The humble thumbprint cookie (also known as a jam drop in Australia) is one of my favourite cookies to serve with tea and coffee.
They're easy to make, keep well, and can be filled with whatever jam you like. Thumbprint cookies have a tender, buttery shortbread base which makes them utterly addictive.

I used both apricot jam and raspberry jam, but you can use whatever preserves you have lying about. You can also use lemon curd for a citrus twist.
Thumbprint Cookies
The humble thumbprint cookie, also known as a jam drop, is a welcome addition to any afternoon tea spread. A delicious buttery shortbread filled with sweet sticky jam makes these cookies as delicious as they are simple.
Ingredients
- 200 g (7 oz) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup icing sugar / confectioners sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1 ½ cups plain flour
- ⅓ cup cornflour / cornstarch
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ cup jam of choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F). Grease and line two large baking trays with baking paper.
- Place butter in the large bowl of an electric stand mixer (or you can use a hand mixer). Sift over icing sugar. Beat together until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and vanilla essence and beat until well combined.
- Sift over flour, cornflour and salt. Stir until the dough starts to come together. Lightly knead the dough with your hands until all the ingredients are well combined.
- Roll 1 small tablespoon of mixture into a ball and place onto the prepared tray. Flatten slightly and use your thumb or finger to indent a hole in the middle of the biscuit. Repeat with remaining dough, leaving a 2 cm (¾ inch) gap between the jam drops to allow for spreading. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- Spoon a teaspoon of jam into the centre of each biscuit, being careful not to overfill as the jam will bubble up when cooked.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes or until biscuits are lightly golden. If you check the underside of the biscuit, it should be golden. Allow to cool on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Storage
- You can keep the thumbprint cookies un-refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
- To freeze the raw cookie dough, wrap tightly in clingwrap and then place in a zip-loc bag or airtight container. Keep for up to 6 months frozen. To thaw, allow to defrost at room temperature for 6 hours or overnight. Once defrosted, you can bake as normal.
Substitutions
- I filled half of my cookies with raspberry jam and half with apricot jam. These are both delicious! You could also try strawberry jam, blueberry jam, mulberry jam, or plum jam.
- These cookies are also delicious with lemon curd: bake the cookies without filling them, let them cool, then place a teaspoon of lemon curd in each.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 28 Serving Size: 1 CookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 108Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3.8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 6.6mgSodium: 51.2mgCarbohydrates: 8.2gFiber: 0.2gSugar: 2.1gProtein: 0.7g
Huda Ahmad says
Health point of view any substitute for cornstarch can I use sorghum flour plz do reply
Chloe says
Hi Huda, unfortunately sorghum flour won't work well as a substitute for corn starch in this recipe. Although I haven't personally used a substitute, I would try Arrowroot flour, potato starch, or rice flour.
Mohamed says
So yummy 😋