Jam Thumbprints

 

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar (plus a little more for dusting)

2 tsp. real vanilla extra

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup corn starch

1/4 tsp salt (reduce to a pinch if using salted butter)

1/2 cup favorite
fruit preserves or jam 

Directions

Beat butter and sugar together on high speed until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and salt and mix well.  Sift flour and cornstarch together and add to butter/sugar, mixing slowly and stopping just when ingredients are combined.  Shape into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour. 

Preheat oven to 325°. Form chilled dough into 1 inch balls and place on a parchment-lined baking tray. Make a deep well in the center of each ball with your finger or another rounded item (I use the pestle from my mortar and pestle, lightly oiled so it doesn't stick. Twist it slightly before pulling it away from the cookie.) Place jam into a frosting bag with a larger-holed frosting tip and pipe into wells. (You can also carefully spoon the jam in.) Bake 18-20 minutes or until cookies are golden brown on the bottom and still pale on top. 

Cool cookies on a rack. When completely cooled, they can be lightly sprinkled with snowy powdered sugar.

(*or use up some of the cran-orange sauce from Thanksgiving - YUM. If you are using whole-berry cranberry sauce, you may have to process it briefly or use an immersion blender to break up those berries, or you will spend a lot of time playing cranberry doula with your frosting tip.)