan, setting them apart by about two inches. Holding the dough steady with one hand, use the handle end of a wooden spoon to create an indent in the center.
8. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-18 minutes, or until lightly golden. If the indentations puff up during baking, gently press and deflate using the end of a wooden spoon or your fingertips. Allow to cool on baking sheet for several minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Cool, then lightly dust with confectioner’s sugar.
9. Heat the jam in a small saucepan until it comes to a boil, then spoon into the center of each cookie. Set completely before serving or storing.
Recipe Notes:
These thumbprints are resilient, if you choose to improvise. You can easily sub your favorite jam, nut, or even go as far as to add a chocolate filling.
Store the thumbprint cookies in an airtight container, between layers of parchment, at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies with Jam
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cups (200 grams) shelled pistachios, raw or dry roasted divided
- 1 cup (120 grams) plus 2 teaspoons (6 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour divided
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 ounces (8 tablespoons; 115g) unsalted butter room temperature
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg white
- powdered sugar for dusting
- ⅔ cup (210 grams) raspberry or blackcurrant preserves
Instructions
- Note: It can be very easy to over-measure flour, resulting in a drier, crumblier dough, if you use volume measurements for thumbprint cookies. I strongly recommend using a scale and the metric measurements provided below for this recipe. If you don't have a scale, be sure to read my guide on how to properly measure flour before starting.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper (or a silicone baking sheet) and set aside.
- Place ⅔ cup shelled pistachios in the bowl of small to medium food processor bowl, and pulse until coarsely chopped. Set aside in a bowl. Combine the remaining ⅔ cup shelled pistachios and the 2 teaspoons of all-purpose flour in the empty food processor bowl, and pulse repeatedly until finely ground.
- Whisk together the pistachio flour, remaining 1 cup all-purpose flour and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Combine the softened butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and mix thoroughly. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice until the dough comes together. Note: If the dough still appears crumbly or too dry, you can add a small splash of milk or water to help bring it together.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg white until lightly frothy. Using your fingertips, roll the cookie dough into roughly 1-inch diameter balls (about 1 tablespoonful). If you make them slightly larger, the yield will be closer to 16-18 cookies. Dip each ball lightly into the egg white, and then roll in the crushed pistachios until evenly coated. Place the balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets (roughly 12 cookies per sheet). Holding the cookie balls steady with one hand, create an indent in the center of each cookie with the end of a wooden spoon, pushing down until just before you reach the baking sheet. Re-shape each cookie into a circle with your fingertips as necessary.
- Bake the cookies, rotating the sheets halfway through the baking time, until the bottoms of the cookies are lightly golden, about 15 to 18 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 3 to 4 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool. Using a fine-meshed sieve, dust the cookies very lightly with powdered sugar.
- In a small saucepan, heat the raspberry jam (or blackcurrant, if using) until it reaches a boil. Remove the jam from the heat and spoon ½ to 1 teaspoon of jam into the center of each cookie. Allow the jam to cool and set completely before serving or storing.
- Leftover thumbprint cookies can be stored in an airtight container, layered between sheets of parchment or wax paper, at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Tips for Success:
- Feel free to mix these cookies up with your favorite jam, nut, or even go as far as to add a chocolate filling.
- Leftover thumbprint cookies can be stored in an airtight container, between layers of parchment, at room temperature for up to 4 days.
38 Comments on “Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies with Jam”
These were a part of my Christmas cookie box this year .. and will be forever from now on! OMG such a delicious cookie! I followed the recipe as stated, using weight for measurements & had no problems with the dough being dry. I filled 1/2 with raspberry preserves & the other 1/2 with lemon curd. Only thing I’ll change next time is to double the recipe!! Thank you for an amazing cookie recipe 💖
I realize I am quite late to discover this recipe; but, I had to provide a review after making them. These cookies are absolutely PHENOMINAL!! Seriously, one of the best cookie recipes I have ever made (and I have been baking for 40+ years). I especially appreciated the use of ground pistachio nuts to flavor the dough instead of using a pistachio extract/emulsion. I had no issues with dry, crumbly dough (and I did not need to add any milk). I also weigh the measurable ingredients when I bake (thank you, Laura, for providing the weight conversions). IMHO, that is a game-changer. I highly recommend anyone having issues with dry/crumbly dough do the same before providing a review of this recipe.
Thank you, Laura and Happy Holidays!
Epic fail of a recipe!! MUCH to dry and crumbly to barely even form a ball. Then forget about the “thumbprint” as that simply demolished the crudely-formed ball. Also one egg white was not enough….
Complete waste of time and effort.
Oh and yes, I am a proficient baker and measured precisely… very frustrating when anticipating satisfaction from a new recipe. Thumbs DOWN!!
*too Apparently the pistachio dust from the crumbly batter led to a typo. My apologies!
Also, please consider that I’m a human being and while I’m more than receptive to negative recipe feedback and am very sorry that you felt disappointed and/or ingredients were wasted, it really is unnecessary for you to be mean (aka. your reply comment) in the process.
