Easy Sourdough Thumbprint Cookies Recipe (Discard)
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Sourdough Thumbprint Cookies will be a favorite on your cookie tray this holiday season! Buttery, sugar cookies get rolled in sweet granulated sugar, indented in the center, and filled with your favorite jam or preserves.
Just like my Sourdough Sugar Cookies, Sourdough Crinkle Cookies, and Sourdough Gingerbread Cookies, they use sourdough discard for an easy sourdough twist to a classic cookie recipe. It might just be the best holiday cookie recipe!
Want To Save This Recipe?
Enter your email below, and we’ll send it straight to your inbox! Plus, you’ll get my newest sourdough recipes and best tips every week!
MY LATEST VIDEOS
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
Simple three-bowl cookie recipe
You only need basic mixing bowls and a hand mixer to make these delicious homemade cookies. You absolutely don’t need a fancy stand mixer. You’ll end up with with fewer dirty dishes, and less time cleaning up.
Super easy to customize with all kinds of amazing flavors
This thumbprint cookie recipe is pretty easy to make your own. You get to mix and match your favorite jams or preserves depending on personal preference and what you have on hand. I find myself almost always reaching for raspberry jam, but blueberry, apricot, or strawberry jam also work beautifully.
You can even incorporate a variety of add-ins, like chopped nuts, orange or lemon zest, or even warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or cardamom. For something a little different, you could try rolling the cookie dough balls in chopped walnuts instead of granulated sugar. There’s a bunch of ways to modify or build on the original recipe and make it even better.
A soft, buttery, and slightly crisp way to use sourdough discard
I’m always on the hunt for new recipes that will use my leftover starter, and this delicious recipe is a sure bet. But it sure isn’t the only one. There are times I turn to my cornbread recipe, this lemon cake recipe, and a few other family favorites.
Ingredients You’ll Need
* For full ingredient list and precise measurements, scroll to the bottom of this post to find the recipe card*
- Unsalted butter -For these easy cookies, the butter needs to be at room temperature. If it is too cold, the ingredient won’t mix properly and if it is melted, the cookies won’t keep their shape. If you use salted butter, reduce the salt by 1 gram (1/4 teaspoon).
- White Sugar-Adding sweetness and makes the baked cookies a little crispy on the edges. Also promotes a smooth dough texture by helping the butter to cream just right.
- Brown Sugar-I use lightly brown sugar, as it helps add moisture and the usual subtle caramel flavor brown sugar is known for.
- Egg Yolk – Adding the egg white will make this dough too runny and the cookies will lose their shape while baking. Instead, just add the egg yolk.
- Sourdough Starter – For sweet recipes like these cookies, sourdough discard that is 1-2 days old works best! You can use active sourdough starter, just be sure to use the same amount in grams.
- Flour – All-purpose flour is perfect for this recipe.
- Cornstarch – Makes the cookies light and tender, while also helping them keep their circular shape.
How to Make Sourdough Thumbprint Cookies
Wet Ingredients
- Add softened butter to a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 30 seconds.
- To the butter, add the white sugar and tightly packed light brown sugar. Cream on medium speed for an additional 30 seconds until combined.
- Then, add the egg yolk, sourdough starter discard, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Dry Ingredients
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and salt.
Mix
With your mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Occasionally you will need to stop and scrape the sides of the bowl. The cookie dough will look dry and crumbly, but keep mixing through this, everything will come together.
Shape
With a cookie scoop or hand, scoop about 1 Tablespoon worth of cookie dough and roll it into a tight and smooth ball. It is important that there are no air pockets in the dough, otherwise, this can lead to cracks in the exterior of the cookie dough.
*In-between batches, I like to store the cookie dough or shaped cookie dough balls in the fridge so the butter doesn’t melt.
If desired, roll the balls of dough in granulated sugar. This gives the cookies a sweet and crisp outer layer. It also helps to prevent your teaspoon or thumb from sticking to the dough when you are making your indents.
Filling
- With a small teaspoon or your thumb, make a small indent in the center of each cookie. If the cookie dough cracks, reroll and try again. Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough.
- With a small spoon, ladle your favorite jam or preserves into the indent of your cookie.
*A neater option would be to add your jam to a piping bag. You choose!
Bake
Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
Then add your sourdough thumbprint cookies to your prepared cookie sheet, spacing them about 1-2 inches apart.
Bake your cookies in a 350-degree f oven for 15-17 minutes, or until the top is set and the edges of the cookies are a light golden brown.
Remove the cookies from the oven and place them on a wire rack to cool.
How to Store
Sourdough Thumbprint Cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to a week. I love to showcase mine in my favorite cookie jar.
These cookies also freeze for up to 3 months. Or shape and freeze the cookie dough with the jam in the center in an air-tight container or ziploc bag. Bake from frozen for fresh cookies at a moment’s notice.
