There's a family cookie recipe my mother would make every Christmas called "thumbprint cookies". These little cookies were a slice of heaven the way the simple sugar dough would combine with the tartness of red plum jam and just melt in your mouth. They're killer cookies.
When I was little, my mother modified them to a peanut-buttery dough and strawberry jam. They were the cookie of choice for any little kid -- especially one like me who never had her fill of peanut butter and jelly.
I've now modified them again. This time, I took the simple dough of butter, sugar, flour and
vanilla extract and added some cocoa and chopped up chocolate chips. The dough was a little less stiff than normal, but I had to play with the cocoa amounts until I got the right chocolate flavor. The raspberry jam provided a much smoother flavor than red plum or strawberry.In all, I'd say these cookies were a success. Now I need to get them out of my sight so I stop eating them all the time.
