Name: Iced Valentine's Day Thumbprint Cookies
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: ¼ cup butter, softened; ¼ cup solid shortening (can use butter); ¼ cup brown sugar (I use light brown sugar for this recipe); 1 egg yolk; ½ teaspoon vanilla; 1 cup AP flour; ¼ teaspoon salt; 5 ounces Red, white and pink nonpareils; 2 cups powdered sugar (sifted); 2 tablespoons milk; 1 tablespoon white corn syrup; drops red and pink food coloring gel

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These melt-in-your-mouth Iced Valentine's Day Thumbprint Cookies are rich and buttery cookies perfect to bake for your special someone.

Valentines Thumbprint cookies on a white tray. — Thumbprint cookies with icing

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The recipe for these cookies is so easy with basic pantry ingredients, plus you will love the pretty-as-can-be red, white, and pink nonpareil sprinkles and colorful icing. Perfect for parties, gifts, and when you want a festive cookie!

Originating in the 19th century in Sweden these cookies are also known as "hallongrotta," which means "raspberry cave," because the indent is usually filled with raspberry jam. The dough is an enriched shortbread dough or a sugar cookie dough that gets rolled into balls and has an indent made in the center of the cookie with your thumb.

Of course, I have to be different; I like to make these Pecan Thumbprint Cookies and fill them with apricot jam. But, instead of filling these cookies with jam, today's recipe is for icing thumbprint cookies, and the powdered sugar icing matches the sprinkles for a real showstopper cookie.

Have plenty of sprinkles on hand

For this recipe, you want to have these Valentine's Sprinkle Mix. Pretty, aren't they?

I like this sprinkle mix so much I have used them on these Dark Chocolate Shortbread Cookies and these Inside Out Red Velvet Cookies have a surprise filling and lots of sprinkles. Both are delicious and perfect for Valentine's Day.

Who can resist colorful sprinkles?

Ingredients

Unsalted butter
Shortening
Brown Sugar - I used light brown sugar
Large Egg
Vanilla extract
Flour
Salt
Colored nonpareils - I used the Valentine's sprinkle mix

How To Bake Thumbprint Cookies: Step-By-Step

These sweet little cookies are super easy to make. Mix the batter in a bowl with a big wooden spoon. The best part is that you don't need to refrigerate the dough. Just mix, roll, and bake. You can also use a heavy-duty handheld mixer or a Kitchen Aid mixer.

Step 1. Get things ready. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line your baking sheets with parchment or a silicone baking mat, and put the sprinkles in a big bowl so you can roll the cookie dough balls in.

Step 2. Place the softened butter, shortening, egg yolk, and vanilla in a large bowl and mix to incorporate. Then add the flour and salt and mix in with a wooden spoon to form a soft dough. You can also use a mixer if you prefer.

Step 3. Using a tablespoon or a small cookie scoop, scoop 1" balls, then immediately roll in the sprinkles and set them on the baking sheet.

Step 4. Press the rounded bottom into each cookie ball using a teaspoon to make an indent in the center. You can also use your thumb to make the indent.

Step 5. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, then set them on a cooling rack. Sometimes, you need to press down on the indents right after the cookies come out of the oven to make them deep again.

Step 6. While the cookies are cooling, make the icing. Sift the powdered sugar, then mix with milk and corn syrup until smooth. Separate the icing into three small bowls—it will be about ¼ cup—tint with pink and red gel food coloring, leaving one of the bowls white. Cover the bowls with plastic wrap until ready to use.

Step 7. Using a small spoon, fill each cookie with one of the icings.

Spooning pink icing into a thumbprint cookie.

Step 8. Let the cookies set out so the icing can harden before storing them in an airtight container

Cookies on a white tray and a sign the says Be Mine. — Sprinkle cookies for Valentine's Day

Get those sprinkles to stick - right after you roll the dough balls put them in the sprinkles, the warmth of your hands will make the dough balls a bit sticky and the sprinkles will stick better.

Shaping the dough - Once you press the teaspoon into the dough ball, you may see some cracking around the edges; if so, just reshape the dough with your fingers to make them nice and round.

How to keep these cookies from spreading - using a silicone baking mat will help; make sure your oven has heated up to the correct temperature, and use cool baking sheets for each batch of cookies.

Making the indent deeper—Sometimes, after the cookies are baked, the indent gets shallower. If this happens, just press the teaspoon into the cookie to make the indent deeper. Also, once the cookies cool, the indent will get deeper.

