These colorful Cookies for Springtime are soft, buttery, and delicious. They are easy to make and fun to decorate with the kids, perfect for your Easter celebration.

Almond Thumbprint Cookies for Springtime

iced almond thumbprint cookies for spring

I usually make these cookies at Christmastime. They are so easy to make, that I don’t mind rolling out a few batches.

While they are beautiful in red and green, I love them so much better in pastel colors.

Bunny Shaped Cookies – Easy to make
Chocolate Covered Pretzel Bites for spring
Rainbow Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Do you put icing on cookies before or after baking?

You should put icing on cookies after baking and cookies have completely cooled

How do I keep my Thumbprint Cookies from spreading?

Chill the dough. Warm batter will spread more
Don’t over beat the sugar and butter step. Just mix until well blended
Use parchment paper or silicone sheets in place of greasing the pan

Iced Almond Thumbprint Cookies for Springtime Recipe Ingredients:

Ready to bake? Make sure you have all of the ingredients handy…

margarine melted – melted butter leads to chewier cookies

sugar

vanilla extract – or almond extract – I used only to use vanilla, but now I prefer the taste of almond in these cookies. They are almond thumbprint cookies, after all

salt – this sharpens the buttery flavor

flour – all-purpose

optional – finely chopped nuts (almonds) – I love the nutty flavor that the almonds lend to the cookie, but the kids don’t like the texture. This is completely optional

Filling

powdered sugar – this thickens and sweets your icing

almond extract – the best flavor for this icing

water – be sparing. Add less water at first and more to thin the batter, if necessary

Gel food coloring – this is just to not oversaturate the icing with more liquid. If you only have liquid, then just use less water to thin the icing

Almond Thumbprint Cookies

Iced Almond Thumbprint Cookies for Springtime

Delicious springtime cookies

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 10

decorating: 15

Total Time: 35

Servings: cookies

Calories: 161cal

Author: Melissa

Cost: $10

Ingredients

1 cup margarine melted
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
¼ tsp. salt
2 tsp. milk -I used 2%
2 cups flour all-purpose
1 cup chopped almonds optional

Filling – for each color

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
2 – 3 Tbsp. water
2-3 drops Gel food coloring I used neon colors *you can use liquid food coloring but you'll want to use less water so your icing isn't too runny

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Melt the butter until it is warm enough to dissolve the sugar (I usually microwave the 1 lb. for about 30 seconds) If it is only partially melted, that’s fine. It will probably have a warm, and creamy texture)
In a large bowl mix melted margarine or unsalted butter and sugar together until sugar is dissolved
Add extract and milk – stir in
In a small bowl mix the salt, flour, and *optional nuts
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix together
Roll into balls about 1 inch in diameter
Push the center down with your thumb or the back of a Tbsp. measuring spoon that has been greased
Bake at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes
While that is baking – stir the ingredients for the icing together adding the water 1 Tbsp. at a time, and stopping when the icing is a nice smooth consistency but not too runny
If it gets too runny…just add a little more powdered sugar
After the cookies are done and cooled – add a spoonful of icing to each center

Notes

nutrition facts are only an estimate

Updates to recipe explained:

The addition of milk is a new ingredient. Feel free to omit this ingredient. Your cookie will still turn out delicious, but it will have a more dense texture. The original version from my mom’s generation did not have the milk. The milk binds the dough with more moisture so it is not so crumbly, it adds fat and flavor, and it even contributes to color.

Almond extract in place of vanilla – these 2 extracts are completely interchangeable in this recipe. I happened to like the almond flavor over the vanilla, but it is entirely a personal preference

*Also, I have discovered that it is not necessary to refrigerate the cookie dough before baking which gives us one less step to worry about. 🙂

Nutrition