Thumbprint cookies

[mindehankins]

You all are the most experienced cooks I've come across, so I have another cooking question for you. When I make my thumbprint cookies, they always break apart when I poke my thumb into them. More than 1/3 of them are no good.
I do it at the end of the baking, when they're pulled from the oven.
Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong?
It just occurred to me Saturday, that this happens every year. Every cookie is so precious!

[mbw1024]

never heard of doing this after baking. always before when dough is raw. does your recipe say do it after?

[Eric in NJ]

My wife puts the imprint and jam in before they are baked.

[Lindy]

Minde - I make the thumbprint before I bake too. I also use something a little smaller than my thumb because I have big thumbs that smash the whole cookie. I've found that the end of an OXO corn-on-the-cob holder is just the right size. (OXO makes all the kitchen tools with the black handles.) I hold the "pick" part and dip the handle in flour between every few cookies. It makes each "print" perfect, precise and deep enough so that the jam doesn't boil out in the oven as long as you don't overfill it. When I use my thumb one side always gets flatter than the other and the jam runs out. I like to make mine look perfect and uniform. Hint - I also roll the dough in chopped pistachios. The greenish nuts with a red jam are really festive looking and it's tastes great too.

[mindehankins]

You'd think I'd have asked that question something like 27 years ago, when I became "in charge" of the cookies????
Any idea how many cookies I've ruined in 27 years?
That makes perfect sense. Most of my cookie recipes are just ingredients and amount lists! They're handwritten by my mom, who died when I was 11. You were expected to know what to do with the ingredients! This is the only one that's never ever worked right. I'm glad I asked!

[Lindy]

Minde - I've seen recipes that tell you to do it after baking like you do so don't feel like you've been wrong! You can do it either way. I just find that doing it before baking makes the shape turn out better with less cracking. I also do the thumbprint and then freeze mine. I just take them out for 5 or 10 minutes to thaw on a cookie sheet while the oven preheats and plop the jam in right before they go in the oven. Rolling them in the nuts first also keeps the cookies from sticking together when I put them into a baggie after freezing. I've got this down to an art!!