Tis the season for cookie baking, eating, and sharing. Every family has their favorites and it's just a beautiful tradition, no matter the time of year, to bring out a tried and true recipe. I love it so much when a person's name is attached to a cookie: grandma's gingerbread, Angie's cranberry snaps, and so on. It's an especially sweet way to remember a person who's no longer with you, whether in time or distance. Do you have a cookie in your family that "belongs" to someone, helping you to remember and name that person as part of your tradition?

Even though we accumulate favorites that we can't do without, it's always fun to shake it up a little. We're guilty of throwing some new and oft debated things onto our own holiday cookie platter. Some stick around (like Dorie Greenspan's coffee malteds) and some we never speak of again (I'm looking at you olive shortbread.)

This entirely new cookie I present to you is a bit of tradition mixed with new. Using rye flour, it's an update to the familiar thumbprint. We like the depth of flavor and the pairing of the rye with the cherry. Rather than just another hit of butter and sugar, the toasted rye deepens the cherry flavor and gives you a taste of a little something more. Audition a batch and see if they will make it onto your cookie plate.

Rye Cherry Thumbprints
Makes about 42 cookies
1 1/2 c. rye flour
1 1/2 c. almond flour
1 c. sugar + extra for coating
1/4 tsp. salt
zest from 1 medium orange, about 1 tsp.
about 2 tbls. water
10 tbs. unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 c. cherry jam

  1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
  2. Toast your rye flour. Sprinkle it over the parchment and shake a little to even it out. Bake in the hot oven for 15-20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  3. Zest the orange.
  4. In a medium bowl, combine cooled rye flour, almond flour, sugar, salt, and zest.
  5. Slice butter and toss with dry ingredients. Begin to crumble the mixture with your fingers, as in making biscuit dough. Add a small amount of water at a time until it just becomes sticky and holds its shape. Alternatively, in a food processor, pulse the butter gently into the dry ingredients, then drizzle in the water until a dough is formed.
  6. Using a 1 inch cookie scoop or teaspoon, create balls of dough. Coat each one in a little sugar and place spaced apart on the tray.
  7. With a round 1/2 teaspoon, the end of a wood spoon handle, or a small finger, make an indent in each dough ball. Fill with about 1/4 tsp. cherry jam.
  8. Bake at 325F for 15-20 minutes. The cookies will be soft when coming out of the oven, so let them rest on the tray for about 15 minutes to cool before moving.