Well, the weather outside is frightful. But cookies are quite delightful. So, to help you stay warm and toasty, I bring you: 12 days of Christmas cookies!

The first day of Christmas cookies is devoted not to a partridge in a pear tree, but a type of cookie I love but only make around the holidays: Jam thumbprints.

You will need egg yolks for the batter and egg whites to roll the dough balls in later, but you can use those pre-packaged refrigerated egg whites if you prefer (or if you want to save your regular egg whites for something else, like I did).

I did actually buy “chopped walnuts,” but they weren’t chopped enough to roll the dough in.

It might be a good idea to leave some of the chopped nuts in another bowl at first so they don’t get all eggy. That makes them clump together and not adhere to the dough that well.

Now comes the fun part. You can actually use the back of a teaspoon instead of your thumb, but make sure you press down a lot without going all the way down to the pan. The cookies will rise and spread a bit in the oven.

You can put the jam in the cookies before or after the oven, whichever you prefer. I put it in afterward this time.

This may be the best kind of jam ever, by the way.

Jam thumbprints (from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook)
2/3 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 slightly beaten egg whites (Egg Beaters “Just Whites” are OK)
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raspberry or other jam or preserves

Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can, then stir in any remaining flour. Cover and chill dough about 1 hour or until easy to handle (you can leave it in the fridge overnight if you’d like).

Grease or line a cookie sheet. Preheat the oven to 375. Shape dough into small balls (about one inch in diameter). Roll the balls in egg whites, then in nuts.

Place dough balls at least 1 inch apart on the cookie sheet. Press your thumb (or the back of a teaspoon) into the center of each ball. You may spoon the jam into the cookies now or wait until after they’re out of the oven and cooled.

Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Before serving, fill indented centers with jam (if you haven’t already).