Lemon Thumbprints

These are a lovely lemon cake taste a thumbprint. I put my mom's homemade cream cheese icing recipe on them and WOW ! I think the cream cheese icing really makes this seem like a delicious lemon cake cookie. This was a new recipe for me, but I was by no means disappointed with the results. They are so moist, sweet, and comforting. Delicious with morning coffee. I hope you love these as much as I do! I also have a Pistachio and Banana posted on the blog. Let me know if you have questions!!

Lemon Thumbprint Cookies:

1 c. unsalted butter, softened 1/3 c. powdered sugar 1 egg 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 (3.4 oz.) box instant lemon pudding mix 2 c. all-purpose flour 2 c. finely chopped walnuts, for rolling

Cream Cheese Icing: 1/2 unsalted butter, softened 3 oz. cream cheese 2 c. powdered sugar 1 tsp. vanilla a little milk, only if needed.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the Filling:  Let the cream cheese sit out to soften. Stir in the softened butter until smooth.  Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and stir until very creamy.  I then used a mixer because it was very thick and I think it mixed the icing more thoroughly. If mixture is too thick, you can add a little bit of milk until it reaches desired consistency. Fill cookies once cooled.  Store cookies in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

For the Cookies: Cream together butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract and mix until combined. Add the flour and dry pudding mix and mix until combined.  I use a watermelon scoop to get my dough balls and then I roll them to smooth it out. Then, roll in sugar or sprinkles. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  I use a round old fashioned clothes pin to push the holes in my cookies, but you can use the bottom of a round teaspoon or your thumb and press into the top center of each dough ball.  My oven cooks quickly, so I baked for 8-9 minutes. The original recipe called for 10-11 minutes. Remove from oven and press into the top again, When you bake the cookies, the indent fills in a little.  I got around 40 cookies, I think mine were smaller than the original recipe because I used the watermelon scoop, so I got more out of it.

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