I’ve been MIA for a while. Did you miss me? I missed you. Unfortunately, real life gets in my way sometimes and the time just flies by. But, I’m back. Hopefully, I’ll slide right back into a regular posting schedule. Keep your fingers crossed!
This week’s TWD recipe was chosen by Mike from Ugly Food Dude. Mike selected Dorie’s Thumbprints for Us Big Guys. They are a butter-based, shortbread-like cookie made with ground hazelnuts and a dollop of jam in the middle. I’ve made other thumbprints cookie recipes before and they’re always crowd pleasers, so I was happy to make these.
Instead of hazelnuts, I used ground almonds, mostly because I already had them at home. I also chose almonds because I wanted to use a lovely homemade cherry jam that I had. I really love the cherry-almond flavor combination.
These thumbprint cookies are not difficult at all to make, but I definitely had some issues with the dough. Mine turned out verrrrry crumbly and I had a heck of a time getting my cookies to hold together. I followed the recipe precisely, so I really don’t know why that happened. I’ve heard that several other TWDers had the same problem. If anyone has any ideas, I’d love to hear them.
Even though my cookies looked a little like moon rocks, they still tasted good. I wouldn’t say that I liked them better than my “go to” thumbprint cookie recipe, but I did like them a lot. They were nice and buttery, although crumbly, and had delicate almond flavor that really did go well with my cherry jam.
If you’d like to try these cookies for yourself, you can find the recipe on page 164 in Dorie’s book, or on Ugly Food Dude. Also, don’t forget to check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see lots more Thumbprints for Us Big Guys.
Filed Under: Baking, Cookies and Brownies, Recipes, Tuesdays with Dorie
BOO!
Moros y Cristianos
On March 09, 2010 at 8:47am, laurie said...
So glad you are back! They look great Susan!
On March 09, 2010 at 8:52am, Manggy said...
In my opinion, an extra egg yolk is the least “devastating” way to add cohesion to a cookie dough. I prefer it to adding more butter. I do so love the combination of almonds and cherries too. The cookies look so lovely, perfect, and professional.
On March 09, 2010 at 9:22am, Susan said...
You’re sweet, Mark. But, I wouldn’t have served these to company.
On March 09, 2010 at 9:15am, Maria said...
I love the cherry jam center. They look delightful!
On March 09, 2010 at 9:16am, City Girl said...
I missed you! Glad you are back. The cookies look lovely
On March 09, 2010 at 9:23am, Susan said...
Thanks! It’s good to be back. 😀
On March 09, 2010 at 9:33am, Margaret said...
Mine weren’t crumbly, but some did spread quite a bit while baking. They were tasty.
Yours look perfect.
On March 09, 2010 at 9:41am, Krystle said...
Even the crumbly dough looks delicious!
On March 09, 2010 at 9:52am, carmen said...
My cookie dough was also super crumbly, to the point that i couldn’t even bake them as cookies. But yours came out beautifully!!
On March 09, 2010 at 10:03am, Susan said...
I had to keep wetting my hands to form them into balls. Even then, they kept falling apart!
On March 09, 2010 at 10:35am, dani said...
they are adorable… i love making thumbprints - they seem like such an innocent little treat
On March 09, 2010 at 10:46am, Rosa said...
Those cookies are extremely tempting! Addictive!
Cheers,
Rosa
On March 09, 2010 at 11:24am, tia said...
i totally missed u!
On March 09, 2010 at 12:21pm, Theresa said...
These looks so good! Great idea to go with the cherry and almond combo. My go-to thumbprint recipe sometimes seems a little dry and crumbly, so I usually add a teaspoon or so of water, until the dough starts to stick together better. Seems to work fine for me!
On March 09, 2010 at 12:32pm, noble pig said...
I love these types of cookies!!
On March 09, 2010 at 1:10pm, Carol said...
Damn. What an awesome picture. There’s no way I can take a picture that good. Great job!
On March 11, 2010 at 7:27am, Susan said...
Thanks! Trust me. If I can do it, you can too.
On March 09, 2010 at 1:18pm, Joie de vivre said...
Definite comfort food. Reminds me of grandma!
On March 09, 2010 at 1:40pm, vibi said...
Wow! Susan… what elegance! What class! …for some pretty simple (although amazingly tasty) cookies!
Love your presentation, and of course the fact that even the most rustic cookie is simply perfect, here.
