Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies ~ Home Bakers Challenge #3

Home Bakers Challenge is a group initiative by started by Priya, in which a group of baking enthusiasts join hands and plan a set of recipes to be baked during the month. I recently joined the group and I am totally excited to be the part of this group. The month of July saw HBC's third challenge which was Cookies, hosted by Viji. Viji had given us a choice of four wonderful cookie recipes. Out of them I chose to bake the Strawberry Nutella thumbprint cookies. Now off to the recipe. 

Recipe source : Sinfully Spicy

Ingredients :

• AP flour : 1.5 cups
• Unsalted butter : 4 tbsp
• Baking powder : 1/2 tsp
• Salt : a pinch
• Granulated sugar : 7 tbsp
• Vanilla essence : 1 tsp
• Nutella/Strawberry jam : for filling

For Crushed strawberry mix :

• Strawberries : 7-8 nos.
• Milk : 1 tsp
• Red/ pink colour : 1 drop [optional]

Method :

1. Crush the strawberries well using the back of a spoon/pestle with a tsp of milk. This forms a thick mixture weighing around 3-4 tbsp.
2. Sift the AP flour, baking powder and salt ; keep aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar. To this add vanilla extract and the crushed strawberry mix. Mix using a whisk.
4. Fold in the flour gently to form a dough. The sticky dough can be covered with cling wrap and refrigerated now for about an hour.
5. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
6. Take out the refrigerated dough and grease your palms with oil. Divide the dough into equal balls for the cookies.
7. Slightly flatten the balls placing them on the parchment paper.
8. Using the thumb or a teaspoon, form an indentation in the middle of the cookies.
9. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes or till when the bottom starts browning.
10. Take them out, flatten the dents again and let it cool on a wire rack. 
11. Fill the dents with nutella/strawberry jam once cooled.

This recipe is being linked to HBC #3 in Viji's space.