This recipe and its assorted variations were adapted from another non-family recipe which I tried but didn’t actually care for much in its original form.
NOTE:
Normally the dried fruit is soaked in Liquor but there is a liquor free option/version:
Those who do not wish to use liquor may blanch the dried fruit in fruit juice. Bring enough fruit juice of choice (orange, apple, pineapple, etc.) to fully cover the dried fruit to a boil, immediately remove from heat when boil is reached, stir in 1-1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, add the dried fruit, and allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Reserve 1/4 cup of the juice. Drain blanched fruit in colander before adding the blanched fruit to recipe. If not using right away, drain then refrigerate fruit and the reserved juice (separately), covered, until ready to use.
Holiday Thumbprint Cookies made with Liquor Soaked Dried Fruits plus Assorted Fillings
1 cups choice of soak tolerant dried fruits: i.e. cranberries, cherries, dates, raisins, golden raisins (may use combination)
1/4 cup bourbon, orange liquor, rum, or other liquor as desired
1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
8 ounce Hershey’s Special Dark candy bar, chopped (or use semi-sweet chocolate chips if preferred)
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts of choice
Filling of choice
Place dried fruit (already chopped if too large for cookies) and liquor of choice in a jar or other airtight container. Allow to sit overnight for best results — or at a minimum allow to sit for four hours.
Optional spiced cookie variation: May mix choice of spices with the liquor or use an already spiced liquor if a spiced cookie is desired and omit the chopped chocolate as well as adding spices to the cookie dough itself. May also substitute another flavoring extract in place of the vanilla if desired.
Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
In a large bowl beat the softened butter until creamed.
Add the sugars and beat until well combined.
Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.
Add the flour, oats, salt, and baking soda; beat until well combined.
Stir in the chocolate, nuts, and all of the dried fruit liquor mixture — including any liquor not absorbed by the dried fruit.
Note: If using non-liquor version, add 3 Tablespoons reserved fruit juice initially — then if required add just 1 Tbsp. at a time — until dough is moist enough to hold together well — but not overly wet. The butter will provide additional moisture during baking as it melts.
Stir until well incorporated.
Shape into 1-1/2-inch balls and arrange 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.
Using your thumb or the rounded side of a teaspoon sized measuring spoon, make an indent in the center of each ball.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Times may vary at various altitudes. Keep a close watch after 6 minutes.
If needed, use the rounded side of a heat resistant one teaspoon sized measuring spoon, carefully press to reform the indents which often lose some definition during baking as the cookies expand and spread slightly.
Slide the parchment paper with the cookies on it carefully off of the cookie sheet onto a thick towel covered counter or table top or carefully place cookies onto wire cooling racks.
Allow the cookies to cool completely before adding choice of filling or fillings.
Milk Chocolate or Semisweet Chocolate Ganache
Yield: 1/2 cup ganache
1/4 cup mini-chips, grated, or finely diced milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Place chocolate in a small heat-proof bowl; set aside.
In a small saucepan or microwave, heat whipping cream well but do not allow it to boil.
Pour over chocolate; let stand a few minutes to melt chocolate. Whisk until smooth.
Fill each cookie center with ganache. Let stand until set and slightly firm.
Note: Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate bars are not actually dark chocolate. They are a semi-sweet chocolate. They do make a good substitute for dark chocolate however when necessary so a great stand in for either dark or semi-sweet chocolate. They should be tempered and treated the same as semi-sweet chocolate — not tempered or treated as a dark chocolate.
Dark Chocolate Ganache
Yield: 1/2 cup ganache
1/4 cup quality dark chocolate bark, chips, discs, or grated confectioners’ block
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Temper the dark chocolate appropriately. Then heat the whipping cream and combine them together.
If sweetening, recommend combining powdered sugar with the heated whipped cream until dissolved before adding the tempered dark chocolate.
Bourbon or Orange Liquor Ganache
Yield: 1/2 cup ganache
1/4 cup mini-chips, grated, or finely diced semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1-1/2 teaspoons bourbon or orange liquor
Place chocolate in a small heat-proof bowl; set aside.
In a small saucepan or microwave, heat whipping cream well but do not allow it to boil.
Pour over chocolate; let stand a few minutes to melt chocolate. Stir until smooth.
Stir in 1-1/2 teaspoons bourbon or orange liquor and stir to combine. Let stand 8 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Stir or whisk briefly before spreading.
Fill each cookie center with ganache. Let stand until set and slightly firm.
