Description

Tender, buttery, and flavored with orange, fig, and plenty of holiday spice, these Easy High Altitude Orange Cardamom Fig Thumbprint Cookies are a festive version of the wintertime classic.

Ingredients

Scale

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
1 tsp freshly grated orange zest
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup almond flour – not almond meal (see Notes for making these nut-free)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom, freshly-ground if possible
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup fig jam (or other jam of your choice)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a medium bowl, using a hand mixer), combine the sugar and butter and cream until very light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add the eggs and mix to combine. Stir in the orange zest.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, salt, and spices. Slowly add to the butter mixture and continue to mix until the dough transforms from crumbly to cohesive.
Using a small cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop balls of dough onto your baking sheets, leaving an inch or two between each. Flatten each ball into a disk shape (I use the bottom of a drinking glass for this), and then create a wide, hollow indent with your thumb or other tool, such as the handle of a wooden spoon or the back of a teaspoon. Place a heaping half-teaspoon of jam inside each indent.
Bake cookies for 12-14 mins, until the bottoms are just golden brown. Let cool on cookie sheets for about five minutes until the cookies are set (they may crumble if you move them sooner), then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.

Store in an airtight container for up to a week. If stacking cookies in layers, separate the layers with sheets of parchment to avoid sticking.

Notes

… Be sure you use almond flour (often labeled “blanched). Almond meal is similar in that it is made of ground almonds, but it contains the skins and has a rougher consistency.

… If you’re baking for someone with a nut allergy, omit the almond flour and add an extra 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour plus 1 tsp cornstarch.

… when choosing your jam, be sure to use a variety that contains pectin, a thickener. Thinner conserve-style jams won’t set up as nicely and may bleed into your cookies.

… if you prefer not to use your thumb to make the indents, use the end of a wide-handled serving spoon or the back of a teaspoon.

… if your dough balls split on the edges when you flatten them, simply pinch the cracks together.