Thumbprint Cookies with Blueberry Lavender Preserves

Ready, Set... BAKE! Heather over at Heather Drive has planned a wonderful event to support our troops overseas. www.bakinggals.com is a site that helps connect bakers with troops could use some cheering up in the form of baked goods. I was happy and excited to join Heather for Round 7 of this great program.

For the baking event, I made some thumbprint cookies, filled with organic preserves made in Honor, Michigan. I used Joella's coconut thumbprint cookie recipe and added some pecans.

Coconut Pecan Thumbprint Cookies with Blueberry Lavender Preserves
2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 C finely chopped pecans
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
jam of your choice
In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, baking soda and salt. Whisk in the coconut and pecans.

Using a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for another 30 seconds.

On low speed, add the flour mixture and mix until fully incorporated.

Form into a ball or disc and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F. Position rack in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and make a dent in each cookie using your thumb. My dough was a little crumbly so Matt had to reshape the cookies around his thumb in order for them to keep their shape. Bake them for 12 minutes in the preheated oven.

Remove from oven. You'll notice that the cookies have spread a bit. Depress the centers once again and fill cookies with jam of your choice. About 1 tsp fits into each depression comfortably.

Place the cookies back into the oven for 7 more minutes. If you like your cookies softer bake for 5 minutes.

I'm hopeful that Ssgt. Jennifer will really enjoy these cookies. They are REALLY good. After packing these up, I added a picture of Matt and I from the wedding and a note, letting her know where we're from and how much we appreciate her dedication.