Thumbprint Jam Cookies

The stockings are hung, and the Menorah is on the table. This year, Christmas and Hannukah collide in a fiery explosion of fatty foods and sugary treats. The fact that these two holidays coincide makes my children very happy, especially the two who have an alarming affinity for sugar. My daughter loves it so much that she asks for Nutella for every gift-giving holiday. I am not kidding.

Today’s post is a real kid-pleaser in my house. Blake Hill House is part of a Holiday Cookie Blog Hop, hosted by Bloom Wild With Bari J. I’ll link to the other participants at the end of this post. After you visit all of my cookie-making friends, you’ll have a pocketful of new recipes that you can turn into a plateful of treats.

The recipe I chose is Thumbprint Jam Cookies. My Grandma Lois used to make them, and I ate so many that I made myself sick. (Like mother, like daughter.) The recipe I used is not my Grandma’s because, like many women of her generation, she did not use recipes. What was that, witchcraft? Instead, I chose this recipe based on search terms that included the words easy and simple.

The recipe is printable, and it answers all sorts of terrifying baking conundrums, such as “I’m nervous that my thumbprints will crack. How can I avoid that?” Cracked thumbprints are apparently an abomination, and if yours do so, everyone will point and laugh at them or turn away in disgust. If that happens, ship them to me, and I’ll send those offensive sweets straight to my belly. I’m here to help you save face.

I Didn’t Know You Were a Food Blogger.

When I told my kids that I was participating in a Holiday Cookie Blog Hop, my 19-year-old said, “I didn’t know you were a food blogger.” The touch of sarcasm didn’t escape me. It’s true. There’s always a case of Annie’s Mac and Cheese cheerfully waiting in the cupboard. With that in mind, this post isn’t so much a how-to. It is more of an I-did, and now, here are some pretty photos and a plate of cookies.

I did promise my son that I would keep things real and be honest about how this all went down–no airbrushing cookies or editing out my double chins. To torture myself by learning new technology, I created a short video montage of the experience. Enjoy!

Does it bug anyone else that the video is missing the last two bars of the music? It’s not the same without the last la, la. I am sincerely sorry about that.

Thank you for indulging me, and please visit all of my Holiday Cookie Blog Hop friends. As a bonus, they are all super talented DIYers and designers. I am honored to post among them.

• Bloom Wild With Bari J. (Our hostess) – Bari’s book, Bloom Wild: a free-spirited guide to decorating with floral patterns, is available for pre-order now!
• A Small Life
• Brand Spanking You
• Modern Envy Interiors
• Houseologie
• Made By Carli
• Casa Watkins Living
• Katrina Blair
• Jo Gick – THE Jo from Season One of NBC’s Making it!
• Rebecca Propes – THE Rebecca from Season Two of NBC’s Making it!
• Teri from T. Moore Home

Have a great weekend!