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These Cherry Almond Thumbprints are buttery shortbread cookies filled with sweet cherry preserves and finished with an almond drizzle. They’re classic, festive, and just the kind of cookie that deserves a spot in every holiday box.
Krissy’s Notes
Every year, I make a big batch of these thumbprints for my holiday cookie boxes, and every year I wonder why I don’t make them more often. They’re perfectly buttery, just sweet enough, and full of that unbeatable cherry-almond flavor combo.
That said, it took me a few years to get these cookies looking as good as they taste. For a while, every batch would flatten out completely, turning what should have been cute little thumbprints into sad cherry pancakes. Not anymore! I’ve finally perfected the method and I’m sharing my two foolproof tricks so you can skip the trial and error.
If you love a good shortbread cookie and are looking for more ideas for your holiday cookie platter, you’ll love my festive Shortbread Cookie Bites or my Chocolate Striped Shortbread Cookies.
What You’ll Need To Make Them
You’ll find full quantities in the recipe card below, but here’s a quick overview.
You’ll need butter, sugar, flour, almond extract, cherry preserves, confectioners’ sugar, milk, and more almond extract for the glaze. The combination of almond and cherry is classic and using good-quality cherry preserves makes all the difference.
Speaking of cherry and almond, if you love these flavors as much as I do, you’ll also want to make my Fresh Cherry Pie and my Almond Cherry Cobbler.
How to Make Cherry Almond Thumbprints
Full instructions are in the recipe card below, but here’s the short version.
- Make the dough. Cream together butter, sugar, and almond extract, then mix in flour until a smooth dough forms.
- Shape and fill. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, press an indentation in the center, and fill with a small spoonful of cherry preserves.
- Freeze before baking. Here’s Trick #1: freeze the entire baking sheet for 15 minutes before baking. This keeps the cookies from spreading.
- Bake and shape. Bake at 350°F for about 15 minutes. Trick #2: the second they come out of the oven, use a small spatula or scraper to gently round the edges while they’re still hot. This gives you that perfect thumbprint shape.
- Drizzle and cool. Mix the glaze and drizzle lightly over warm cookies.
Make Ahead, Storage, and Freezing
To make ahead: You can make the dough up to three days in advance and refrigerate it until ready to bake.
Best way to store: Keep cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
To freeze: Freeze unbaked dough balls or baked cookies (without glaze) for up to 2 months. Glaze after thawing for best results.
Learn From Me
After years of baking these almond thumbprint cookies, I can tell you two things: cold dough is your friend, and cherry is the flavor that never fails. I’ve tried apricot, raspberry, and strawberry, and while they’re all good, cherry wins every time, especially paired with almond.
If your dough feels too soft to roll, chill it for 10–15 minutes before shaping. And don’t stress if they’re not perfectly uniform; part of their charm is that they look homemade.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the reader questions I’ve gotten about this recipe with my responses.
Yes! Raspberry and apricot both work beautifully. Just make sure you use seedless preserves for the best texture.
You can, but it adds a little extra sweetness and shine. A quick drizzle makes these cookies look bakery-worthy.
Make sure your dough and filling are very cold before baking, and avoid greasing your cookie sheet. Freezing the cookies before baking really helps them hold their shape.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cherry preserves
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached, cream together 1 cup butter (softened) and 2/3 cup granulated sugar until smooth. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Add 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour and mix on low speed just until dough comes together, then flash at a medium high speed for 5 seconds to form the dough into a ball. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Make a small hole in the center of each ball (I use the ball end of a small wooden honey dipper) and fill the hole with about a 1/2 teaspoon of preserves. To minimize spreading of the cookie, you can freeze the entire sheet for 15 minutes prior to baking.
- Bake for 14 to 18 minutes in preheated oven. Depending on your baking sheet, dough may not brown at all. Immediately after removing from oven, use a spatula or plastic scraper to gently reform cookies as they may have flattened out a bit during the baking process. Let cool 5 minutes on the cookie sheet.
- In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, 3/4 teaspoon almond extract, and 1 teaspoon milk until smooth. Drizzle lightly over warm cookies.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi, I’m Krissy also.
I just finished making these and they are Devine. Love the flavor and texture of the cookie. I used apricot and raspberry preserves. The apricot was a little to thick. Next time I will jam! Love these little cuties. Thank you.
You don’t see too many Krissy’s out there! Glad you liked the recipe.
Thanks for the freezer tip! Chllling the cookies before baking makes such a difference!!
I live your Fudge it was so easy I’m impressed.!
Glad to hear it! But you left this comment on the cherry almond thumbprint recipe. Were you referring to this fudge? https://selfproclaimedfoodie.com/five-minute-fudge/