Strawberry Nutella Thumbprint Cookies

I baked Strawberry Nutella Thumbprint Cookies and Peanut Butter Cookies[PBC's] for the third Home Baker’s Challenge(HBC) initiated by Mrs. Priya Suresh of Priya's Versatile and hosted by  Mrs. Viji of Virundhu Unna Vaanga. The main objective of Home Baker’s Challenge is to learn and bake together. Thank you very much Mrs. Priya Suresh and Mrs. Viji for this wonderful and delightful challenge.

This month’s challenge was to bake cookies announced by Mrs. Viji. She gave four different types of cookies and I chose to make two different types of cookies for the challenge and here are the Strawberry Nutella Thumbprint Cookies for HBC.

Here’s how to make Strawberry Nutella Thumbprint Cookies with step by step photos…

Ingredients

All purpose flour/Maida	1 ½ cup
Baking powder	½ tsp
Unsalted butter (room temperature)	4 tbsp
White sugar	7 tbsp
Salt	One pinch
Vanilla essence	1 tsp
Crushed fresh strawberry mix	3 tbsp
Nutella or Jam	For filling

Method

Preparing Crushed fresh strawberries mix…

Crush about 6-7 fresh strawberries with 1 tsp of milk using potato masher or in a blender. The quantity of strawberry mix will vary depending upon the consistency but it should not be runny or watery.

If you want, you can add 2 drops of red food color to the strawberry mix, but I have not used the food color in this cookie.

Making of Cookies

In a bowl sift the flour, salt and baking powder and keep it aside.

In another bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar using hand whisk or electric blender for about 4 min.

Now add the vanilla essence and crushed strawberry to the bowl and combine well with the butter mixture using a whisk.

Fold in the flour mixture with the butter mixture gently to form dough. The dough will be soft and a little sticky but not loose. Do not over mix. Oil your hands and bring the dough together.

 Now cover the dough with plastic cling film and refrigerate for ½ to 1 hour.

 Pre heat the oven to 175 °C (350°F). Place parchment paper on baking trays.

Take out the refrigerated dough, lightly oil your palms and make small balls with it. Put the balls on the parchment paper and press down slightly to flatten it.

With the help of your thumb or with the back of a teaspoon make a small hole in the middle of the cookies where you will fill the nutella or jam after baking.

If at this stage you feel that the butter in the cookies is melting, refrigerate again for about 15 minutes.

Bake the cookies in the oven for about 8 – 12 min or until the bottom starts turning brown. Do not bake beyond 12 minutes, the cookies will continue to cook after you take them out of the oven.

Take the cookies out of the oven and using a teaspoon again press out the hole in the cookies. You will not be able to do this after the cookies have cooled.

Once cookies have cooled, fill in the nutella or jam in the little holes in the cookies.

Yum, Yum, Yum, delicious and lovely cookies are ready to be enjoyed.

Thank you visiting my blog please come back again for more yummy and delicious cookies.

Sending this cookie to Viji's Virundhu Unna Vaanga, Guru'sCooking,Manjuskitchen,wtmlevent

Until then I am signing off…