Yuzu Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

I love citrus. I love vanilla bean. I love butter. I love salt. These cookies are my culinary manifestation of having a sleepover with all four of those flavorful friends. Yuzu jam from Kuze Fuku & Sons offers a sweet, tart, yet slightly bitter pop that is offset by the vanilla drizzle, which I think is a mandatory finish if you go the yuzu route. But, of course, sub any jam you want.

These shortbread thumbprints tend to be less smooth along the edges and have more of that crumbly, cracked look once you make the little nest for the jam. If you are a little ~particular like me, you can kind of smooth some of the edges out with your (clean!) hand once they are out of the oven and before you transfer them to the rack to cool. But, you do not have to do that!

Recipe by: JSC Kitchen, Kelsey Harris

Makes approximately 24-36 cookies, depending on size

Process

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat mat.

Whisk flour and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.

With a hand or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and light on medium speed. Add the vanilla pasta or extract.

With the mixer on low, add all of the dry ingredients at once and mix until just incorporated with the sugar/butter/vanilla combo.

Use a spoon or a small scoop and roll the dough into 1.5-2 tablespoon-sized balls. Space the dough balls about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Press each ball with the back of a spoon or your thumb to create a little nest for the jam. Place a 1/2 teaspoon of jam into the center of each cookie.

Bake for about 15-18 minutes, until the bottom of cookies are lightly brown.

Once pulled out of the oven, immediately sprinkle flake salt over each cookie. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

For the vanilla drizzle, whisk together the sugar, water and vanilla. Drizzle over each cookie once cooled.

Eat them.