Honey Roasted Peanut Thumbprint Cookies
Written by joythebaker on August 3, 2009 – 9:37 pm -
It’s August 3, 2009 and I refuse to believe a) that summer is almost over, and b) that we’re a handful of months away from 2010. Turns out that whether I believe or refuse to believe these two things… they’re still true.
It’s August 3, 2009 and I will openly admit that in the past few days I’ve been stress eating like a maniac over these picnic plans. I’m not proud.
It’s August 3, 2009 and tonight is the night I’m going to polish off the frozen dough balls in my freezer. Again, not proud.
It’s August 3, 2009 and I’m thinking it’s going to be really awkward when Dr Martens come back into style and I bust out my original pair that I sported back in middle school. Yes, I still have them. Yes, they still fit.
It’s August 3, 2009 and among the many other things I’m thankful for today, I’m also thankful for internet shoe shopping and these beautiful thumbprint cookies.
I like to think of these cookies as the slightly grown up version of thumbprint cookies from my youth.
See, instead of adding a bunch of peanut butter to the cookie dough, I ground up honey roasted peanuts, added some flour, butter and sugar and baked them up. The ground peanuts add a great texture and a subtle peanut flavor. These cookies are crisp, almost crumbly and just lovely paired with a good quality jam.
Consider these the thumbprint cookie for those of us who are real life grownups… maybe with a little college debt… maybe with the cheap health insurance… maybe hoping our rent check doesn’t get cashed until 7th of the month. Grownups…. yea. Grownups.
Honey Roasted Peanut Thumbprint Cookies
adapted from Baking: from my home to yours
makes 30-34 cookies
1 3/4 cup finely ground honey roasted peanuts (use a food processor fit with a blade attachment)
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
powdered sugar for dusting
about 1 cup good quality jam of your choice
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and position a rack in the upper third of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment or foil and set aside
Whisk together ground peanuts and flour.
Using a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 or 4 minutes. Add the extract and beat to blend. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and gradually add the nut-flower mixture, mixing only until just incorporated. Use a spatula to hand mix any flour or nuts that have not been mixed in thoroughly.
Working with a scant tablespoon (just eyeball it) of dough at a time, roll the dough between your palms to form small balls and place the balls two inches apart on the cookie sheet. Steadying each cookie with the thumb and finger of one hand, use the pinkie of your other hand to poke a hole in the center of each cookie. Be careful. You don’t want to press all the way down to the cookie sheet.
Bake for 15-18 minutes. The cookies will only be slightly colored and might even look underdone. That’s fine. You don’t want them overbaked. When the cookies are done, remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cookies rest on the sheet for 2 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks with a metal spatula.
Repeat with the remaining dough until all the cookies are baked off and cooling.
Bring the jam to a boil in a small saucepan over low heat, or in the microwave. Remove from heat. Sprinkle the cookies with powdered sugar and then fill the indentations (they might have smoothed over slightly during baking) with you jam of choice. Enjoy!
Tags: Cookies, honey roasted peanuts, jam peanut butter, recipe
Posted in Cookies, Fruit, In the Kitchen, Recipes, Snacks | 59 Comments »
Thumbprints are one of my daughter’s favourites. I like this take on them, and I think she will too.
I love homemade products, like peanut butter. I can’t wait to buy some roasted peanuts, make peanut butter, and try this! Thanks!
yummy. I like this version of thumbprint cookies. the peanut adda nice flavour.
Yumo…I think I might have to try these but i’m going to fill up the centre with melted chocolate instead of jam =)
Wow yum! Honey roasted peanuts? Mmmm I wish more people in my house liked peanut flavor in their cookies so I wouldn’t have to eat them ALL! These look scrumptious!
Oh Joy these sound amazingly lovely! No worries, the picnic will be wonderful, cant wait!
I just love thumbprint cookies. That little indentation in the centre for a flavour surprise gets me every time. Lovely, lovely.
Fantastic, just like my Mum’s.
I have baked a of dozen cookies already but never tried this one. I guess this is not that complicated to make. I love your photos!
Whooaa, i go to a holiday and there’s an abundance of posts i have to read and, what’s worse, try! If i gain weight, it is all on you!
I’ll start with the icecream and granita recipes and move on from there. 
omg joy!
truth…yesterday i was closet cleaning & trying on my oldies but goodies….the comfort of the already exisiting foot form was cozy & felt great….like eating your thumbprint cookies with its great texture & delicious center…what a treat…
btw: nothing like shoppin’ one’s closet!
I can’t quite believe it’s August either. I just think…what have I been doing the past 8 months?!!??!
These cookies are fabulous all around! I love the honey roasted rouch and the sprinkling of confectioners sugar! beautiful!!!
Oh my Dr Martens back in fashion. I remember sporting a pair when I was around 11 or 12 I think. I guess that makes me feel quite old. Definitely time to make these cookies!
