Condo Cookies

Within Colorado's grand Summit Valley, there lies a humble ski town named Frisco. It shares some of the royal blue waters of the Dillon Reservoir and happens to have a 20-min driving radius that encompasses some of the Rocky's finest ski resorts, including Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Keystone.  It is this quaint town that Joe and I have established a second home through April  to enable us to pounce on every opportunity to ski fresh snow without the hassle of commuter traffic and poor road conditions. 

Welcome to our winter escape... 

One morning, instead of heading out to the slopes, Joe and I decided to spend a bit of time slowly strolling the banks of Dillon's waters located just a few steps out the back door of our condo's building.   I hope you realize I'm trying to tempt you to come visit!   

We share this adorable 2-bedroom Frisco residence with 15 other friends, adding an extra dimension of fun to our visits! With a refrigerator (appropriately) stocked with little else but beer, I decided some homemade goodies were essential to balance hungry stomachs full of barley.  I dub these "Condo Cookies!"  No matter where these cookies are eaten, they are sure to be a hit.

I just have to point out what beautiful butter went into the making of these treats. It sure looks like Colorado with depicted elk and mountains scene on the box!  After whipping butter and sugar into a creamy base, flour and fresh lemon zest were mixed to create a rich and citrusy dough.

Next came decorating all of my baking sheets with miniature batter balls.

Pick your favorite thumb and put it to work! Smash a small crater into each ball while at the same time, imprinting a personal signature (your thumbprint) onto each premature cookie. 

Fill each dough nest with a tiny dip of your favorite jam or jelly, and then bake in a preheated oven as directed in the recipe below. Note that there are two options for adding jam: 1) add before baking to get a chewy jam texture, or 2) add after baking to get a gooey jam texture.  

Gifted homemade grape jam, a very special detail.

As you can see from my pictures, I baked my jam. In my option, I think they make less of a mess since they can be stacked and stored easier. This detail is of particular importance if you are transferring goodies to ski condos (ha)! Plus, who could pass up a candied, chewy jam with a buttery cookie?  

We keep a stash in Denver too.

I double this recipe each time I make them because they disappear so fast. Nothing beats cold afternoons more than mug of warm tea, coffee, or cider and handful of thumbprint cookies. You should probably make these soon... !!

Find recipe HERE.