If you are seeking a new dessert for your Thanksgiving feast, this recipe brings the traditional flavors of Thanksgiving into a fresh holiday favorite. The recipe for Cranberry Thumbprint Cookies is simple and involves just a few ingredients—many of which you likely already have on hand. These can be made from start to finish in under an hour and taste great.
What you'll need
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
- Why not include your kids in the preparations? With a fabulous cookie recipe like this children can easily join in the fun; there are ample opportunities: adding ingredients to the mixer, sifting the flour and salt, and (best of all) making thumbprints in the cookies. Think of the wonderful memories you'll be making!
- The cookie scoop is really a must! It produces equal size, round cookies every time. It'll look like a professional made them!
- You can use either homemade cranberry sauce or canned sauce; whichever you prefer.
- Another fab idea? Use your cranberry sauce leftovers after Thanksgiving to make some more cookies. Just imagine eating a few of these with that post-Thanksgiving turkey sandwich. Perfection.
How to make it
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter, white sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. The mixture will look lumpy, like beads in syrup. Don't remove the bowl from the stand mixer just yet.
In a medium bowl, sift together the salt and flour.
Turn the mixer on its lowest setting, and add the flour spoonful by spoonful until just combined with the wet mixture. The mixer will be smooth and sticky.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop, scoop out the cookie dough, placing the balls about 2 inches apart.
Dip your thumb into flour and then press into the center of each cookie dough ball. (This is the perfect task for kids! They'll love making a thumb imprint on each cookie.) Be sure to re-dip your (or your child's) finger into the flour after each indentation; this is seriously sticky dough.
Fill the indents to the top with a dollop of whole berry cranberry sauce.
Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown around the edges.
Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
