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Apr 11, 2023

Toadstool Mushroom Thumbprint Cookies

My friend was visiting our new home for the first time and she has a deep love for mushrooms and, really, all things nature. I knew I wanted to bake her something, but I wanted it to be unique and magickal. It was at this same time that I stumbled across a wonderful Instagram account called Northwoodsfolk. I was briefly admiring the content, when suddenly, I came across these INCREDIBLE cookies.


At first glance, I imagined these would be WAY too difficult and/or time-consuming to make (I was thinking along the lines of epic Pinterest fails). But wow, was I wrong. I looked at the ingredients list and it was very doable. Then I looked at the instructions and I was like WAIT JUST A HOT MINUTE -- I CAN ACTUALLY DO THIS!


Not only is this recipe simple to make, and of course, they look so freaking adorable, but I also cannot express how delicious these are. You know how sometimes you cook/bake something that looks cute or unique, but at the expense of the flavor? Not with these. They look AND taste absolutely amazing. I actually now have to bake these for an Alice in Wonderland themed bridal party I'm attending! And I know the guests are going to love them.


The cookie itself is a soft, sandy, sugar-cookie-like texture with the perfect balance of flavors that truly melt in your mouth. Then the jam and icing are a lovely compliment to round out the entire experience. The jam goes SO well with the cookie base, better than I imagined. It's as if jam was made for this moment to shine. I could not stop eating these (and I'm usually more of a chocolate gal myself, so that's saying something!).


Funny story: The friend I made them for even hid one in the back of her freezer for later, since her husband ate the rest of them (smart girl).


One suggestions I have is to not make the imprints too close to the edge of the dough. If you do, some of the icing may run down the side. Make sure you still have enough dough at the edge to create deep enough imprints to fill smoothly with the icing and jam. You can fill using a spoon or a piping bag. To make the small dots, you can also use a piping bag, or a sandwich bag with one corner tip cut off (very small cut), or you can simply use white sprinkles.


This recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies.


Magickal Ingredients Featured:


Strawberry Jam: Self-love, romance, good luck, fortune, fertility.


Butter: Soothes energies adding a nurturing quality & increases spirituality.


Mushroom (symbolized by shape): Shadow work, expansion, growth, earth connection, grounding.


Here's What You Need:


For the cookies:

  • 1 cup butter, softened (226g)

  • â…“ cup sugar (70g)

  • â…“ cup light brown sugar, tightly packed (70g)

  • 2 large egg yolks

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • ½ teaspoon almond extract

  • 2 â…“ cup all purpose flour (290g)

  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch

  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • ½ cup sugar (for rolling)

  • ½ cup strawberry or other red jam/preserves (105g)

For the icing:

  • ½ cup confectioners sugar

  • 1 ½ tablespoons milk

  • ½ teaspoon vanilla


Here's What To Do:


  1. Start by creaming together the butter and sugars in a large bowl, either with a stand mixer or hand mixer, until light and fluffy.

  2. Add in vanilla and almond extracts, as well as the egg yolks, and mix well.

  3. Add in dry ingredients and mix together slowly. The mixture will seem a bit dry and crumbly, but this is normal. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl down well, and feel free to use your hands to finish incorporating all the ingredients.

  4. Using a cookie scoop or simply your hands, grab about a tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball.

  5. Roll the ball in sugar, and then place on lined baking sheet. Flatten a bit with the bottom of a clean glass.

  6. Using your fingers, indent to make little mushrooms. Play around a bit to get it right, if necessary.

  7. Chill in the freezer (or outside) for half an hour. While cookies are chilling, preheat oven to 375 F (190 C.)

  8. Once cookies are chilled, bake in preheated oven for approximately 10-11 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are just the slightest bit golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. You may also imprint the toadstools again slightly if they’re puffed up.

  9. While cookies are cooling, mix all the icing ingredients in a small or medium bowl until smooth. If needed, add a tiny bit more milk.

  10. Once cookies are completely cool. Fill the toadstool cap with jam and stem with icing. Pipe tiny dots of icing on the cap using a piping bag or ziplock with a tiny bit of the corner snipped off. Or simply use white sprinkles.

  11. Store in airtight container and enjoy within a few days!




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