Jelly Thumbprint Cookies

I just have to say: these cookies are awesome!

Here's what you'll need:
o 1 & 1/2 cups butter, softened
o 1 cup sugar
o 3 egg yolks
o 3 cups sifted flour (plus extra if needed)
o 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
o your favorite jelly/jam (I used my homemade plum jelly and it was ga-ood!)

How you put it together:
In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and softened butter. Add the egg yolks, and vanilla; mixing well. Gradually stir in the sifted flour. I found that if I measured out three full cups of flour and then sifted it, there was a little more than 3 cups worth of flour and I had just the right amount to make the perfect dough consistency. But, if your dough is still too soft to handle without it sticking, mix in a little more flour. Scoop out about ½ tablespoon of the dough at a time and roll into balls. Place the dough on an ungreased cookie sheet (you should be able to fit 18 balls comfortably per sheet). Using your thumb, or the end of a kitchen utensil, make a fairly deep indentation in the center of each ball. Then fill each indentation with your favorite jam or jelly. I found it works really well to fill a plastic sandwich bag with your jelly/jam (cut off a corner to make a piping bag), and then squeeze the jelly into the centers instead of using a spoon (fyi: it helps to stir your jelly before putting it in the bag). If you feel that your dough might still be too soft, make your first batch a small one and test it out. If your cookies spread out too much while they baked, then your dough needs just a bit more flour.

*Bake at 400° for 8 - 10 minutes, until light brown around the edges. I found my cookies needed about 10 & a ½ minutes to cook.

Let cool 10 minutes and then move to a cooling rack.

Yield: about 8- 10 dozen cookies.

They're a smaller cookie, so you can have more than one and not feel too guilty ;) Atleast, that's what I tell myself! Hey - don't judge me! It makes me feel better to lie to myself... what do you care?!