Cranberry Thumbprint Cookies

These simple and buttery cookies are a great way to use leftover Cranberry Relish from Thanksgiving (would probably work for cranberry sauce too). 

 

 Since Thursday night (Thanksgiving dinner) I have been eating leftovers for every meal. They are good leftovers but I get bored with the same food too often.  I guess that's when I get creative.

I haven't made Thumbprint Cookies since I was a kid (usually I prefer my cookies to contain chocolate)  but last night inspiration struck.  I thought "why not make Thumbprint Cookies with Cranberry Relish instead of jam?"  Here is my recipe.

Dough (a basic Thumbprint Cookie recipe):

2/3 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour

Cream the butter with sugar.  Add egg and vanilla, mix well. Then stir in flour gradually until it is all incorporated. Cover and refrigerate until firm (at least 1 hour).

Meanwhile prepare Cranberry Relish by mixing 3 Tbsps honey to about 1 cup of relish.

When dough is firm preheat oven to 375.  Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on a, parchment lined, baking sheet about 2 inches apart .  Press each dough ball with your thumb and fill depression with relish.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges brown. Makes about 36 cookies.

These little cookies turned out great.  The citrus in the relish blends well with the vanilla cookie and they are not overly sweet.  My husband will be taking these to work with him.  I definitely recommend this recipe.  Enjoy.