Lemon and blueberries are among the best flavor combinations and these Lemon Blueberry Thumbprint Cookies marry together the bright and summery fruits perfectly! Made with fresh lemon juice and zest, it is like a tall glass of blueberry lemonade. These cookies will fly off the plate, loved by adults and children alike.
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When it comes to dessert, you really can not beat a delicious plate of cookies. I love to bring a platter with a bouquet of my most delicious cookie recipes. Why settle for one delicious treat for dessert when you can sample a variety of flavors with a few cookies!
I love thumbprint cookies! So fruity and full of textures. Adding different flavored fillings is so easy and allows you to have a variety of flavors all in one batch! Check out my Strawberry Lemonade Thumbprint Cookie recipe for another amazing cookie recipe!
Gather your Ingredients…
- Lemon Juice and Zest: Fresh lemons really make this recipe. I love tons of lemon zest for a fresh and bright flavor.
- Wild Blueberry Preserves: Complimented by the tart lemons, blueberry preserves makes the perfect partner. in this sweet-tart combination.
- Butter & Sugar: Like a traditional shortbread cookie, the base of this recipe is butter and sugar with no leavening agents. This creates a buttery and rich cookie!
- A touch of salt to bring all the flavors together!
- Lemonade Glaze: Citrusy and sweet, like an ice cold glass of lemonade tops off these Lemon Blueberry Thumbprint cookies deliciously!
Making your own blueberry preserves to add for the recipe is an option, but why go to all that work when there are some amazing commercial options available. My go to is the Bonne Maman brand which offers awesome options such as Golden Plum Mirabelle. Their Wild Blueberry Preserves has great berry flavor and whole wild blueberries in it!
Finely zesting the lemons is key to the best flavor for the cookies. The Microplane Zester is the best zest grater I have found, it is quick, easy, and makes very finely grated zest. Typically, I need 4 medium lemons for this recipe, using all the zest and most of the juice.
Perfect Thumbprint Cookie Technique
Using butter at room temperature, whip together the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. While this mixes, whisk together the flour, confectioner’s sugar, and salt into a separate bowl. When your ingredients are at room temperature, it allows for them to incorporate into one another better, creating a better cookie dough. The importance of creaming together the butter and sugar creates tiny air pockets in the batter and this aeration allows the cookies to puff up nicely once they are baked. Too cold or too warm butter prevents this from happening.
Once the cookie dough is prepared, and chilled for about an hour I scoop scant tablespoons of the dough onto a cookie sheet with parchment paper or baking mat. Then roll into 1 inch balls and press with the back of a teaspoon to create a small crater for the preserves. Mend any large cracks that may develop in the formed cookies, as all of your preserves will leak out while baking!
Chilling the Cookies
Once prepared and you add the jam to the center of the cookies, I like to pop them in the fridge for about 15 minutes before baking. This helps the fats in the dough to solidify and take longer to melt when baking. This allows the sugars to absorb liquid more slowly and the cookie spread less while baking. Keeping all the fruity goodness in the center of the cookie is essential and completely disappointing when all of the preserves run all over the cookie sheet.
Lemonade Glaze!
I love this lemonade glaze! It is so sweet yet tart, like a homemade glass of lemonade. This tops off these thumbprint cookies so well! It is finger-licking good! The glaze may take on the color of the blueberry preserves after a day, but I think it makes it look even prettier.
Lemon Blueberry Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Butter Room Temperature
- ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
- ¼ Cup Confectioner's Sugar
- 2½ Cups All-purpose Flour
- 2 TBSP Lemon Zest
- 3 TBSP Fresh Lemon Juice
- ½ TSP Salt
- ½ Cup Blueberry Preserves
Lemonade Glaze
- 1 Cup Confectioner's Sugar
- 2 TBSP Fresh Lemon Juice Plus more to thin
- 1 TSP Milk
- ⅛ TSP Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together flour, ¼ cup Confectioner's Sugar, and salt. Set aside.
- In a stand-mixer, beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add in lemon zest and lemon juice and beat until well mixed.
- Add in the flour mixture in batches, until just combined.
- Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.
- Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- Preheat oven to 325° F.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator and scoop out about a tablespoon to roll into 1-inch balls.
- Arrange about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
- Gently press an indent into the center of the dough ball with the back of a teaspoon. Repair any large cracks that form in the cookie.
- Fill each crater with about ½ teaspoon of blueberry preserves. Be cautious not to overfill, or the preserves will run out of the cookie while baking.
- Place cookies in the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes prior to baking.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes or until edges just turn golden. Do not overbake.
- Remove from oven and allow to rest on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes prior to transferring to a cookie rack to cool completely.
Lemonade Glaze
- In a mixing bowl, combine confectioner's sugar, lemon juice, milk and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
- Slowly add more lemon juice as needed to get to a consistency similar to honey.
- Using a spoon drizzle lemonade glaze over the cookies or transfer to a ziploc bag and snip a small corner off and drizzle on the cookies.
- Allow the glaze to set prior to storing in an air-tight container for about 5 days.
More
Live fully, eat well, bake cookies!
Check out these other great recipes!
- Brown Sugar Ricotta Cheesecake
- Spiced Snowflake Sugar Cookies
- Irish Cream Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache
- Nutella Swirl Banana Bread
- Key Lime Cheesecake With Marshmallow Cream Topping
Strawberry Lemonade Thumbprint Cookies
Funfetti Pudding Cookies
