Lemon-Pecan Thumbprint Cookies

My hand unexpectedly volunteered to host a get-together for my Bible Study Fellowship group last week. It was the motivation I needed to finish decorating my house for Christmas.

But I was feeling lazy and incompetent about doing my tree. It’s not terribly big or fancy–I just wasn’t in the mood and I don’t usually think it looks all that good when I’m finished.

Then Superman Rob came to the rescue.

My daughter-in-law’s brother does a fabulous job decorating homes (interiors only) for Christmas. Part of our deal was the promise of a lemony treat.

So I set to work on these Lemon Pecan Thumbprint Cookies. They are a variation of my husband’s favorite Christmas Thumbprint Cookies. I mixed the pecans into the dough instead of coating the cookie to save time, used lemon curd instead of frosting in the center and sprinkled with powdered sugar after baking.

My husband and my sister, visiting from Alabama, raided my freezer a couple nights ago looking for these cookies. After eating several, they said, “Be sure to tell everybody these are really good.”

I said, “Thank-you. Get out of my freezer.”

Paula’s Recipe Notes:

• Toasting nuts makes a difference. Skip it and miss out on the best flavor. It only takes 2 minutes with a microwave–directions here.
• Lemon curd can be homemade or store-bought.  Here is my recipe for making it in the microwave.  Want something different?  Try making orange or lime curd for a unique variation.
• Putting the cookies in the oven for a couple minutes before making a crater helps soften the dough so you won’t have cracks around the edge that leak filling.  No guarantees–you may still get a few–but it works for me.
• Be sure cookies are completely cooled before dusting with powdered sugar or it will melt and disappear.

Lemon-Pecan Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup flour
3/4 cup pecans, toasted
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup lemon curd
1/4 cup confectioners sugar

Directions
First: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place flour, toasted pecans and salt in bowl of food processor and pulse until nuts are finely chopped.

Second: Use electric mixer to combine butter and sugar, beating until light-colored and fluffy. Add egg yolk and vanilla, mixing well. Pour flour mixture in all at once and gently combine just until flour disappears. Scrape bowl a couple times to be sure there are no chunks or streaks of butter left unmixed.

Third: Roll dough into tablespoon-size balls and place on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. (If dough is too soft to handle, chill for about 30 minutes.) Bake for 2 minutes. Remove tray and use your thumb or a rounded teaspoon to make indentation in each cookie. Bake another 8-9 minutes and remove cookies from the oven.

Fourth: Working quickly, re-indent center with thumb or spoon and fill with a half-teaspoon of lemon curd. Return to the oven another 8-10 minutes until cookies start to brown on the edges. Allow cookies to cool about 5 minutes then remove to cooling rack. When completely cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Adapted from Cook’s Country magazine, January, 2011.

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