Chef notes
Life with gigantic thumbs can be a total drag on days when all I want to do is hold up a plate of food for Instagram but can't because I'm embarrassed about my gigantic thumbs. It also makes doing the crossword on my phone really challenging. I can't wear cute press-on nails because they never come in my size and I'm triggered every time I watch the "Mean Girls" scene where they're all standing in Regina George's room talking about their body insecurities. "My thumbs!" I think to myself every single time. But do you know what my thumbs are SO GREAT at? Big huge soft thumbprint cookies!
These are basically my favorite hamantaschen, which are extra soft, have so much personality from cream cheese, and exercise a great amount of restraint when it comes to the sugar (allowing the cream cheese flavor to shine). But this thumbprint shape is a much better format because who wants to wrestle with triangle shaped cookies, only to have half of them flop open in the oven, when they're not commanded to by a millennia-old tradition? Also, you get a doughier cookie this way.
Technique tip: Freezing helps them hold their shape.
Swap option: Use any jam you like.
