The Sun Valley 4-H Club had its first project meeting where the kids got to make cookies for day 6 of the 12 Days of Cookies at the Annapolis Royal Library.
Part of preparation includes washing your hands
The first thing you do is read the recipe
The kids divided up and tried different jobs: mixing dough, chopping nuts. Of course assembling and baking cookies is always fun.
By the end of the evening we had made 3 batches of cookies and tried out all the different variations! Some were set aside and saved out for the Annapolis Branch 12 Days of Cookies, some were sampled (and boy were they good!). Most of the cookies were saved for the 4-H Christmas Party where all the members, parents and leaders got to try them.
Who knew a meat tenderizer is a fun tool to use
We made 3 batches of cookies
Thumbprint Cookies
They are so good!
½ cup butter softened
pinch salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 egg, separated
¾ cup finely chopped walnut halves
½ tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp red currant jelly
Line 2 rimless baking sheets with parchment paper or grease; set aside.
In bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg yolk, vanilla and salt. Stir in the flour, blending with hands if necessary.
Shape by rounded teaspoonfuls into 36 balls. In shallow bowl beat egg white lightly. Place walnuts in separate bowl.
Using spoons to hold balls, dip into egg white, letting excess drip off, roll in walnuts. Pace, 2 inches apart, on prepared pans. Press thimble or top of small bottle cap into each cookie to make indentation.
Bake, 1 sheet at a time, in center of 350 degree oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven; press hole again and fill with a small dab of jelly. Bake until golden, about 12 minutes longer. Let cool on pans on racks for 2 minutes. Transfer to racks; let cool.
Makes 36 cookies
(Make ahead: layer between waxed paper in airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.)
Variations:
Cherry Thumbprint Cookies: Bake cookies as directed, but do not fill the holes with jelly. When cookies are finished baking, re-press the holes; press candied cherry half into each cavity while cookies are still hot.
Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies: Bake cookies as directed but do not fill the holes with jelly. When cookies are finished baking, re-press the holes; add a small chocolate kiss or a chunk of chocolate to each cavity while the cookies are still hot.
Thumb Print Cookies are a traditional Christmas Cookie and we got our recipe from: 
The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book by Elizabeth Baird and the Canadian Living Test Kitchen.
They were so good and we had so much fun making them!
4-H Canada is a not-for-profit organization that is focused on strong leadership for world-class, positive, youth development experiences in Canada. The Sun Valley Riders 4-H Club has been around for several decades. The club offers lots of life skills projects including welding, wood working, small engines, crafts, foods, etc., as well as several livestock projects. 4-H is an excellent program for young people that teaches them skills in many areas as well as offering them experience in community service, public speaking, and many other areas.