On March 09, 2010 at 1:51pm, nina said...
Love almond and cherry combo……lovely for a tea party with little Chloe.!!
On March 09, 2010 at 2:06pm, Beryl said...
Not like moon rocks at all- so cute! I had some of the same issues with mine but they still came out ok.
On March 09, 2010 at 2:13pm, CookiePie said...
So pretty, and I love the almond-cherry combo!
On March 09, 2010 at 2:25pm, erin said...
It seems like either the cookies turned out too hard or too soft (mine spread A LOT in the over!)
Nevertheless, your cookies still look amazing and the cherry in this sounds fantastic!
On March 09, 2010 at 3:52pm, Karen@Mignardise said...
I did miss you! Glad to see your cookies, even if you weren’t. I’d fill them with Nutella.
On March 11, 2010 at 7:28am, Susan said...
Oooh! Nutella! 😀
On March 09, 2010 at 4:03pm, Jodie said...
I used almonds, too and loved it. Glad you’re back!
On March 09, 2010 at 5:55pm, nickki said...
Your cookies look beautiful! My dough looked exactly like yours. I love your idea of using cherry preserve, yummy
On March 09, 2010 at 8:01pm, Jules said...
I used almonds as well, and for the same reason! The dough was a bit crumbly, but I just kept squishing.
On March 09, 2010 at 9:07pm, carolina said...
Yours look so perfectly pretty. What a great flavor pairing. I wish I could have one!
On March 10, 2010 at 2:55am, Diane {createdbydiane.blogspot.com} said...
They look so delicious!
On March 10, 2010 at 3:07am, FFichiban said...
Oh yummmm, these sound and look just decadent mmm buttery and jammy
On March 10, 2010 at 9:09am, Rachel (S[d]OC) said...
I still have a jar of honeysuckle jelly that I want to make into thumbprints. Thanks for some inspiration. Of course every time a blogger makes a thumbprint, I say I”m going to do the same and I don’t. Crumbly or not, these look great. I like that they are thicker than your typical thumbprint (or at least have less spread than the ones I make).
On March 11, 2010 at 7:29am, Susan said...
Honeysuckle jelly? That sounds really interesting!
On March 10, 2010 at 9:25am, Flourchild said...
I missed you and I love your cookies! Great photos!
On March 10, 2010 at 6:59pm, Mimi said...
Not only do I love the almond cherry combination, but the cute little dish in the photo.
Mimi
On March 11, 2010 at 7:31am, Susan said...
Glad you liked the dish. It belonged to Mr. SGCC’s great-grandmother.
On March 10, 2010 at 8:52pm, Ciaochowlinda said...
great looking cookies. sometimes i find that on days that are drier, you need less flour. maybe that could be part of the reason your cookies were a little “crumblier” than normal.
On March 11, 2010 at 7:31am, Susan said...
That could be. We have had drier, cooler weather lately. Thanks.
On March 10, 2010 at 9:01pm, Laurie said...
These are so pretty and delicate. My mom makes thumbprint cookies with orange marmalade.. I think I will try them with your cherry filling!
On March 10, 2010 at 11:44pm, betty said...
yum yours look perfect! (and really big?? hehe even better!)
On March 11, 2010 at 7:21am, Mary Corbet said...
I grew up with 7 sisters and brothers - so there were 8 of us. (This has nothing to do with thumbprint cookies!) The four oldest were separated from the four youngest by a few years…
The four oldest referred to themselves as “Us Big Guys” and to us (the four youngest) as “You Little Guys.” Of course, conversely, to us they were “You Big Guys” and we were “Us Little Guys.”
So your title cracked me up!
Your thumbprint cookies look good, but I’ll take your word for it and stick with my mom’s recipe, which is really yummy. Though I do like the idea of an almond-cherry combo….
On March 11, 2010 at 7:33am, Susan said...
I can’t take credit for the name, but I love your story!
On March 11, 2010 at 11:32am, pity said...
yummy! impossible to have just one, well done, cheers from london
On March 11, 2010 at 3:02pm, Jessica said...
Welcome back! Despite your dough trouble, your thumbprints turned out beautifully.
On March 11, 2010 at 4:26pm, Ashley said...
My dough was crumbly too. The almond/cherry combo sounds fantastic!
On March 12, 2010 at 10:53am, Eliana said...
Of course we missed you. These thumb prints look super delish.