Strawberry Topped Thumbprint Cookies

I've only been home for reading week since Friday but I was already feeling a bit useless and uninspired this afternoon. So, I thought my time would be best spent baking something and basking in a home full of ingredients and mouths to feed. I decided on these Thumbprint Jam Cookies that I bookmarked long ago.

I was drawn to these cookies because the ingredients were pretty standard and I liked the idea of topping a cookie with fruit, but there were always a few things keeping me from making them. First, I never had a lemon...but, thanks to the cashew cheese, I finally had one kicking around. My other problem was that I didn't know what I was going to fill them with because I didn't have any naturally sweetened jams or a use for them beyond wanting to make these cookies. Ultimately, I just decided to make something up...a sort of berry compote made from strawberries that had seen better days. I will copy down what I did for the filling but I didn't measure while I was making it, so be warned that this recipe is not exact...just a guide, I suppose. Anyways, here's essentially what I did to make...

Strawberry Topped Thumbprint Cookies

For the Cookies, I used this Thumbprint Jam Cookie recipe



Notes:

• I used whole wheat flour for lack of spelt
• I used mostly maple syrup as my sweetener, combined with a little bit of leftover honey
• I didn't have any cornstarch, so I substituted 2 Tbs. more flour
• I made the wells with my thumbs and definitely added more than an 1/8 of a tsp, hah
• I baked them for about 8 minutes, and that was enough. Anymore time and they definitely would have been too dry

For the Strawberry Filling (You could do the same thing with any berry...or just use jam or some other filling)



Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, cut to manageable size
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• juice from half a lemon*
• splash of vanilla
• honey (optional)

*My mom, my dad and I all tried these cookies, and while my mom and I liked the burst of lemon, my dad found the lemon too strong in the filling. I guess I am just saying the lemon could work for or against you in this recipe, so add more or less if you know your tastes, or add a little honey to balance out the lemon.

Instructions:

1. Combine strawberries and lemon juice in a saucepan and heat on medium heat.

2. Once strawberries start to soften, add water and stir in flour.

3. Continue to cook until the berries are soft and release their juices.
4. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Add honey if you want it sweeter or to balance out the lemon. I didn't because I liked the tartness of the lemon. 

5. Fill your cookies!

The raw dough for these cookies was delicious...you could really taste the lemon zest and it was marvelous. Thank goodness too, because I was so annoyed zesting the lemon with my awful grater, thinking "this better be worth it..."

The final product was good too...I mean, I ate 4 right away, so they must have been. Mom insisted she needed to taste test multiple cookies, just in case the first one wasn't a good representative, hah. The cookie part was not very sweet, but very...substantial? Hm...how to explain...like, you know you're eating something, if you get my meaning? It's not like eating a wafer, for extreme comparison. Their thick composition makes them wonderful with milk or tea.

Anyways, these cookies were very good, but I am slightly unsatisfied because I feel like they have the potential to be great...with just a little something extra. I am not a very knowledgable baker, so I'm not sure what that is, but I would definitely make them again so I want to experiment and to try and find out! ...when I am feeling less bleeeh.