Thumbprints

Our family made 4 types of Christmas cookies religiously...Chocolate Crinkles, Nut Jammers, spritz cookies, and these Thumbprints.  Some recipes call for the jelly to bake with the cookies, but it's better to add the jelly after the cookies have cooled.  Also, the smaller the thumb, the better, otherwise the cookie will smash.

Basic Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar witha n electric mixer on high speed until light and creamy.  Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth.
2. Add flour and salt and beat on medium low speed until well blended.
3. Remove dough from the bowl and flatten into two disks.  Wrap each disk in plastic wrap or waxed paper and chil for at least 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350*
5. To make cookies, remove one disk of cough from the refrigerator.  Remove the  wrap and discard.
6. Place dough between two sheets of waxed paper. Roll into an 8-10 inch circle.
7. Remove the top sheet of waxed paper and cut into desired shapes with a cookie cuttter.
8. Place cutouts 1 inch apart on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Reroll the scraps and cut out.
9. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden.  Let cool on baking sheets on a wire rack.

Thumbprints

Ingredients

1 recipe Basic Sugar Cookies
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup currant jelly 

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. Prepare dough as recipe directs and chill for 10 minutes.
3. Place the beaten egg in one shallow bowl and the chopped walnuts in another.
4. Pinch off pieces of dough and roll into 1 inch bowls.
5. Roll each ball in the beaten egg and then in the chopped nuts until well coated.
6. Place 2 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets.
7. With your thumb, make a deep indentation in each cookie.
8. Bake about 12 minutes or until golden.
9. Let cool on baking sheets on a wire rack.
10. Once cool, fill each indentation with a small spoonful of jelly.