It’s August 4, 2009 and, although it is barely breakfast time, I could eat a handful of these cookies with cafe au lait. Also not proud. ; )
Holy smokes those cookies look ggoooodd! Your blog is really inspiring. Its amazing to be sitting in my office in South Africa and sharing in a small part of your American life!
I can just imagine the taste! My mouth is watering!
Hi
I stumbled across your blog the other day. I like it. I have to be honest though, dough balls would never last in my freezer. They would call my name in the middle of the night, especially after a glass of wine or two.
I did print the recipe, thanks.
Frank
It’s August 4, 2009 and that’s awesome because it’s my 18th birthday on August 7.
Thumbprint Cookies is such a cute name! Never heard of them before. Which jam did you take? I think I’d use rasberry jam, I love it so much. But melted chocolate as filling is also a really good idea, I think.
Yummy!!
These cookies are so deliciously lovely! Mmm…my mouth is watering!
Yum! I still have my Doc Martens from middle school as well…and they fit!
Your cookies look like their sporting some sort of apricot or peach jam. They look yummy. I wonder if apple butter would work. That is my favorite.
Lovely pictures, and a yummy recipe. What a great way to start the day.
Thanks.
My husband still occasionally wears his Doc’s from middle school! I wonder what ever happened to mine….i wanted a pair so bad, they were super heavy!
The cookies look fantastic! Thank goodness the weather here is cooling down enough to bake
Ignore the typo. It is still early and I haven’t had coffee. Sorry.
beautiful cookies.
and the mention of Doc Martens brought back some memories
This look so great. I just made thumbprints that I considered very “grown up” using pistachios and lemon. I am excited to try this recipe – thanks Joy!!!
Yeah, I can’t believe it’s almost 2010 either. It seems like it was turn of the century 5 minutes ago. All that baking must be making time fly. Using honey roasted peanuts in thumbprint cookies is an intriguing idea.
Picnic stress? Don’t worry, I’m sure it will be fabulous.
I’ve got those whole wheat chocolate chip cookie dough balls in my freezer, too. They’re great stress relievers.
original & evr so creative. Cookies after my ? Joy…they are special!
Okay, I’m going to have to give these a go! I have a serious soft spot for peanut butter cookies and thumbprint style does me in!
I also still have the Docs. Can’t bring myself to throw them out.
The homemade pb is a nice touch. After seeing you make it a while ago, we gave it a try, and it’s so good!
YUM.
I still have my first pair of chuck taylors, and they’re pretty beat up, but I love them.
This is great. Thanks for sharing.
I am thankful for internet shoe shopping too!! And your picnic is going to be AMAZING- you are…
mmmmm….peanut thumbprint cookies. I know what I’m making tonight!
I love the top pictures. It is beautiful! Cookies look tasty too of course.
These are scrumptious looking – I love that they have honey-roasted peanuts, one of those things that I don’t keep on hand (without a purpose) because they are so addictive to me.
I will definitely be trying this recipe out. I like the suggestion that someone else made about using chocolate as a filling instead of jam. Thanks for yet another inspirational cookie!
These look so cute and delicious! I love that you used freshly ground honey-roasted peanuts! I used to scarf them down when I was little! I’m a little afraid to bake these now, becuase they’ll be gone in no time!
love the cookies great job on teh “thumbprint”
Yummo! This is a keeper. I’ve got to try it after my daughter’s wedding. If I do any more stress eating the diet shakes are going to drive off with the blender and say, “We give up, lady!”
Joy, sometimes I miss my Docs. I’m not afraid to admit it. Even though wearing them this far north guarantees that you will stunt-fall on your behind at least once per winter.
I just can’t justify wearing them with Business Casual…yet.
We’ve got a similar thing here in Australia called jamdrops. The only real difference is we put some jam in the hole before you bake the biscuit (cookie) so the jam is melted into the top. I like the idea of using peanuts for flavouring.
Most days I don’t want to be a real grown up. But, these cookies look amazing. May need to put my big girl pants on so I can make them.
I’ll consider making these to cure my grownup worries, although it’s probably better to tackle the worries first. Thanks for the recipe!
My grandmother used to make these for me…she filled the thumbprint with orange juice concentrate.
Morning Joy! Just wanted to drop you a quick note to say that I made Vanilla Cupcakes last night. Your photos inspired me to tint my frosting and the cupcakes are beautiful (taste good too!).
Next time, I’m going to make cream cheese frosting for the cupcakes!! And tint it!
Dag. These were awesome–though I think the quality is certainly bumped up a notch by using better jam–homemade would be best. We used basic store-bought, and it was just too runny. But overnight in the fridge? Blam-tastic.
Add a slice of bannana to the top and a glass of milk? Mini-lunch.
Adding ground roasted peanuts are genius! I love peanuts, or rather all types of nuts, in cookies and homemade bread. This is definitely getting bookmarked.