Homemade Baking Fun

After a long, hard-working day in online school, it’s time to treat yourself! Grab you bakin

g materials and follow these steps on how to make delicious jam thumbprint cookies!

Makes 24 cookies

Total Time: 45 minutes, plus 30 minutes cooling time

Parent supervision is recommended, especially when dealing with an oven.

Materials Needed:

☐ 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

☐ ¼ teaspoon salt

☐ ¼ teaspoon baking soda

☐ ⅛ teaspoon baking powder

☐ 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces and softened

☐ ⅓ cup sugar

☐ 3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened

☐ 1 large egg yolk

☐ ¾ teaspoons vanilla extract

☐ ⅓ cup of jam (any flavor you want!)

☐ Rimmed baking sheet

☐ Parchment Paper

☐ Large and Medium Bowl

☐ Whisk

☐ Measuring spoons

☐ Oven Mitts

☐ Rubber Spatula (spoon works as well)

Start Baking!

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and leave to the side. Make sure you wash your hands, roll up your sleeves, tie back long hair, and wear an apron. This could get messy!

2. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. (To whisk means to beat or stir the ingredients together.)

3. In a large bowl, combine your softened butter and sugar using your whisk.(Warning! Parental supervision advised here: To soften butter, place your six 1-inch pieces of butter on a microwave safe plate. Microwave your butter at 50 percent power for 10 seconds. If necessary, microwave for 5 to 10 more seconds.) Use your rubber spatula or spoon to scrape off the sides of the bowl.

4. Add cream cheese, egg yolk, and vanilla extract into butter and sugar mixture. Use your whisk to beat the mixture until just combined.

5. Carefully add flour mixture into the wet mixture. Beat until combined.

6. Use your hands to roll dough into 24 balls. Place the dough balls on the parchment paper, leaving about 3-4 finger space between each dough.

7. Use your thumb to make an indentation in the center of the dough ball (This is where the thumbprint cookie gets its name!). Repeat for all dough balls.

8. Fill in the holes with about ½ a teaspoon of jam. Repeat for all dough balls.

9. Place the baking sheet in the oven. Bake cookies until light golden brown, for 15-18 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. (Warning: Parents advised to assist children when using the oven for Step 9 and Step 10)

10. Use oven mitts to remove baking sheet from oven. Let the baking sheet sit to cool completely for about 30 minutes.

11. Serve and Enjoy!

-Kaylee Kim ‘23