Pineapple Lime Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

Add these Pineapple Lime Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies to your holiday baking list! Sweet pineapple jam with buttery shortbread and a hint of lime. Who can resist to eat only one? 

When we were in Maui a couple months ago, the one thing I ate the most was pineapple. I didn’t know pineapple can taste that good. Let me tell you Maui pineapples are the sweetest! Every morning at the hotel, Bryan and I shared a plate of pineapples and a cup of pineapple juice. Never too much pineapples, right?

One souvenir that I bought back was a jar of Maui pineapple jam. I have been keeping it until now. These thumbprint cookies are the best possible way to use the jam. Not only the jam can be seen on top, it’s the part of the cookie that you most look forward to biting into. The shortbread is buttery with a hint of lime, which complements the jam really well. Although most of you won’t be able to get this jam from Maui, you can use other pineapple jam or even your favorite jam, like seedless raspberry, strawberry or lemon curd.

Since both the jam and the shortbread are pretty sweet, these cookies are on the sweet side. If you prefer your cookies not as sweet, skip the glaze. The glaze is optional.

Two quick tips to keep in mind. When making thumbprints, be sure not to flatten the whole dough. If not, the dough may spread too much when baking. Also, do not overfill with jam. It’s tempting to add as much as possible, but we don’t want jam spilling over. 1/4 teaspoon is plenty.

Next week, I’ll be doing my holiday cookie baking. It’s probably going to take 3 days, so I won’t have time to blog. See you in 2 weeks! Have fun baking! Hope you will like these cookies.

Print Pin

Pineapple Lime Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

Makes 40 cookies

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword pineapple cookies, shortread cookies, thumbprint cookies

Author Lokness

Ingredients

• ½ cup cup plus 2 tablespoons (125 grams) sugar
• Zest of 1 small lime
• 2 sticks unsalted butter (16 tablespoons) (at room temperature)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 2 pinches of salt
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (281 grams) all-purpose flour
• ¼ - 1/3 cup pineapple jam or any seedless jam

Lime Glaze (Optional):

• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• 2 – 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, combine sugar and lime zest. Mix and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until butter is smooth, about 3 minutes. Add sugar with lime zest. Beat for another 2 minutes. Add vanilla bean paste, lime juice and salt. Beat until the mixture is creamy and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn the mixer to low speed, add the flour in 3 additions. Mix until just incorporated and dough starts to come together, scraping bowl if necessary. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350˚F (177˚C). Arrange racks in lower and upper thirds of the oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment papers.
• Shape the dough into 1-inch balls, about 15 grams each. Place them on a quarter baking sheet or large plate. Make an indentation into the center of each ball with a small finger, about halfway deep. Smooth out the dough if there are cracks. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
• Place the dough balls 2-inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Fill each indentation with about ¼ teaspoon jam. Dough balls that do not fit can be baked for second round. Keep in the fridge with plastic wrap.
• Bake in the oven for 15 – 17 minutes, rotating the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back after 8 minutes. Bake until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden brown. Transfer the baking sheets to counter and let the cookies rest on the sheets for at least 2 minutes. Transfer the cookies to racks and cool completely. Repeat with the rest of the dough. 
• If using glaze, in a medium bowl, add powdered sugar. Add 1½ tablespoons lime juice. Whisk until smooth. Add more juice if the frosting is too thick. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies with a fork. Let them set at room temperature, about 30 minutes. Serve.

Notes

1. I got my pineapple jam from Hawaii. You can find different brands pineapple jam on Amazon. If you can’t find pineapple jam, you can use lemon curd and seedless raspberry jam. I have tried both and they work too.
2. When making the indentation, make sure to push only straight down, but not to flatten the whole cookie dough. If not, the dough will spread too much when baking.
3. For storage, after the cookies are cooled completely, place them in an airtight container. They can be kept for 4 days at room temperature.

(Adapted from Saving Room for Dessert)