Pear and Ginger Thumbprints
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Cher Yujuico highlights seasonal pears in the jam for her holiday thumbprint cookies, which she’s adding to her annual family Christmas cookie tin this year. “I wanted a fruit in season in winter,” Yujuico says. “And pear with ginger to make it nice and warm.”
Both the jam and the cookie have a ginger kick. And because Yujuico says she prefers chewy cookies, she made a few adjustments to her version of thumbprints so that they’re softer than the usual sturdy-crumbly-shortbread variety. Instead of only butter, she uses both butter and oil for a moister cookie, and adds a little cornstarch to the flour mixture too — a suggestion from her brother, who’s a chemist. The cornstarch softens the proteins in the flour, and the result is a more tender crumb.
Note: This is a very soft dough, so be sure to freeze the shaped cookies for 30 minutes. The cookies are best enjoyed the same or next day. Save any leftover jam in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
The winning cookies from the L.A. Times Holiday Cookie Bake-Off include sweet potato whoopie pies, mini versions of the Christmas bread stollen, orange-flecked frosted ones, cookie bark, cream wafers, spiced molasses cookies and more.
Make the jam: Peel and dice the pears into small cubes. Put the pears into a saucepan with the sugar, ground ginger, vanilla, lemon juice and salt. Cook the pears on medium-low heat until tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
Mash the pears, using a potato masher or the back of a spoon, until no chunks remain.
In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and water into a slurry. Slowly stir in the cornstarch mixture and continue to cook down until thickened, about 5 more minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer the jam into a heat resistant container. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Make the cookie dough: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt and ground ginger. Set aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, combine the salted butter, oil, brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix until well combined. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until it emulsifies.
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Portion out the dough into 1-tablespoon-sized balls until all of the dough has been used. Roll each dough ball in granulated sugar and place on a small, parchment-lined cookie sheet or large plate.
Use your finger or the back end of a rounded teaspoon to create a small crater in the middle of each dough ball. Put the dough balls in the freezer and chill for 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the chilled dough balls on a parchment- or silicone mat-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Spoon the pear and ginger jam into each crater.
Bake until the edges are a golden brown, about 13 minutes in total. After 7 minutes, rotate the pans and switch their positions in the oven to ensure even baking. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet before enjoying.
