A savory twist on your classic jam-filled sweet thumbprint cookie. These Savory Thumbprint Cookies with an incredible Bourbon Tomato Jam are the PERFECT party appetizer.
These savory cookies are insanely flavorful, easy to make and vegetarian!
If you thought we spent all of December eating homemade Twix candy bars, or buttery melting moments cookies, or chocolate beer truffles, ginger cookies, or drinking white hot chocolate, that would only be partially true. 🙂
After all we made thumbprint cookies too! Except, these aren’t the kind you’d expect. These babies are savory cookies (just like my thyme and cheddar cheese savory cookies!). Savory Thumbprint Cookies with Bourbon Tomato Jam to be precise. I’m going to be quite frank, there’s no way I can do these cookies any justice with words here.
These are some of the best cookies (savory or otherwise) that I’ve had, and I don’t say that lightly. And that bourbon tomato jam is a guaranteed crowd favorite!
Mr. K is very easy to please when it comes to the food I make. He’s one of the least picky eaters out there and he will literally eat anything I put in front of him (bless him) with gusto.
If he’s fairly quiet, then I can expect a standard “good food, thank you” response. But the more vocal he gets, the more he enjoyed it, I can tell. And these savory cookies, he couldn’t stop talking about!
Why we love these savory thumbprint cookies
- Crisp on the edges, soft in the middle, with a kicked up sweet and spicy tomato jam in the center, these cheesy savory cookies are just so flavorful and unique!
- And these make the best starter recipes for your Christmas party or New Year’s Eve party. Or any other occasion for that matter.
- And these are vegetarian cookies to boot.
Imagine how your guests would be bowled over when they realize that these aren’t actually sweet cookies. Plus, this might be your only chance to get the better of your friend’s annoying kid, when he/she bites into one of these thinking they are regular sweet thumbprint cookies.
That expression alone would be worth the effort, would it not? Not that I would know. I mean, I’d never do such a thing. Noooo, never.
Aaaand they are so easy to make, even my hubs could make them. Seriously. The dough comes together quickly and you just make an imprint with your thumb to fill up with some delicious jam/jelly. So really, you got no excuse not to make them.
They’d do really well as a party appetizer or even as tea time snacks. I made these because I needed a break from sweet cookies and bar recipes.
As a huge fan of classic thumbprint cookies, I decided to give them a spicy, savory, flavorful twist. The result is truly glorious.
About the cookies
These cookies are crazy delicious with a fantastic jelly center. Here I made a cheese and rosemary cookie dough base and gave it a little bit of a spicy kick, using deseeded jalapeno. So the cookie on its own tastes insanely good, if you choose not to have a jelly/jam center.
Bourbon tomato jam
This just might be my favorite part about these cheesy thumbprint appetizers.
I filled these up with an amazingly flavorful tomato jam that incorporates garlic and a few spices and then kicked it up with bourbon! Bourbon folks. Does it not scream PARTY APPETIZER??
Besides, slow roasted tomatoes, this tomato jam is my favorite way to preserve juicy tomatoes all summer long.
Honestly, these came out even better than I expected, and we have now frozen the remaining cookies for later.
Storage instructions
You can easily refrigerate or freeze the formed cookies (before baking) without filling the center with jam, no issues there.
Or even freeze the baked cookies in a single layer (if you stack them, the jam can stick to the bottom of the cookies).
These cheesy savory thumbprint cookies will go really well with all kinds of fun cocktails, so all in all, these were meant to take center-stage at a party.
Oh, and I made an even more amazing, flavorful dip for these cookies, and you can find the recipe for that super easy, sweet and spicy dip in my spicy mango relish post.
Recipe
Savory Thumbprint Cookies (with Bourbon Tomato Jam)
US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results whenever available.
Common Measurement ConversionsIngredients:
Cheesy thumbprint cookies
- 225 g unsalted butter 2 sticks, softened
- 100 g white cheddar cheese grated, about 1 cup
- 100 g monterey jack cheese grated, about 1 cup
- 1 deseeded jalapeno finely chopped, keep the seeds if you don't mind a little kick
- 1 large large rosemary sprig leaves only, finely chopped (you can use thyme as well)
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 20 g white sugar about 2 tbsp
- 1 large egg
- 200 g all purpose flour 1 ⅔ cup, spooned and leveled
- 150 g semolina 1 cup, spooned and leveled
Bourbon and tomato jam
- 1 lb cherry tomatoes halved
- 150 g sugar 1¾ cup
- 5 tbsp vinegar white vinegar (apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar)
- ½ tbsp chili flakes / crushed red pepper optional, but recommended (adjust the amount to your liking – add more for a spicy jam, and less for minimal heat)
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped, about 2 tsp minced garlic
- ½ medium white/yellow sweet onion finely diced
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp kosher salt adjust to taste
- 3 tbsp bourbon
Instructions:
Savory cheesy thumbprint cookies
- Roughly chop the grated cheese and mix it with the rosemary and jalapeno. Alternatively, you can grate the cheese using your food processor, and add the deseeded jalapeno and rosemary leaves and process finely. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, place the softened butter, sugar, and salt, and cream it all together using a whisk / spatula or wooden spoon. Add the egg and mix it in until well incorporated in the dough.
- Add the cheese-herb mix and mix it through using a spatula or wooden spoon.
- In a separate bowl, mix the all purpose flour and semolina together. Add this in two batches to the butter-cheese mix and mix it to form a dough. You may need to use your hands (well-floured) to bring the dough together. Let the dough rest for about 15 minutes.
- Line two cookie trays with parchment paper.
- Make 1 ½ inch round dough balls and place them on the cookie tray with about 2 inches of space between each (I place 12 – 14 cookies on each tray). Each cookie is about 30 g in weight.
- Shape the cookies by creating a deep well / imprint in each dough ball using a flour dusted finger. Shape the dough to make it smooth, while maintaining the well in the middle if needed.
- Let these cookies chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes while the oven preheats, OR let them chill in the fridge overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F / 180°C. Make sure the oven is preheated for at least 15 minutes before baking.
- Take the chilled cookies out of the fridge. Fill each well generously with the cooled bourbon tomato jam (recipe below).
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 – 25 minutes. Switch the position of the two trays in your oven half way through baking (please see recipe notes). The cookies should be golden on the bottom and light-golden on top. If your oven can only bake 1 tray at a time evenly, then only bake 1 at a time.
- Remove from the oven and let them cool slightly. Transfer cookies onto a cooling rack and let them cool further.
- The cookies can be served slightly warm, or at room temperature.
- If you’re storing the cookies, DO NOT STACK (the jam will stick to the bottom of the cookies).
Bourbon tomato jam (make the day before you plan to bake the cookies)
- Mix all the ingredients except for the bourbon in a saucepan. Bring the mix to a boil on medium-heat, while stirring to dissolve the sugar. When the mix comes to a boil, increase the heat to keep it at a boil.
- Let the mixture boil while stirring and gently crushing the tomatoes with a spoon as they soften. After about 5 minutes of cook time, add the bourbon and mix through.
- The mixture should keep cooking until the liquid has become syrupy and thick. The time depends on the heat of your stove, and how much liquid is present in the tomatoes. The end product will resemble preserves with tomato pieces in it.
- These can be stored in mason jars until needed (makes enough for 1 ½ batches of these cookies). Chill the jam in the fridge overnight before using them in the cookies.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
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