White Chocolate Cranberry Thumbprints
These delicate, buttery thumbprint cookies have been making an appearance on my holiday goodie trays since the very beginning. While I’m not usually one for a fruity dessert, there are a few fruit flavors that always evoke the holidays for me – apple, pumpkin and, of course, cranberry. I think that the bright, tangy flavor of cranberries pairs exceptionally well with sweet, creamy white chocolate, and the buttery, melt-in-your mouth shortbread cookie is the perfect vehicle to let the cranberry and white chocolate shine.
This is the second of the three thumbprint style cookies I make for my trays. These are a little more straightforward to make than the Dark Chocolate Mint Thumbprints. The dough is easier to work with and there is no chilling necessary before rolling them. You don’t need to roll them in sugar and you only need to press the thumbprint indent into the cookies once. One downside is that this dough is less “make ahead” friendly. I have tried over the years, but chilling the dough results in a crumbly, difficult to roll texture and cookies that crack in the oven.
Like the Dark Chocolate Mint Thumbprints, these offer a beautiful visual contrast and look very festive on the goodie trays so I always make sure there are a few on the top to draw the eye. I also always make sure there are at least a few more than I strictly need for the trays as these are a special favorite of my daughter’s. She is always excited when she sees I am making these and can’t wait until the trays are all packed up so she can enjoy them.
Equipment
Ingredients
Method
- Bring all ingredients to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the mixture begins to thicken.3 1/2 cups (371 g) cranberries, 1 1/2 cups (300 g) sugar, 1 cup (240 ml) orange juice, Scraped seeds from 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Using a stick blender, regular blender or food processor, puree the jam. Strain out the cranberry skin and vanilla bean (if used).
- Allow jam to cool before using. (You will have more than needed for a single batch of the cookies, but the jam stores well in the fridge or freezer)
- Preheat oven to 350° F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth.1/2 cup (112 g) unsalted butter, 1/2 cup (60 g) powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp (¼ tsp) salt, 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- Add 1 cup of the flour, mix until a dough forms. The dough should be soft, but not sticky. If it is sticky, add up to 1/4 cup more flour, a little at a time until the dough is the right consistency.1 1/4 cups (150 g) flour
- Roll the dough into 1 tbsp or smaller balls and place 1” apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake for 8 minutes, remove from oven, press a spoon back (I like to use the back of a 1 tsp measuring spoon) into the center of each cookie and fill the indentations with the cranberry jam.1/4 cup (85 g) cranberry jam
- Return to oven and bake 8 minutes more – cookies should be fully set and lightly golden on the bottom, but should not have any color on top.
- Cool completely on a wire rack, drizzle with melted white chocolate.1/4 cup (43 g) white chocolate chips
Private Notes
Nutrition
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