Other filling options:
Fruit
Fruit or berry jellies, jams, preserves, and sauces (i.e. cranberry sauce) thickened up some more with gelatin or fruit pectin or that has been greatly reduced for a longer period than usual to form a much firmer, thicker set.
Add a sufficient amount of lemon juice as a preservative and/or they may require refrigeration depending upon the filling and recipe used.
In general, most fruit and berry fillings will keep at room temperature for 2 to 5 days, however, before requiring refrigeration which can cause the cookies to become too soft. If fruit fillings are made with dried fruits or berries instead of fresh, then they will usually keep an additional 2 days and sometimes up to as many as 3 days more than that safely before refrigeration is required. This is provided that an appropriate amount of lemon juice is used. If the recipe being used doesn’t include lemon juice, see notes below for how much to add.
Alternately, mix equal amounts of powdered sugar and a purchased or homemade fruit or berry jam. If needed, add more powdered sugar until desired thickness. If using a purchased jam, follow the label directions for recommended storage. If using homemade and lemon juice was added as preservative during the canning process using current recommendations, then as a thumbprint cookie filling, it should be able to last at room temperature anywhere from 2 to 5 days.
Nut
Nut butters may be combined with things such as cocoa powder and/or confectioners powdered sugar and/or ground nut powder to thicken. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
You can powder the nuts in food processor if careful not to turn into a butter then carefully toast to dry them in a preheated dry skillet while stirring constantly for just a few moments. It helps if you preheat skillet to get it hot over medium heat — then remove it from the heat and immediately add and stir nut powder around. Unlike whole or chopped nuts, nut powder toasts extremely quickly. Then place on paper towels and allow to further dry overnight. Toasting whole or chopped nuts before powdering will not remove enough oils or moisture for the purpose of use intended here.
Tip:
Be sure to place waxed paper between single stacked layers of cookies and place in an airtight storage container.
Just as tasty but with far less worries over the filling’s thickness — to avoid it running out or having any messy stacking thus easier storage — as well as to avoid any concerns over food safety and long term storage of some types of fruit and berry fillings, is to wait until actually ready to eat the cookies then fill as desired before serving. Just allow time if required for the filling to set (firm up).
The unfilled cookies can be kept in airtight container at room temperature until actually ready to fill and eat. The fruit having been dried and pre-soaked in alcohol before being baked into the cookies will keep far longer than the fruit or berry fillings. The dried fruit baked inside the cookie will more than likely far outlive the cookie itself.
The cookies can then also be easily filled, if desired, by simply using a jar of your favorite jams, jellies, or preserves or even using a jar of peanut butter or a favorite nut butter right before eating.
Ganache filled cookies, however, may be kept long term at room temperature in an airtight container and should not be refrigerated — because it causes the fats in the chocolate to separate creating an unsightly white or grey coloration which isn’t harmful but it is not very appetizing to look at and it can also sometimes effect the taste and texture. The chocolate ganache filling will outlive the actual cookie.
How much lemon juice to use:
It really depends upon what you are preserving (extending the shelf life of). Citrus fruits do not require as much as non-citrus fruits or berries for example.
Lemons can also vary in acidity based upon variety and age. For that reason it is often recommended that bottled lemon juice be used.
However, in most recipes used for baked goods (which aren’t expected to last as long as canning recipes) fresh lemons work perfectly well.
A good general rule of thumb to use for any and all fruit or berry fillings used with baked goods — for which you do not have a recipe actually using lemon juice as a preservative — is to simply use the following maximum recommended amount of lemon juice (fresh or bottled):
2 tablespoons of lemon juice per quart; 1 tablespoon per pint; 1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons per cup; or use 3/4 to 1 teaspoon per half cup of fruit or berry filling
Sort of better safe than sorry formula, but it may infuse more lemon flavor than desired for some baked good fruit and berry fillings.
Other:
Here’s a handy article on options for preserving and storing your own fresh squeezed lemon juice ahead of time for quick and easy future use in recipes:
https://www.wikihow.com/Preserve-Lemon-Juice
For actually canning your own fruit fillings — which can then be used for pies and other baked goods — always check with your local coop and/or colleges for their current safety recommendations and get up-to-date information prior to beginning any canning projects.
As of the date of this blog post (11/18/2018), one (of many) good resources for various home canning fruit filling recipes and canning technique to use is the following:
These are for use as pie fillings. For use as thumbprint cookie filling you may want to further thicken and gel or jelly any canned (home or purchased) pie fillings. Large fruit slices or whole berries may also need to be chopped or pureed.
Leave a Reply