Wasn’t being mean… just naturally sarcastic. It was nothing personal, I just want others to know the measurements are obviously off for this recipe before wasting time. It would have saved me from wasting mine if I had read the reviews, first.
I have included precise gram measurements and this recipe has been tested thoroughly. If you don’t use a scale, that can lead to problems with any thumbprint cookie – because dry ingredients can easily be over-measured. I do plan on adding a note to use a scale and that you can always add a small splash of milk if the dough appears too dry.
Aside from that, I have no more details from you regarding how you measured the ingredients and can’t really troubleshoot without that information.
I’m really sorry to hear this, but others have made it with success and I’ve tested this recipe multiple times (it was also tested by The Cooking Channel test kitchen, as it was a recipe that I created and worked with them to make).
I always recommend using a scale, especially for anything involving alternate flours, and so if you were using standard measuring cups, there could definitely be room for issues.
These cookies tasted delicious but man! I had a hard time getting thr dough come together when adding the flours. It remained pretty dry and crumbly and made it difficult to roll. I had to press them together and very gingerly make an imprint with my thumb wet with egg white. I kept rereading the recipe thinking I’d screwed up. I still have of the batch in the fridge (was hoping chilling would help). Should I do anything differently with the second batch? Again- they tasted delicious with raspberry preserves.
The dough shouldn’t be dry and crumbly, so it sounds like something may have gone wrong. Do you use a baking scale? If not, I highly (highly) recommend that as cup measurements can be wildly inaccurate (I use a fluff, spoon, and level method – anything else will result in too much flour and therefore potentially a very different outcome).
Hope I can help you troubleshoot! Chilling will definitely not help if the dough is hard to handle though, as it will just make it harder to roll.
I have someone with an egg allergy, could I roll them in anything else to coat them in the pistachios?
Hmm, that’s a bit tricky. I can’t honestly think of a good substitute that would work as intended. My advice would be to roll some of the cookies, and leave others without the extra chopped pistachios. You could seperate and leave those aside for them? It’s definitely not a requirement but adds texture and additional pistachio flavor.
Ok, thank you! I just made these last week for a Christmas party and everyone loved them. I’m hoping to make them again for Christmas, but I have three people in my family with an egg allergy. I will experiment. 🙂
I made these using some huckleberry jam from Wyoming in my fridge –> came out great! A great blend, and the powdered sugar dusting balanced the saltiness from the nuts well. Only 2 dozen made w/ the batch, but everyone who got to try them, loved them.
Are the pistachios roasted or raw?
Yes! Sorry for the confusion Mickele. I just added that information into the recipe, so it is clear! Thank you for the comments!
These are some beautiful cookies Laura and I love how pistachios are a main ingredient.
Cookie cookie cookie!! I am so amazed at your self control in sharing this. i would have probably blabbed back in September. I mean LOOK AT THESE. So picture perfect.
Thanks for the response. I looked in my grocery store for black current jam and no go. Will check a couple more places before I give up. Definitely going to make these. 🙂
I can only imagine how delicious these cookies are. The flavors of pistachios paired up with currant jam = A match made in heaven!
I can’t believe you held out for three months! I love the festive colors of these cookies and the black currant – pistachio combo sounds like the most popular cookie in the holiday box.
These are beautiful! I love desserts with pistachios. Also, I hate the fact that my cable package doesn’t come with the Cooking Channel!
If you can’t find the current jam, do you have another suggestion?
Yes! I’ll add this to the notes below–thanks for the suggestion! I think blackberry would be great because it also is a bit on the tarter side, but raspberry would be great too! You can find reduced sugar jams that are a little bit more tart (note: they just have less sugar, but don’t get ‘no sugar’–whichever they use sweeteners. Hope this helps!! Even a marmalade would be great! These are very versatile.
Oh my gosh, that bowl of pistachios! I want that in my hands right now. Haha Beautiful cookies, by the way.
YUMMMMMM – give me all the pistachios and all the blackcurrant please!
Jam thumbprints are my favorite Christmas cookies always & forever, and I pretty much stop dead in my tracks for all things pistachio. I guess what I’m saying is that I totally love these cookies!
I agree with Averie! Your flavor combos are just AWESOME! Yum!
You are sooooooo creative! I bet the flavor combo is to die for! Pinned!
You’re so sweet Averie!! Thank you!!
YUM! I love the look of these, and I bet they’re super delicious. That must have been one hard secret to keep!
I make jam thumbprints every year (LOVE) and this is such a refreshing twist. Great combo Laura. Thanks for the inspiration!
these look delicious!
ah, a use for all this pistachios I have in the freezer – can you use salted ones and just eliminate the salt in recipe?
Hi Nancy! Are they heavily salted? You might be able to get away with it–but since you use them to make pistachio flour as well as roll the cookies in them–there is a chance they may be too salty! Wish I could be more helpful!
These cookies are adorable! Congrats on having your recipe on the cooking channel, so exciting! 🙂
Pistachios are like my favorite nut ever! These look so delicious! Totally pinned!
Thanks so much for sharing Tori!