Nutty Thumbprint Cookies

[mona1949]

Preheat oven to 350 degrees - Grease two cookies sheets

makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies

Finely chop and set aside: 6 ounces of walnuts (1 1/2 cups)

Stir until smooth and set aside:

2 cups of seedless raspberry jam

In a large bowl of mixer at medium speed beat until well blended:

6 ounces of unsalted butter
2 large egg yolks ( set aside whites)
3/4 cups of sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp salt

Add and mix at low speed well combined:

2 cups all purpose flour

In a small bowl, lightly whisk the reserved egg whites. Spread the reserved chopped nuts on a plate. Roll the dough into 1 inch. Dip each ball in the egg whites, then roll it in the chopped nuts. Arrange the balls 1 inch apart on the cookie sheets. Make a deep impression in the center of each with your finger ( or a wooden spoon handle). Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden: do not over bake.

While the cookies are still warm. fill a pastry bag with the raspberry jam. Fill each cookie with a heaping dollop of jam. Let the cookies cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.