Sourdough Discard Thumbprint Cookies
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These simple homemade sourdough thumbprint cookies are a great way to use up your sourdough discard or extra sourdough starter. You can ferment them a little before you bake or bake them right away - the choice is yours! This classic cookie recipe is perfect for the holidays, or any time you need a sweet moment!
Why You'll Love This Recipe!
Great Recipe to Make with the Kids - These cookies are not only an easy way to fill up the cookie jar, you might even like to bake them with the kids! It's a great recipe to get them involved in all things sourdough!
Change Up The Flavors - you can change up the flavor of these sourdough discard thumbprint cookies depending on what jam you have on hand. They're a great way to showcase seasonal fruit.
Festive Cookies for the Holidays - As a must-have holiday cookie, they make a delightful Christmas gift, just like these sourdough fruit mince thumbprint cookies.
Ingredients
- Butter - You can use either unsalted butter or salted, it won't make too much difference. Butter must be soft, NOT melted, or it won't cream properly with the sugar. Butter kept at room temperature is best for making these cookies.
- Sugar - If you'd prefer not to use white sugar, you can use brown sugar or even coconut sugar but it will change the color and texture of the sourdough thumbprint cookies.
- Eggs - I've used one egg plus an egg yolk to create these cookies.
- Sourdough Starter or sourdough starter discard - You can ferment the cookies whether you use sourdough discard or active sourdough starter. It doesn't really matter which you use, just make sure that you're using a sourdough starter that is 100% hydration, that is it has been fed with equal amounts of flour and water by weight.
- Vanilla Extract
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Strawberry Jam - I love making these sourdough thumbprint cookies with my small batch strawberry jam but I've also made them using apricot, blueberry and raspberry jam or whatever other jam flavors we have on hand at the time. I've even used this cranberry orange jam for Thanksgiving. Use your family's favorite jam.
How To Make Sourdough Thumbprint Cookies
These sourdough thumbprint cookies come together easily with simple mixing steps and minimal prep. After creaming the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, you’ll blend in the eggs, vanilla, and sourdough starter before folding the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients to form a soft, workable dough.
The dough is rolled into small balls (a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop is perfect), indented with a small spoon, and filled with a touch of jam, with the option to chill the formed cookies for up to 24 hours for a long-fermented version. Baked in a moderate oven until golden and gently bubbling, these cookies finish with a short rest on the tray before cooling completely on a cooling rack, giving you perfectly tender, fruity bites every time.
These are really easy cookies to prepare and bake. I find it easier to use an electric hand mixer to cream the butter and sugar together, however you could also use a stand mixer with a whisk attachment to do this. You'll find specific measurements and full instructions in the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Store + Freeze
These cookies will last around a week in an airtight container. It's better to store them in glass than plastic as they will go soft much quicker in a plastic container.
You can freeze unbaked cookies and bake them when you need freshly baked cookies. Add the jam in the centre before you freeze them. Store frozen, unbaked cookies in a zip loc bag.
If you are love cookies you might also like these sourdough cookie recipes - sourdough chocolate chip cookies, sourdough snickerdoodles, sourdough gingerbread cookies or cut out and decorate sourdough sugar cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Thumbprint cookies are a cake-like cookie that have a small indent in the centre - this is the "thumbprint", however it's much easier to make the indentation with a small teaspoon.
You can leave the cookies in the fridge for up to 24 hours before baking. I recommend shaping the cookies and leaving in the fridge on the baking tray as the dough gets very hard in the fridge and will difficult to shape. You can bake the cookies straight from the fridge. I don't cover them with plastic wrap if leaving them in the fridge as they tend to form condensation.
Depending on where you live, they might also be called "jam drops". In Australia, they are a very popular biscuit and a great way to use up much loved homemade strawberry jam.
In Sweden they are called "Hallongrotta" which translates to "raspberry caves".
Sourdough Thumbprint Cookies
Equipment
- 2 Cookie Sheets Lined with parchment paper
Ingredients
- 125 g Butter (softened at room temperature)
- 200 g Fine Sugar (caster sugar or fine granulated sugar)
- 1 Egg + Egg Yolk
- 100 g Sourdough Discard (or active sourdough starter)
- 5 g Vanilla Extract
- 350 g All Purpose Flour
- 6 g Baking Powder (1 tsp)
- pinch Salt
- 100 g Strawberry Jam (or any flavor you prefer)
Instructions
- If you are going to bake the cookies straight after forming them, preheat the oven to 350F (180C). If you are going to ferment them, do not preheat the oven.
- Cream the softened butter and sugar using a hand mixer or stand mixer. The mixture should be light and fluffy.
- Now add the egg and egg yolk, vanilla extract and sourdough starter to the butter and sugar mixture and mix on moderate speed until well combined.
- Next add the flour, baking powder and pinch of salt to the wet ingredients and bring together into a dough (you can use a wooden spoon or your hands if you prefer - I find this step easier to do by hand as the stiff dough will bog the hand mixer).
- Use a teaspoon to scoop out balls of dough. Roll the balls a little and place them onto the prepared baking trays. I find the balls are perfect around 15g each, but you can go up to 20g.
- Use a small spoon (half teaspoon is perfect) to make a small indent in the centre of each cookie. This is the "thumbprint" but a spoon is much easier.
- If you want to ferment the cookies, place the cookies into the fridge at this point. You can leave them up to 24 hours in the fridge.
- Use a small spoon to place a little jam into the indent in each cookie. You don't want to overfill them or they will make a mess in the oven.
- Place the sourdough thumbprint cookies into an oven at 350F (180C) for around 15 to 18 minutes or until they are just golden and the jam is bubbling.
- Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to firm up.
Notes
Nutrition
Love this recipe! Only is maybe you could add cup measurements also 🙂
I’m almost sure 200 grams of sugar has to be an error I used 70 grams they came out perfect. I couldn’t imagine adding any more than that.
No error 🙂
Once baked, can these be stored in a plastic air tight container for 5 days? Or could they just be stored in the fridge in an air tight container? Thank you. They are delicious and so Christmasy.
I learned a neat trick for the thumbprint. Use the cap to a chapstick. It has a flat bottom and will keep the integrity of the sides.
Oh that's a great tip, Carolyn! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
How do I change the measurements from metric to cups, teaspoons etc
It's best to just use a scale and weigh the ingredients 🙂
For dairy allergy: should I use plant based butter or just refined coconut oil?
For egg allergy: I typically replace 1 egg with 1/4 cup sugar free applesauce. Should I do that here too?
You should be able to use either a plant based butter or the coconut oil. The applesauce should work here, though it may impact the texture a bit. Please let us know if you try it!