TWD: Big-guy thumbprints

While I'm still trying to get caught up with life and projects, I did manage to squeak out a bit of time to bake cookies this week.

There's always time for cookies.


This week's TWD choice was brought to us by Mike of Ugly Food for an Ugly Dude. He chose Thumbprints For Us Big Guys. They seemed like a normal size to me. I guess I thought they would be bigger than the average cookie.

Still delicious, nonetheless.

And, they certainly weren't ugly. ; )



I used ground hazelnuts in the dough. There were some ground almonds in my freezer, but I stuck with the recipe. The cookies had more texture as a result, which is not a problem for me, but my daughter, who is texture-sensitive, didn't particularly care for the nutty bits. The dough came together nicely and was easy to roll into one-inch balls.


If you make these cookies, though, I would definitely recommend adding salt to the dough. They were a little flat (in taste) without it and the added jam filling made them almost too sweet.



Speaking of filling, I experimented with different kinds.


First, I tried some Nutella, hoping to complement the hazelnuts. It was fine, but all you tasted was Nutella.



Then, I went for the jam. My cupboard was amazingly bare of jam, so I ended up opening some boysenberry jam given to me by one of quilt friends. The jam-cookie combination was very good, although perhaps a bit too sweet. The salt would probably help that.


Finally, in a moment of inspiration, I took some mascarpone and blended it with some sugar, lime zest, and a pinch of salt. That was our favorite combination. The tang of the cheese went well with the sweetness of the cookie. That variety disappeared most quickly.


For the recipe, stop by Mike's blog, and then check out the great jam/filling combinations by the other TWD bakers.