"These sticky, fruity cookies make me feel a bit like a five-year-old – not only when I eat them, but when I make them too, squidging my thumb into the middle to make a hole for the jam," says food writer and presenter Sarah Rainey.

Jammy thumbprint cookies recipe

Jammy thumbprint cookies recipe

"The short cooking time makes them nice and crumbly, rather than crisp, and the jam is deliciously gooey."

Jammy Thumbprint Cookies from 6-minute Showstoppers by Sarah Rainey

Ingredients:

(Makes 12)

250g ground almonds

1 egg

60ml coconut oil, melted

3tbsp maple syrup

1tsp vanilla extract

140g fruit jam of your choice

Jammy Thumbprint Cookies from 6-minute Showstoppers by Sarah Rainey (Michael Joseph/Clare Winfield/PA)
Jammy Thumbprint Cookies from 6-minute Showstoppers by Sarah Rainey (Michael Joseph/Clare Winfield/PA)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 250°C (fan 230°C) and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.

2. Mix the almonds, egg, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract together in a bowl until they come together into a loose dough.

3. Roll blobs of dough (around the size of ping-pong balls) between your palms and spread them out on the baking sheet.

4. Flatten them with your fingers until the cookies are around 1cm thick. Then squidge your thumb into the centre of each to create a deep dent (make sure you don't make a hole all the way through or the jam will leak out).

5. Fill the dent in each cookie with a heaped teaspoonful of jam.

6. Place the baking sheet of cookies in the oven on the top shelf and cook for four minutes. When they're done, open the door slightly, rotate the baking sheet (to ensure the cookies don't catch or burn) and leave them to cool in the oven with the door ajar for around half an hour. Enjoy hot or cold, with a cup of tea. The cookies will keep for five to six days in an airtight tin.

6-minute Showstoppers by Sarah Rainey, photography by Clare Winfield, is published by Michael Joseph, priced GBP 14.99. Available now.