Pear and Ginger Thumbprints

"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."

Seasonal pears and ginger are combined into a jam used to fill holiday thumbprint cookies. Both the jam and the cookie carry a ginger kick that adds warmth suitable for winter. The dough is adjusted for chewiness by using both butter and oil to increase moisture and by adding cornstarch to the flour to soften proteins and tenderize the crumb. The dough is very soft, so shaped cookies should be frozen for 30 minutes before baking. The cookies are best eaten the same or the next day. Leftover jam can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Read at Los Angeles Times