Raspberry Cheese Danish Thumbprint Cookies

I’ve been staring at my pantry these days looking for exactly anything other than what I have. 

You do that too, right? 

Sure there is a bounty in this home, a true wealth of nutrients but like…. where is the box of Entemann’s coffee cake that happens to be literally the only thing I want to eat right now? Where is that? Somewhere beyond the too many cans of baked beans? 

It was on such a day, with such a craving, and without yeast to speak of that these cookies were born.  A crisp and tender cookie bowl to hold sweetened cream cheese and raspberry jam comnbination.  Sweet, creamy, fruit, bright, comforting – all the things the wash over a cheese danish craving like no other.  I added a buttery crumble topping because… listen, I was already in deep and a crumble makes good things great. 

This cookie dough can house any number of creativity and cravings.  If you were to combine a nutella and sweetened peanut butter mixture, I’d absolutely shake your hand in support. Swap out the raspberry for apricot or strawberry preserves.  Leave it out all together. Make these your own – that’s the invitation.  

Now.. let’s get to it. 

Here’s what you’ll need for these danish turned cookies: 

•  all-purpose + almond flour.  I really love the moist nuttiness almond flour adds to these cookies. It helps create a soft and crumbly texture.  If you’d like to make these cookies gluten-free, this recipe also works with a 1-for-1 gluten free flour blend like Bob’s Red Mill. I would add an egg to the recipe if you’re making it gluten-free to help with the binding. They’ll be a little more delicate but it still works! 

•  softened butter + granulated sugar that we’ll whip to light and fluffy to help aerate the cookies.  We’re not using leavening in these cookies so the air we whip into the butter and sugar is important. 

•  salt + vanilla extract to balance the flavor of the cookies. Really simply, right? 

•  cream cheese + sugar +egg yolk + granulated sugar to make a rich cheese filling. 

•  raspberry jam to brighten up and compliment the cheese filling.

•  an optional crumb topping to sprinkle over the cookie pre-bake: an easy mixture of flour, cinnamon, granulated sugar + butter.  A little extra effort but gives these cookies that true danish quality. 

We’ll make the cookie dough first.  

Start by whisking together the dry ingredients.  This might feel like one of those things you don’t want to dirty a bowl for but I’ll tell you – it helps to evenly incorporate the ingredients so you won’t over-mix the cookie dough to tough. 

Have I talked you into it? 

Cream the butter and sugar to fluffy. The mixture will move from grainy and dense to light, a bit more smooth and fluffy after 3 to 5 minutes on medium speed.  

We’re not only combining two ingredients, we adding air to the cookie dough to help create a tender texture. 

Add the dry ingredients to the batter and incorporate on low speed. 

To ensure all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined, I usually stop the mixer and finish incorporating with a rubber spatula.  There are always some dry bits at the bottom that need attention. 

Place the soft sweet dough on a piece of parchment paper. Coerce into a disk. Wrap lightly and refrigerate while we make the cheese filling and maybe the crumble. 

The trick to smooth cream cheese filling is very very room temperature cream cheese – not even a hint of chill on it. 

I unwrap my room temperature cream cheese and often pop it in the microwave for ten seconds.  I don’t want to take any chances because a cream cheese lump is one of the hardest lumps to get smooth.  Am I wrong?

Whip in the egg yolk, sugar, flour, and teeny tiny splash of almond extract if you’re into that sort of thing. 

The crumble is a sandy, buttery mixture worked together with a little bit of spice.  Listen… I put crumble on just about everything. There’s always room for it! 

Spoon two tablespoons of dough into your palm and roll into a smooth dough ball. Use your finger to make space in each dough ball, making each dough ball a little bowl.  Just be careful not to press all the way through the dough to the pan. 

Spoon a heaping teaspoon each of ream cheese filling and raspberry jam into each dough bowl. 

Sprinkle generously with crumble topping.  (Or don’t, maybe you skipped this step.)

The cookies won’t brown significantly in the oven – that’s totally ok! The bottoms will get a toasty golden but the tops may remain pale.  

You’ll notice the cream cheese filling firms up and the jam may bubble a bit.  Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for at least 10 minutes so they strengthen and hold their shape before transferring.  As you might imagine, these are deeply satisfying for an afternoon snack with second coffee. 

Photos with my friend Jon Melendez. 

 

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