Soft yet crunchy, buttery and fruity – these Thumbprint Cookies made with raspberry jam are a classic German Christmas Cookie – also known as Husarenkrapfen!
German Thumbprint Cookies Made with Raspberry Jam – HusarenKrapfen
After being charmed by Cookie Oma on what is in my humble opinion – the best cooking show ever (My Grandmother’s Ravioli) – I have always had a fascination with German cooking… and grandmas! So when I recently had the opportunity to learn how to make these beautiful and addictive German Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies (Husarenkrapfen) with a real German grandmother – in the flesh – I relished the opportunity!
Thumbprint Cookies with Raspberry Jam (German Husarenkprafen)
First let me take a step back though… I had the pleasure of trying Elizabeth’s famous thumbprint cookies (Husarenkrapfen) two years ago – and even though they had travelled from Europe to Asia before landing in my stomach in New York, I could tell they were something truly special.
The thumbprint cookies are buttery soft with a crunchy almond topping and a chewy jam interior. A mix of textures and flavors that come together perfectly in this classic cookie. While the thumbprint cookies are not exclusively German, the Husarenkrapfen are made almost only at Christmas time and are thus considered a ‘Christmas Cookie’ in Germany. Stay tuned, we may have more German recipes to come…
German Thumbprint Cookies made with Raspberry Jam – Husarenkrapfen
I treasure the time I spent in Elizabeth’s charming kitchen, where dozens upon dozens of recipes are stored as simple lists of ingredients and quantities – with little else. This is a true sign of an experienced baker who needs no direction and knows when a dough is right by the feel of her hands. Equally as interesting as Elizabeth’s collection of well-loved recipes are her endless sets of amazing china. Her house is a treasure trove of armoires and cabinets each containing multiple sets of amazing china. This set in these photos is vintage and is part of the Villeroy & Boch Blue Onion collection.
Vielen dank to Elizabeth who showed me her treasured recipe with the patience and kindness only a lifelong teacher would possess. I hope you all out there will enjoy these cookies as much as I have, and I will continue to!
Guten Appetit!
- 200 grams butter (7 ounces)
- 4 egg yolks + 1 egg
- 3 teaspoons milk
- 125 grams sugar (4.4 ounces)
- 375 grams flour (13.2 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup raspberry jam
- ½ cup diced / chopped almonds
- Combine the flour, sugar and butter in a large bowl or mixing surface until it just comes together. This works best if you chill the butter slightly and dice it with a knife into small pieces.
- Add the 3 egg yolks, one at a time and knead with your hands.
- Add the vanilla extract with the last egg yolk and knead through.
- Chill the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes while preheating the oven to 350 F.
- Prepare the egg wash by whisking the whole egg and milk together - place in a shallow dish.
- Cut off small pieces of dough and roll them into balls about the size of a walnut.
- Push your finger into each dough ball to form a crater (thumbprint!) that will later be filled with jam.
- Dip each cookie, crater-side down into the egg wash then into the almonds. The egg wash helps the almonds to adhere to the cookie.
- Once all the cookies have the almond coating and have been arranged onto a wax-paper lined baking sheet, fill the craters with a bit of jam.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
Thanks to you and Elizabeth for sharing this recipe! Thumbprint cookies are among my absolute favorites. Happy New Year, Ahu! Wishing you great joys, wonderful food & wine, and the warmth and love of family and friends.
Thanks for your note and kind message David – happy new year (and anniversary!) to you too! 🙂
It will take me a while to learn to pronounce the name of these cookies correctly, but no effort to make them disappear!
Happy 2016, Beautiful!
Me too, but it doesn’t make them any less delicious! 😀
Just curious, what is the serving size and nutritional information for these cookies?