Cooking Attempt #48: Thumbprint Cookies

Two of my nursing buddies and I have been doing our clinical course in an Enfance-Famille program this past year, so when the time came to say good-bye to our preceptors, we decided that we would bake a little something for everyone in the program. I found the recipe for these cookies here, but had to adjust it because the dough was too crumbly during my test run. I added a bit more margarine like the random people on the internet suggested and it turned out better for the actual batch that I presented to the nurses.

I was actually worried a bit, because these cookies aren't very sweet. I wasn't sure if they were supposed to be sweet or not, you see. I mean, all the storebought cookies are disgustingly saccharine (Tim Horton's? Even worse.). I eat maybe two and then I've met my cookie quota for the next month or two until Robert shoves one into my mouth again. So how was I to know if these would satisfy a bunch of middle aged ladies who are probably more knowledgeable in cookie lore?

In any case, they liked them a lot. So much so that they asked me for the recipe. And being an obliging youngster, I promised to e-mail my nurse the recipe, which meant that I had to translate it in French. FANTASTIC.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup raspberry jam

Method

• Cream margarine and brown sugar for about 3 minutes.
• Whip in egg and vanilla extract.
• Mix in salt and flour until formed into dough. Put in fridge for 30 minutes.
• Form small 1-inch diameter patties and lightly press with thumb to make a small well in the centre.
• Fill the well in the cookies with raspberry jam.
• Bake on parchment lined cookie sheet (I use wax paper, which works just as well) at 350F for 12 to 15 minutes.
• Let cool on cookie sheet for few minutes. It makes about 2 dozen small cookies.

These pictures are from my third time baking the cookies.

Brenda made the prettiest patties ever, don't you think?

And these are the cookies I actually presented to the nurses. I was still following the original recipe's instructions to make BALLS and then press your finger, so they have a cracked appearance. They were still yummy, I swear!

And now, the recipe in French that I translated for my preceptor nurse.

Biscuits “Empreinte de pouce”?

Ingrédients
• Beurre – ¾ tasse
• Sucre – ½ tasse
• Oeuf – 1
• Extrait de vanilla – 1 c. à t.
• Sel – 1 pincée
• Farine – 1 tasse
• Confiture – ¼ tasse
• Papier parchemin

Méthode
• Battez la beurre avec le sucre pour 3 minutes.
• Ajoutez l’oeuf et l’extrait de vanille et battez encore.
• Ajoutez la farine et le sel et mélangez. Mettez la pâte dans le frigo pendant 30 minutes.
• Roulez la pâte en boulette (?) et appuyez doucement avec une pouce.
• Remplissez le creux (?) avec la confiture. (J’ai utilise la confiture de framboise.)
• Arrangez les biscuits sur une tôle à biscuit. Mettez au four à 350 degrés Farenheit pendant 12-15 minutes.
• Laissez refroidir pour quelque minutes sur la tôle.