FAQs
Another name for thumbprint cookies is Hallongrotta, the name of a common Swedish cookie. The name translates to mean “raspberry caves” in Swedish.
It is important to not over bake these cookies! I typically will only bake them for 15-17 minutes, or when the tops have set and the bottoms are just turning golden brown.
A Sourdough Thumbprint Cookie that spreads out can happen for a few reasons. Maybe there just wasn’t enough flour, the dough needed a little more chill time, or the butter was too melty when you were shaping the dough. For the best results, I highly recommend using a kitchen scale.
Whatever the cause, you might still be able to save the cookies. When the cookies are still warm, use two spoons gently to push the edges of the cookie back toward the center. This little trick might not always be a perfect fix, but it’s worth a try!
Sure thing! If you crave lemon curd cookies, bake the cookies, let them cool, and then spoon in lemon curd. What if you want to bake sourdough cranberry thumbprint cookies? Just spoon in cranberry sauce into the middle just before oven time. And for blossom cookies, simply press a chocolate kiss into the middle instead of jam post-baking. As for turtle cookies, have caramel in the center and then top with a pecan. This cookie dough is an amazing base that’s super easy to work with, however you like to bake cookies.
Sourdough Thumbprint Cookies Recipe
These buttery sugar cookies are rolled in sweet granulated sugar, indented, and then filled with your favorite jam or preserves. Sourdough Thumbprint Cookies are not only simple to make, but they will be a favorite on your cookie tray. Made with sourdough discard for an easy sourdough twist to a classic cookie recipe.
Enter your email below, and we’ll send it straight to your inbox! Plus, you’ll get my newest sourdough recipes and best tips every week!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (170g), room temperature
- 1/3 cup (75g) white sugar
- 1/3 cup (75g) light brown sugar, tightly packed
- 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (50g) unfed starter (discard)
- 1 teaspoon (4g) vanilla extract
- 2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons (6g) cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon (4g) salt
- 2/3 cup of your favorite jam or preserve
Instructions
How to Make Sourdough Thumbprint Cookies
Wet Ingredients
1. Add softened butter to a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 30 seconds.
2. To the butter, add the white sugar and tightly packed light brown sugar. Cream on medium speed for an additional 30 seconds until combined.
3. Then, add the egg yolk, sourdough starter discard, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Dry Ingredients
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and salt.
Mix
5. With your mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Occasionally you will need to stop and scrape the sides of the bowl. The cookie dough will look dry and crumbly, but keep mixing through this, everything will come together.
Shape
6. With a cookie scoop or hand, scoop about 1 Tablespoon worth of cookie dough and roll it into a tight and smooth ball. It is important that there are no air pockets in the dough, otherwise, this can lead to cracks in the exterior of the cookie dough.
*In-between batches, I like to store the cookie dough or shaped cookie dough balls in the fridge so the butter doesn't melt.
7. If desired, roll the balls of dough in granulated sugar. This gives the cookies a sweet and crisp outer layer. It also helps to prevent your teaspoon or thumb from sticking to the dough when you are making your indents.
Filling
8. With a small teaspoon or your thumb, make a small indent in the center of each cookie. If the cookie dough cracks, reroll and try again.
9. Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough.
10. With a small spoon, ladle your favorite jam or preserves into the indent of your cookie.
When you pull the jam/preserves from the jar, it will be a little firm, so I like to scoop it into a small bowl and heat it in the microwave for 5-10 seconds. This softens the fruit filling and makes it easier to spoon onto your cookies.
*A neater option would be to add your jam to a piping bag. You choose!
Bake
11. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
12. Then add your sourdough thumbprint cookies to your prepared cookie sheet, spacing them about 1-2 inches apart.
13. Bake your cookies in a 350-degree f oven for 15-17 minutes, or until the top is set and the edges of the cookies are a light golden brown.
14. Remove the cookies from the oven and place them on a wire rack to cool.
Notes
- For the most precise baking, I recommend using a kitchen scale. It's a really cheap investment, but it will ensure accuracy!
- Make sure the butter is at room temperature. Using melted butter will make the cookies spread while baking.
- It is important to not overbake these cookies! I typically will only bake them for 15-17 minutes, or when the jam thumbprints have set and the bottoms are just turning golden brown.
- If your cookies spread while baking, do this. When the cookies are still warm, slide the outside of the spoons on the edge of the cookie, pushing them toward the middle.
- Store in an airtight container for 1 week or in the freezer for 3 months.
These cookies are the best! I even accidentally used salted butter and it gave these cookies a butter-cookie taste! It’s going to be a staple for future Christmas cookies moving forward 😊
What an honor to have one of my recipes as one of your Christmas traditions! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