Thumbprint Cookies

When I was a little girl, I could spend hours looking thru a cookbook. Or maybe that’s now. 😉 My favorite cookbook to look thru of my moms was her Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book. If your mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, etc., baked, you probably know the one! The red cookbook covered with a variety of cookies. Pictures of cookies lining the bottom of every page and a picture of the most amazing “cooky house” about half-way thru. My favorite cookies resulted from this cookie Bible ~ Chocolate Crinkles & Russian Tea Cakes (also known as Mexican Wedding Cakes). There were also the traditional holiday standbys, Spritz and Thumbprint cookies!

Last Christmas my sister gave me the treasured edition of Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book, the original cookbook published in 1963. Jumpin’ at the bit to try The Tailings Brandy Pear Jam, I cracked open good ole’ Betty’s Cooky Book and made some crumbly, scrumptious Thumbprint Cookies!

Preparing to bake!

Thumbprint Cookies

1/2 cup shortening (part butter or margarine)
1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 egg, separated
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup Gold Medal Flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup finely chopped nuts
jelly or tinted confectioners’ sugar icing

Heat oven to 350. Mix shortening, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla thoroughly. Measure flour by dipping method or by sifting. Blend together flour and salt; stir in. Roll dough into balls (1 tsp per ball). Beat egg white slightly with fork. Dip balls in egg white. Roll in nuts. Place about 1″ apart on ungreased baking sheet; press thumb gently in center of each. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Cool. Fill thumbprints with jelly or tinted icing. Makes about 3 doz cookies.

Note: if you use Gold Medal Self-Rising Flour omit salt.

Allison’s Note: unless you roll these cookies into balls the size of peas, I’m unsure how you can get even possibly close to THREE DOZEN cookies! The balls I rolled were small (hahaha!!) and only made just over 1 dozen.