Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies

•  1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups + 2 Tbsp  all-purpose flour (measured correctly)
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam

GLAZE

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cream or milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract (optional) 

Directions:

Make the cookies: Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Switch mixer to medium speed and add the the sugar, vanilla, and almond extracts. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed. Turn the mixer off and pour the flour into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and slowly beat until a very soft dough is formed.  Press the dough down to compact it and tightly cover with plastic wrap to chill until firm, at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (silicone mats preferred to reduce spreading). Shape the cookie dough into balls. Mine were about 1 Tablespoon of dough per ball. Make sure they're nice and smooth. Make an indentation with your thumb into each ball. The dough may crack slightly when you press your thumb into it. Simply smooth it out with your fingers if you can. Otherwise, it's perfectly fine to have a few cracks. Fill each with a scant 1/2 teaspoon of jam. (Or however much it can hold.)

Bake the shortbread thumbprint cookies for 14-15 minutes, or until very lightly browned on the edges. The cookies will puff up and spread slightly. Do not overbake.  In fact, I only baked mine for 13-14 minutes. I prefer them a little soft. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before glazing.

Make the glaze: stir together glaze ingredients until smooth. Add more liquid to thin out or add more powdered sugar to thicken to your desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cookies. Glaze will set within a couple hours.

Store cookies covered at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for 6 days. Shortbread cookie dough may be frozen up to 2 months.

NOTES

• 2 Tbsp of flour has been added to the recipe on 12/21/13. I make mine cookies with only 2 cups of flour, however I suggest readers add 2 extra Tbsp to prevent extra spreading.
• Make sure the cookie dough is cold and firm at all times. If it's not firm and cold, put back into the refrigerator to chill. When working in batches, keep the unused dough chilled in the refrigerator. You may roll, print, and fill batch #2 and stick in the fridge while batch #1 bakes.
• This shortbread cookie dough may be used to cut into your favorite shortbread cookie shapes. 
• Any flavor jam is OK.