Cranberry Chai Thumbprint Cookies
These Cranberry Chai Thumbprint Cookies will be a staple for your holiday cookie table. They're made with cranberries and cinnamon and are a fun spin on traditional thumbprints.
Servings: 18 cookies
Calories: 179kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon all spice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup butter softened
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk optional, if needed
for the filling:
- 1 cup cranberries fresh or frozen
- 1 orange peeled and sliced
- ⅓ cup cane sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger or more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, spices, and salt and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar together for 30-60 seconds. Next, add the egg and vanilla to that bowl and stir to combine.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients into the same bowl and stir.
- Next, pour cane sugar out onto a plate and set aside.
- Using your hands, form cookie dough into balls (slightly smaller than golf-ball size) then roll the balls into the cane sugar, then place them on a baking sheet 2 inches apart. Using your thumb, gently press down into the center of each cookie, forming the thumbprint cookie.
- Place baking sheet in the oven and bake cookies for 10 minutes, or until the bottoms are slightly golden on the bottom, but be careful not to over-bake.
- As soon as you put the cookies in the oven, start to make the filling.
- Add all filling ingredients to a saucepan over the stovetop on medium-high heat, using a wooden spoon to break down the orange and cranberries. Once mixture comes to a low boil, reduce heat to a simmer until the mixture thickens and a compote or jam forms.
- Once cookies are done, remove them from the oven and wait a couple minutes before using your thumb to press down on them again, making sure there's enough room in each cookie to fill them with the jam.
- Next, spoon a small amount--approx. 1 tbsp--of jam into each cookie, and then place the cookies back into the oven and bake them for an additional 3 minutes.
- Remove cookies from the oven and onto a cooling rack. Enjoy!
Notes
*Calories are per cookie and are an estimation
Storage: Store cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. Otherwise, place them in a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Calories: 179kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 176mg | Potassium: 51mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 269IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg