Äppelgrottor (Apple Butter Thumbprint Cookies)
Featuring tender vanilla shortbread cookies with a spiced apple butter filling, this is a bite of autumn in a cookie!
Ingredients
DOUGH
- 113 grams softened butter
- 50 grams sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 140 grams all-purpose flour
- 1.5 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
ICING
- Powdered sugar
- Cinnamon
- Water
Instructions
- If making homemade apple butter, be sure to follow our recipe and leave some time for cooling down!
- Preheat your convection (fan) oven to 390 degrees F (200 C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whip the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or by hand with a whisk.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix.
- Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and cardamom in a separate bowl and whisk/mix together so there aren't any lumps.
- Add dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/vanilla mixture and mix together (very low speed with the paddle attachment, or using a spoon/spatula by hand) until no dry spots remain. The dough should come together easily and be sort of a play-doh consistency. If it's feeling sticky, you may want to add another tablespoon of flour.
- If the dough is getting really soft at this point, you can put it in the fridge for about 10-20 minutes before shaping the cookies. We would also recommend this if it is warm in your kitchen or you are making these in the summertime!
- Divide the dough into 12 even balls and spread them out evenly on the baking sheet. Now you may have to warm up the dough a little bit in your hands to prevent cracking when you press them down in the next step. It's a delicate temperature balance!
- Using your thumb, make an indentation in each ball, flattening out the center of each cookie and making room for the apple butter. If the cookie is cracking a lot, re-roll the ball so it's a little bit warmed up in your hands and try again. You can also press together any bigger cracks with your fingers!
- If you notice that your dough is softening/looking shiny, now is also a good time to pop the cookies in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
- Spoon the apple butter into the indentations. We aim to fit about 1/2-1 teaspoon of filling in each cookie.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until very lightly golden on the edges. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to help them set.
- Optional but highly recommended: after the cookies have cooled, make a simple cinnamon icing by adding about 1 cup of powdered sugar, a few dashes of cinnamon, and a splash of water to a bowl. Mix together until you have a thick but drizzle-able consistency.
- Drizzle over the cookies and enjoy!
