Pecan Thumbprint Cookies

These pecan thumbprint cookies are a scrumptious shortbread cookie recipe bursting with pecan flavor, with sweet Christmas-inspired icing added to the thumbprint.

My Mama has dropped by today to share her Christmas thumbprint cookies recipe, so take it away, Mama!

I’ve told you before that I am not the cookie lover Christy is. Well, these cookies are the exception. I fell in love with these little gems when I was a child. They have the taste of a pecan sandy cookie with just a little extra oomph provided by the icing. Traditionally, the icing was tinted pastel when my mama bought them from the store, but today I decided to use paste food coloring for a deeper color for the holidays.

These pecan thumbprint cookies are very simple to make. In fact, I bet you already have most of the ingredients in your kitchen right now. You need flour, sugar, vanilla, butter, salt, and pecans. Then for the icing, we need confectioner’s sugar, food coloring, and sprinkles. To make the cookies, we cream together the butter and sugar and stir in the remaining ingredients. Then we add our thumbprint and bake. The final step is to mix together the Christmas-themed green and red icing, add it to the thumbprints and top it with some sprinkles.

These pecan thumbprint cookies have a buttery shortbread texture so you know they’re just going to melt in your mouth. The sweet icing is the cherry on top! But I’ve included other ideas below of what you can add to the indents rather than icing. I hope you try these little gems and please let me know if your family loves them as much as mine. I just bet they will.

Recipe Ingredients

Cookies

• Granulated sugar
• All-purpose flour
• Salt
• Pecans
• Unsalted butter (soften at room temperature for 30 minutes).
• Vanilla extract  

Icing

• Confectioner’s sugar
• Almond extract (or vanilla)
• Water
• Food coloring
• Sprinkles (optional)

How to Make Pecan Thumbprint Cookies

Cream butter and sugar together with a handheld or electric mixer until fluffy.

Mix in flour, salt, and vanilla until well combined.

Chop pecans in a chopper or food processor until very finely chopped.

Mix chopped pecans into the flour mixture.

Drop cookie dough onto ungreased cookie sheets by teaspoonfuls. 

If you have a small cookie dough scoop, it will cut your time in half. If not, do it like I have every other year but this one and just measure out a teaspoonful and roll it into balls before putting it on the cookie sheet.

For authentic thumbprint cookies, dip your thumb into flour and press it into the center of each cookie before baking. 

Here is a pan of thumbprint cookies ready to go into the oven.

Bake at 300 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes until lightly brown.

Let them sit on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes to cool and then remove them to wire racks to cool completely before icing.

Make the Icing

Mix together the confectioner’s sugar, extract, and enough water to make a nice consistency for icing.

Divide icing into two parts for adding coloring.

Spread a small amount of icing on each cookie in the thumbprint indention.

Then add sprinkles of your choice.

Aren’t they the cutest little things? They are the most delicious cookies I have ever come across and are really quick and easy to make while looking very impressive.

Storage

• Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week.
• You can freeze cookies with or without icing and the unbaked cookie dough for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving/baking.

Recipe Notes

• My main tip is to use a small scoop like I am showing so that they are all uniform in size. 
• The other tip is to dip your thumb in flour before pressing it into each cookie. Otherwise, they stick to your thumb and won’t leave an indention. 
• However, instead of your thumb, you can use the end of a wooden spoon or a thimble to avoid the cookie dough sticking to your thumb.
• If you don’t like or have almond extract, feel free to replace it with vanilla. In my opinion, the almond is divine in these cookies but Christy doesn’t like the taste of it so sometimes I switch it up.
• You can also use whichever color you want for the cookies. They are really pretty in pastel colors for baby or wedding showers.
• Speaking of the icing, an easier way to disperse it is to add it to a ziplock bag, snip off the end, and squeeze the frosting into the indent this way.
• If you like, substitute the white sugar for brown sugar.

Recipe FAQs

What else can I add to the indent in my thumbprint cookies?

There are so many different varieties of thumbprint cookies, so here are some suggestions:

• A dollop of jam or preserves (check out our recipe here). I recommend raspberry jam, strawberry jam, or apricot jam.
• A dollop of pecan pie filling to make pecan pie thumbprint cookies.
• Chocolate frosting, chocolate ganache, or melted chocolate.
• Lemon or lime curd.
• Cherry pie filling (or the pie filling of your choice).
• Homemade dulce de leche caramel sauce to make caramel pecan thumbprint cookies.

What can I substitute for the pecans?

Walnuts are always an easy substitute for pecans. However, if there’s a nut allergy involved and you want nut-free thumbprint cookies, simply omit the pecans. This will make the cookies basically taste like buttery shortbread cookies.

You may also like these cookie recipes:

Southern Plate’s Must-Make Christmas Cookies

Italian Sugar Cookies

Butter Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Pecan Snowball Cookies

Cranberry Pecan Lace Cookies Recipe

Thumbprint Cookies with Jam or Preserves

 

 “Sometimes me think, ‘What is friend?’.

And then me say ‘Friend is someone who share last cookie with you.'”

~Cookie Monster