Strawberry & Almond Shortbread Thumbprints

Strawberry & Almond Thumbprints

I had the enjoyment of using my evening last night to reorganize my kitchen since my countertops were beginning to fall into the 'clutter' stage. I went through all my cookbooks and neatly put them in a new place and organized some of my dishes and things like that. It was a late night but well worth it to see such a nice organized kitchen! So this morning while sitting at my breakfast nook, I grabbed one of my favourite recipe books (All Recipes.com) and started to check out the cookie section to find something to have with my coffee while my boys were napping. I found a recipe for raspberry shortbread cookies, but since I didn't have any raspberry jam, I just substituted it for pure strawberry. Here is the recipe for these wonderful bites of soft shortbread cookies with a yummy strawberry centre and drizzled almond flavoured icing! 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/raspberry-and-almond-shortbread-thumbprints/Detail.aspx

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
•  
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and white sugar until smooth. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Mix in flour until dough comes together. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls (1 full tablespoon), and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Make a small hole in the center of each ball, using your thumb and finger, and fill the hole with preserves.
3. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes in preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Let cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the confectioners' sugar, 3/4 teaspoon almond extract, and milk until smooth. Drizzle lightly over warm cookies.

My organized kitchen!