Hello! It’s Madeline, here.

While perusing recipe blogs recently, I came across this awesome idea for thumbprint jam cookies with goat cheese! As a self-proclaimed goat cheese aficionado, I was so excited to try my hand at making a recipe using the fresh Gothberg Farms goat cheese sold in our Farm Market. I wrote and photographed a cookbook in high school, but it’s been awhile since I’ve developed and photographed recipes. It’s great to be back at it again.

The basil made its way into these cookies after I sampled the kitchen’s fruit salad with balsamic vinegar and fresh basil recently. A week later and it was still on my mind… I’m definitely a sweet and savory kind of girl! My family was mixed on the addition of basil in these – some loved it and some didn’t. If you’re not a fan of basil, feel free to leave it out!

These cookies are a soft, slightly sweet, and unique twist on a classic jam thumbprint cookie. They’re a great way to use up an abundance of ripe berries if you make fresh jam, and are delicious with tea or coffee. I hope you try them!

(Side note & shameless plug: I tried Gothberg Farms’ chevre for the first time recently and it is amazing! Not as tangy as other chevres, it is sweet and sooo creamy. Matt, our new Nutritionist and Local Foods Coordinator, doesn’t like goat cheese but even he enjoyed this one in a smashed cherry panzanella salad from one of Liesl’s market demos. Recipe for the salad will come soon…)

Sweet & Savory Goat Cheese Thumbprint Cookies with Basil and Strawberry Jam

Yield: 30 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups unbleached flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup softened butter
• 3 oz goat cheese, softened
• ½ cup cane sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• About ¼ cup low-sugar strawberry jam

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and beat until mixed. Stir in the flour, salt, and basil until just incorporated. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Scoop the dough into 1-inch balls, and place on an ungreased baking sheet (these won’t spread much).  Use your thumb to form an indent about ½ inch deep into each cookie. Add a small scoop of jam into each indent – no need to be precise with measurements!

Bake the cookies for 15-17 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden. Enjoy!

Notes: You can use any type of jam in place of strawberry. Fig, blackberry, raspberry, apricot, or blueberry would be great, too.

 Did you try this recipe? Let us know in the comments below!