Cookie Butter Thumbprints

Cookie Butter Thumbprints - made dough April 30, 2017, adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies

I loved these cookies. Straight up, no lie. They have a shortbread "shell" and they're filled with cookie butter. I don't think I need to say much more, do you?

But I'm a "talker" (or blogger) when it comes to desserts so I'll expound a bit more. First, the dough was easy to make and easy to handle, always a plus when making cookies. I used my smallest cookie scoop to make small cookie dough balls. It's not like the cookies spread much but you don't want big thumbprint cookies. They're more cute when they're dainty, not behemoth.

Use the rounded side of a 1/2 teaspoon to press the indent in the center of the warm cookie, halfway through baking and right when you take them out of the oven. You want a nice size well in the middle of the cookie, not so shallow that you don't have room for a dollop of cookie butter but not so deep that you press a hole into the cookie.

Warm the cookie butter for about 10-15 seconds in the microwave, just warm enough to spoon smoothly into the center well of the cookie where it can smooth out for maximum prettiness. I like the pairing of a vanilla shortbread cookie with the cookie butter filling and this makes for a cute tea cookie.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, confectioners' sugar, salt and vanilla on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
3. Beat in the flour, beginning on low speed and increasing to medium until just combined.
4. Form balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each. Place balls 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes, remove from oven and press thumb into cookies (a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon also works) to make deep, wide indentations. Rotate pan and return to oven beat until light brown at the edges, 7 to 9 minutes more. If the indentations begin to lose definition, remove cookies from oven and press again. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Warm cookie butter slightly so that it's easy to pour. Fill indentations with lukewarm cookie butter and let cool completely.