Ina Garten Uses 1 Secret Ingredient in Her Christmas Thumbprint Cookies Recipe That Takes Them to th

Celebrity

Ina Garten said she's 'obsessive' about one hack she uses when making her Christmas thumbprint cookies. Her cookie gets a toasty coconut upgrade, too.

Published on December 15, 2021

Ina Garten takes classic Christmas thumbprint cookies and elevates the traditional treat with a Barefoot Contessa twist. Her recipe adds one key ingredient, plus she has an “obsessive” trick that guarantees a perfect cookie.

Ina Garten makes her favorite jam thumbprint cookies for Christmas

Garten has a few favorites when it comes to Christmas cookies, including her jam thumbprints. She demonstrated how to make the easy cookie recipe on an episode of Barefoot Contessa.

“Instead of spending a fortune on Christmas gifts, I think it’s so much nicer to bake cookies for people,” Garten said. “So I’m going to make my favorite jam thumbprints.”

Garten creamed together butter, sugar, and vanilla in a mixer and mixed everything together. She sifted flour and salt in another bowl then added it to the butter and sugar while the mixer was running at low speed. Once the dough came together, she turned it onto a floured board, rolled it into a flat disc, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and chilled it for 30 minutes.

Ina Garten has an easy ‘obsessive’ trick and secret ingredient for her thumbprint cookies

Once the dough was chilled, Garten shared her easy trick for making cookies the perfect size. She said her “obsessive” tip is to weigh the cookie dough before rolling t into a ball. “It’s chilled but not really cold and hard,” she explained. “And being obsessive as I am, I’m going to weigh each one and it’s great if each one is about an ounce.”

The Barefoot Contessa star also shared the one ingredient that makes her thumbprint cookies even more special. She dipped each cookie ball in egg wash (a mixture of egg and water), then rolled it in coconut. “This is great because the coconut gets toasted when you bake it,” Garten explained.

She placed the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet and made a small indentation in each ball with her finger. Then she dropped ¼ teaspoon of raspberry jam on some of the cookies and apricot jam on the others.

“And then when it bakes the jam gets into the cookie,” Garten said. “It’s so good.”

She baked the cookies in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the coconut was golden brown. “And the coconut will be crisp and flavorful,” Garten explained. “I love these jam thumbprints.”

The full recipe is available on the Food Network website.

‘The Barefoot Contessa’ star’s jam thumbprint cookies earn rave reviews

Garten’s jam thumbprint cookie recipe earns solid 5-star reviews. Many of her fans left comments about how the cookies have become a Christmas favorite.

“So tasty. Made these for Christmas and everyone raved about them,” one fan wrote. Another person commented, “Love this recipe! I used my own homemade peach jam. This will be one of my go-to Christmas cookies!”

Another reviewer shared, “One of the best cookie recipes ever!! I make these exactly as the recipe calls for … perfect! They are a family favorite I make at Christmas.”

One reviewer called the thumbprint cookies “amazing,” explaining, “I’ve been making them every year for Christmas and they’re always a big hit!!!”

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