Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups softened margarine
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• apple jam (strawberry is always a favorite) or jelly, of any flavor (strawberry is always a favorite)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Blend softened margarine and sugar in a mixer.

3. Separate the egg whites out and blend the yolks into the mixture.

4. Add the vanilla.

5. Slowly add the flour until it forms a crumbly dough.

6. DO NOT OVER-MIX!

7. Without overhandling the dough, use your hands to roll it into small balls (about the size of walnuts).

8. Place on an ungreased baking sheet.

9. Gently press your thumb into the center of the ball so that it flattens slightly with an indentation in the center.

10. Fill each thumbprint with a small amount of jam or jelly (not a heaping amount or it will ooze out onto the baking sheet in the oven)!

11. Bake for 10-15 minutes or before they are visibly golden-brown (they may even seem raw, still -- they won't when they're cooled) Carefully transfer cookies to a cooling rack.