For this month's Leftovers Club recipe, I really took the word "leftovers" to heart. Instead of baking something, and sending off the extras to Ruthy, I went through my kitchen and looked for ingredients that I had lying around just waiting to be used up. Walnuts. I have somehow accrued an enormous amount of walnuts. I don't know why or how; they are my least favorite nut. But they were there. I like them in cookies, muffins or breads, but on their own, I don't find them to have much flavor. SO, I knew I was making some kind of walnut baked good. I also had this homemade Fuzzy Navel Jam from The Boys Market in Delray. I had about 3/4 of the can left, and even though I loved it, I knew I wasn't going to be finishing it any time soon. So now I have walnuts, and jam. What to make? Isn't it obvious? Thumbprint cookies!
I like to make my cookies with brown sugar only. I think it lends to a much richer taste without being too sweet. So I used a simple brown sugar cookie recipe and added in chopped walnuts, then I heated up the jam over the stove and stirred in more chopped walnuts to make a filling. I was afraid these cookieswould come out rather boring, but I was seriously, extremely, a million percent wrong. They were the perfect chewy consistency and the orangey-peachy flavor of the jam complimented the walnuts and brown sugar in such a made-for-each-other way, I almost couldn't believe I came up with the recipe all on my own. Of course you can use whatever flavor jam you like, but I recommend something close to what I used. Orange, peach, mango, or apricot would all work really well.
Nutty Fuzzy Navel Thumbprint Cookies
Makes 2 dozen
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup chopped walnuts, divided
1 small jar of your favorite jam
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and cinnamon. Beat egg and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add egg and mix until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in half of the chopped walnuts.
Heat jam in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Let cook until it becomes a liquid and then stir in the remaining chopping walnuts.
Scoop cookies onto a baking mat or baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press the center of each cookie with the back of a teaspoon. Place about a tablespoon of the jam and walnut filling into each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Make sure to check out of all #theLeftovers Club recipes. If you're interested in joining us next month, go to theleftoversclub.com and sign up!
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