Classic Jam Thumbprint Cookies, Gluten Free

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oven and line your pans

   Set a rack in the center of the oven and heat it to 350°F (175°C). Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Don't skip the parchment — jam that escapes a well will weld itself to a bare pan.

2. 2

   Cream the butter and sugar

   Beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until pale and fluffy, scraping the bowl once partway through. Stop when it looks like soft frosting.

3. 3

   Add the yolks and extracts

   Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then the vanilla and almond extract, mixing just until the dough is smooth and uniformly yellow.

4. 4

   Mix in the gluten-free flour

   Whisk the gluten-free blend, xanthan gum, and salt together, then add to the butter mixture in two additions on low speed. There's no gluten to overdevelop here, so mix a full 30 seconds past the point where the flour disappears — that extra mixing helps the starches grab the butter and keeps the dough from crumbling when you roll it.

5. 5

   Rest the dough to hydrate

   Cover the bowl and let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Rice and starch flours absorb liquid slowly, and this rest is what turns a gritty, sandy dough into a smooth one. Skip it and the baked cookies will taste chalky.

6. 6

   Roll and shape

   Scoop level tablespoons of dough (about 25g each) and roll each into a smooth ball, rolling in the extra granulated sugar if you like. Gluten-free dough is a little stickier — if it clings to your palms, chill it for 10 minutes or dust your hands lightly with the blend. Space the balls 2 inches apart.

7. 7

   Press the wells

   Press a well into each ball with your thumb or the back of a half-teaspoon measuring spoon, going about halfway down. This dough cracks more readily at the edges than wheat dough does, so press slowly and smooth any splits closed with a fingertip before moving on.

8. 8

   Chill the shaped cookies

   Refrigerate the shaped cookies for 30 minutes, or freeze for 15. Chilling firms the butter so the wells hold their shape through the bake.

9. 9

   Fill with jam

   Stir the jam smooth and drop about 1/2 teaspoon into each well, keeping it level with the rim rather than mounded. Sieve chunky or runny jam first so it sets instead of spilling.

10. 10

    Bake

    Bake one sheet at a time for 13 to 16 minutes, rotating halfway through. Gluten-free cookies brown more slowly and stay paler on top, so judge by the bottom edges: lift one with a spatula and look for a clear golden rim. The tops will still look matte and underdone, which is what you want.

11. 11

    Cool and set

    Re-press any wells that have puffed closed, then let the cookies rest on the hot pan a full 10 minutes — longer than the wheat version, because they're fragile until the starches cool and firm up. Move them to a rack and wait at least 20 more minutes before stacking.

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Baker's Tips

• 1.

  Butter temperature matters more than anything else here: it should be cool to the touch and hold a fingerprint, around 65°F. Greasy, over-soft butter makes the cookies spread and the wells collapse.

• 2.

  Thick preserves hold their shape; thin jelly bubbles over. Raspberry, apricot, sour cherry, and fig all bake beautifully, and a pinch of lemon zest stirred into the jam sharpens the flavor.

• 3.

  For a different look, roll the balls in lightly beaten egg white and then finely chopped pecans or walnuts before pressing the wells — the nuts toast as the cookies bake.

• 4.

  Fillings that shouldn't be baked — lemon curd, dulce de leche, salted caramel, chocolate ganache — go into the wells after the cookies have cooled completely. Bake those shells empty.

• 5.

  A half-teaspoon measuring spoon makes a rounder, more even well than a thumb, and it keeps your hands clean. A wine cork works too.

• 6.

  Shaped, unfilled dough balls freeze well for 3 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding 2 minutes to the time, and fill the wells right before they go into the oven.