Almond Thumbprint Cookies

Delicate almond cookies made with matzo cake meal and filled with fruit jam. These tender thumbprint cookies feature a perfect balance of nutty almond flavor and sweet fruit preserves.

24 servings

1 hr 5 min

Published October 4, 2025

Ingredients

•¾ cup sliced blanched almonds
•⅔ cup sugar
•⅔ cup matzo cake meal
•¼ teaspoon salt
•½ cup unsalted butter
•1 large egg
•½ teaspoon vanilla extract
•¼ teaspoon almond extract
•2 tablespoon fruit jam
•raspberry
•strawberry
•apricot

Cooking Instructions

1.
Pulse almonds, sugar, matzo cake meal, and salt in a food processor until finely ground. (Be careful not to grind to a paste.) Transfer to a bowl and stir in butter, egg, and extracts until combined well. Chill dough, covered, until firm, about 30 minutes.
30 min
2.
While dough chills, put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
10 min
3.
Drop level tablespoons of dough 1 inch apart onto 2 ungreased baking sheets. Roll dough into balls, then chill until slightly firm, about 10 minutes. Make a 1/2-inch-wide (1/3-inch-deep) indentation in center of each ball using your thumb, index finger, or the rounded end of a wooden spoon. Fill each indentation with 1/4 teaspoon jam and bake, 1 sheet at a time, until tops are pale golden and undersides are golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack and cool completely.
25 min

Cooking Instructions

Pulse almonds, sugar, matzo cake meal, and salt in a food processor until finely ground. (Be careful not to grind to a paste.) Transfer to a bowl and stir in butter, egg, and extracts until combined well. Chill dough, covered, until firm, about 30 minutes.

30 min

While dough chills, put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

10 min

Drop level tablespoons of dough 1 inch apart onto 2 ungreased baking sheets. Roll dough into balls, then chill until slightly firm, about 10 minutes. Make a 1/2-inch-wide (1/3-inch-deep) indentation in center of each ball using your thumb, index finger, or the rounded end of a wooden spoon. Fill each indentation with 1/4 teaspoon jam and bake, 1 sheet at a time, until tops are pale golden and undersides are golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack and cool completely.

25 min