Simple Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

I wanted a wholesome snack that my kids would eat. I knew I wanted to use some dried fruits: dates, figs, raisins, and prunes are all in my pantry. I decided to try some thumbprints, without nuts, and with the dried fruit puree in place of the usual jam filling.


Thumbprints

 What You Need:

• 1 cup butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• if the dough is too dry, add 1 Tbsp milk

for the filling:

• two handfuls (sorry, I didn't measure) of dried fruits. I used a combination of prunes, dates, and figs.
• 1/4 cup of honey or maple syrup

How it's Done:

1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees. I used parchment on my cookie sheets. These are buttery cookies, so using nothing is definitely an option. Use parchment, Silpat, or ungreased cookie sheets.
2. Cream butter and sugars together. Add the flour, and the milk if needed.
3. Form into 1" round balls. Place the balls 3" apart on the cookie sheets. Using your thumb, create an indentation deep in the center of each ball.
4. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until cookies are just beginning to brown on the bottoms and sides.
5. While the cookies bake, prepare the filling. Put the dried fruits in your food processor and process until they're well chopped. With the processor running, drizzle in the honey. You want the filling to form a ball. Once it's reached that stage, remove from processor.
6. When the cookies come out, let them cool briefly, and then fill them with a couple teaspoons of filling, pushing the filling into the cookies.
7. Let cool completely at room temperature. Store covered.

These came out tasting like a combination of Fig Newtons and Shortbread. They were wonderful.