Today's recipe has you covered for Valentine's Day, but what about other times you want a thumbprint cookie? Luckily these cookies are so easy to change up to make for an occasion.

You can roll the cookies in so many ingredients

Chopped nuts
Colored sugars
Raw sugar
Poppy seeds
Any color of sprinkle you can think of

You can fill the cookies with lots of fun flavors

Melted chocolate
Jams and jellies
Marshmallow
Caramel
Lemon curd
Different colors of icing

Pin this to your Pinterest Board for later

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Grab a cookie cutter and make these Chocolate Chip Heart Cookies, another tasty Valentine's Day treat.
Rose Petal Shortbreads are delicate cookies topped with fragrant rose petals.

Don't forget the sprinkles!

Perfect for cookies and cakes

Valentine Nonpareils Sprinkles

These are my favorite types of sprinkles.

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Recipe

Iced Valentine's Day Thumbprint Cookies

Jere' Cassidy

These Iced Valentine's Cookies are the sweetest bite-sized treats rolled in colorful sprinkles with matching powdered sugar frosting that are perfect for a holiday celebration or an any day celebration.

4.98 from 78 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 10

Total Time 55

Course Cookies

Cuisine Dessert

Servings cookies

Calories 61 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

Cookie Dough

¼ cup butter, softened
¼ cup solid shortening can use butter
¼ cup brown sugar I use light brown sugar for this recipe
1 egg yolk
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup AP flour
¼ teaspoon salt
5 ounces Red, white and pink nonpareils

Powdered Sugar Icing

2 cups powdered sugar sifted
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon white corn syrup
drops red and pink food coloring gel

Instructions

Making the Cookie Dough

Preheat oven to 350° F., and prepare sheet pans with a silicon mat or parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix the softened butter, shortening, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla until completely mixed.
Mix in the flour and salt until combined and the dough holds its shape.
Place the nonpareils in a bowl big enough to roll the dough balls.
Shape the dough into 1" balls using a small cookie scoop or a tablespoon, then immediately roll in the nonpareils. The warmth of your hands helps make the dough balls a little soft so the nonpareils will stick better.
Place the balls 1" apart on the baking sheets then press your thumb into the center of each dough ball or use the bottom of a teaspoon to create an indent.
Bake for about 10 minutes until lightly browned. Then remove from oven to cooling rack.

Powdered Sugar Icing

Mix the sifted powdered sugar and milk to make a smooth mixture. This icing sets up hard after it sits for a couple of hours.
Separate the icing into three small bowls. Tint one pink and one red with the food coloring.
With a small spoon fill each cookie with one of the three icings.
Store the cookies in an airtight container for several days.

Notes

This is a quick and easy dough to make and does not need to be chilled.
The cookie dough balls need to be rolled in the sprinkles immediately after making the balls so the sprinkles stick.
The icing will harden after sitting for a while so make sure to cover the bowls of icing with plastic wrap until you are ready to use.

Try these other Valentine's Day Cookies - they have sprinkles too!

Dark Chocolate Slice and Bake Cookies

Red Velvet Sprinkle Cookies

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Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 61kcalCarbohydrates: 5.3gProtein: 0.08gFat: 4.1gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 39mg

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First Published: Jan 19, 2020... Last Updated: Jan. 16, 2023

What a wonderful day, full of sweets, flowers, and love.

Wishing you all the best this Valentine's Day!

My inspiration for making these thumbprint cookies

There’s a little bakery in Richmond, Indiana called Joy Ann’s Cake Shop, it’s been there for years. I actually use to work around the corner from this bakery, which was dangerous; I went there a lot. I couldn’t resist their baking pans filled with thumbprint cookies, and they always had a pretty pastel icing on them. I would buy them by the bag full. The last time I was in Richmond I went to Joy Ann’s just for my cookies and they didn’t make any that day, I thought I might burst into tears. For crying out loud didn’t they know I was in town and needed a thumbprint cookie?

Thank you for stopping by the One Hot Oven blog. Please leave a comment to say Hello or just let me know what you are baking these days, I always love hearing from fellow bakers. Have any questions or just want to chat about the recipe? Please visit my about page for information, and I’ll be happy to help!

About Jere'

From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending. Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory family-friendly recipes for your cooking and baking inspiration.

Comments

4.98 from 78 votes (54 ratings without comment)

Iced Valentine's Day Thumbprint Cookies