What’s better than a Christmas thumbprint cookie? A boozy Christmas thumbprint cookie made using dark rum and cherry preserves. Add on a drizzle of powdered sugar rum glaze and a few sliced almonds, and these boozy Christmas cookies will certainly grab your attention with their festive presentation if not their amazing and absolutely delicious taste.
Each year, I tell myself that I’ll bake cookie recipes all year long and save a few for Christmas Cookies Week so that I am not rushed to come up with recipes at the last moment. So basically, each year I lie to myself. Or, as the lovely lady that used to drive me to kindergarten as a child would say, I fibbed to myself. Because the word lie is a bad, bad, bad word, yet somehow the word fib is totally acceptable to use.
I’m not sure if I ever quite understood why it was so important for me to use the word fib as a child, I just knew that it was somehow acceptable, while the word lie was not. Either way, lie or fib, I totally do both when it comes to preparing ahead of time for Christmas Cookies Week. But one thing that’s not a lie? That this particular Christmas cookie recipe is totally freaking amazing. I mean, come on, would I ever Iie or fib about a little thing like that?
Ingredients:
Cookies:
- 1 Cup of Salted Butter, Softened (Irish Butter)
- 2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
Filling:
- 1/2 Cup Cherry Preserves
- 1 Tablespoon Dark Rum
- Sliced Almonds
Glaze:
- 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Dark Rum
Directions:
Cookies:
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and salt together on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Add the vanilla; mix on medium speed for 1 minute.
- Add the flour, 1/2-cup at a time, and mix at low speed until just incorporated.
- Cover the cookie dough and refrigerate it for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Using your hands, shape the cookie dough into 1-inch balls. Place each ball onto a Silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Using your thumb, press an indentation into the center of each ball.
Filling:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cherry preserves and dark rum.
- Fill the well of each cookie with a little bit of the cherry preserves mixture.
- Sprinkle a few sliced almonds over the cherry filling on each cookie.
- Bake the cookies for 11 to 13 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool for at least 3 minutes before removing them to a baking rack to finish cooling completely.
Glaze:
- When the cookies have cooled, whisk the powdered sugar and dark rum together in a small bowl.
- Use a fork to drizzle the glaze over the top of each cookie.
- Allow the cookies to rest on the counter until the glaze has set.
Suggestions:
- I used Irish butter for this cookie recipe. It lends a nice pale golden color to the cookie dough as well as a rich buttery taste. It also has salt in it, which helps to flavor these cookies perfectly. You can use either unsalted or salted butter in its place if you choose, however, I suggest you don’t.
- If you don’t want to use dark rum for this recipe, replace it with vanilla. I use Appleton Estate rum when baking, however, any dark rum will do.
- Make sure to refrigerate your dough. This will ensure that the cookies do not spread out too much during baking. This cookie dough may be a little bit tough to roll. Just work it between the palms of your hands as you roll it into balls. The heat from your hands will help to shape it.
- This recipe will yield approximately 24 cookies.
Improvements:
- Add 1/2-teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the cookie dough.
- Drizzle each butter cookie with melted milk, dark, or white chocolate.
- Replace the almonds in this recipe with very finely chopped pecans or walnuts.
- Don’t forget to check out all of Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck’s past cookie recipes. CLICK HERE to see a complete list. Make sure to scroll down the list and check out the special “Christmas Cookies” section for more great “Cookies for Santa” recipes.
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup of Salted Butter, Softened (Irish Butter)
- 2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 Cup Cherry Preserves
- 1 Tablespoon Dark Rum
- Sliced Almonds
- 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Dark Rum
Directions:
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and salt together on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Add the vanilla; mix on medium speed for 1 minute.
- Add the flour, 1/2-cup at a time, and mix at low speed until just incorporated.
- Cover the cookie dough and refrigerate it for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Using your hands, shape the cookie dough into 1-inch balls. Place each ball onto a Silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Using your thumb, press an indentation into the center of each ball.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cherry preserves and dark rum.
- Fill the well of each cookie with a little bit of the cherry preserves mixture.
- Sprinkle a few sliced almonds over the cherry filling on each cookie.
- Bake the cookies for 11 to 13 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool for at least 3 minutes before removing them to a baking rack to finish cooling completely.
- When the cookies have cooled, whisk the powdered sugar and dark rum together in a small bowl.
- Use a fork to drizzle the glaze over the top of each cookie.
- Allow the cookies to rest on the counter until the glaze has set.
PIN THIS RECIPE
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Crystallized Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Cookies
Mexican Chocolate Chip Crinkle Cookies
Christmas is a time for family, friends, and delicious holiday cookies. From classic butter cookies to iced gingerbread cookies, this list of ultimate Christmas cookie recipes has something for everyone. Whether you’re looking for festive colors, unique seasonal ingredients, or just a cookie that’s super easy to make, these Christmas cookie recipes will help you find the perfect cookie for the season. CLICK HERE for the recipes.
CHRISTMAS COOKIES WEEK
Welcome to #ChristmasCookies Week, where some of our favorite food bloggers are sharing their own original and festive cookie recipes just perfect for your holiday celebrations. Make sure to follow along on Pinterest so that you don’t miss out on one single delicious holiday cookie recipe.
Also, don’t forget to check out all of Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck’s past cookie recipes. CLICK HERE to see a complete list.
A huge thank you to Ellen from Family Around the Table, Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures, and Heather from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks for hosting #ChristmasCookies Week.
Check out today’s cookie recipes:
- Andes Peppermint Oatmeal Cookies from Christmas Tree Lane
- Cherry Pecan Thumbprint Cookies from Family Around the Table
- Chocolate Linzer Cookies from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Blossoms from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Cinnamon Spiral Cookies from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Dark Rum Cherry Almond Thumbprint Cookies from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
- Easy Sugar Sprinkle Cookies from Palatable Pastime
- Gluten-Free Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies from Frugal & Fit
- Gingerbread Cookie Bars from Cheese Curd In Paradise
- Ginger-Lemon Delights from Sweet Beginnings
- Glazed Orange Carrot Cookies from The Spiffy Cookie
- Italian Ricotta Cookies from Jen Around the world
- Melted Snowman Cookies from Kathryn’s Kitchen Blog
- Mexican Wedding Cookies from Shockingly Delicious
- Pecan Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies from Kate’s Recipe Box
- Pistachio Rose Cookies from Magical Ingredients
- Reindeer Cookies from Devour Dinner
- S’Mores Cookie Bars from An Affair from the Heart
- S’Mores Drop Cookies from Daily Dish Recipes
- Snickerdoodles from Leftovers Then Breakfast
- Speculoos Cookies from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Stained Glass Cookies from Art of Natural Living
- Whipped Shortbread Cookies from Take Two Tapas
- White Chocolate Espresso Cookies from Blogghetti
