Under my thumb

From the Recipe Box

In an attempt to blog more regularly (even when there's not a whole lot going on), I'm going to try to post a recipe every week. If you'd like to share a recipe that you like making this time of year, leave it in the comments!

I'm not sure of the provenance of this week's recipe (any idea, Mom?), but it's been a traditional Christmas cookie in our family at least since my sister and I were small. We didn't make many cookies for Christmas, as there were lots of other tasty treats around, so Tres and I were excited to make them this week instead.

Raspberry Thumbprints (or Crown Jewels, in Tres's family)
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 eggs, separated
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups finely chopped nuts
raspberry jam (any tart jam is excellent for this - my favorite is gooseberry)


Preheat oven to 325. Mix butter and sugar in a bowl. Stir in corn syrup, egg yolks (put the whites in a bowl in the fridge), and flour; stir until they form a dough. Chill until easy to handle (I'd say at least 30 minutes). Roll into 1 inch balls, dip into slightly beaten egg whites, then roll in finely chopped nuts (I like to put the nuts in a pie plate, so you have plenty of room for rolling). Place on a greased/covered cookie sheet, press your thumb straight down to make a hole (you're actually making more of a divot than a hole - there should still be a thin layer of dough under your thumb, if that makes sense), and fill the hole with jam. Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges are golden.