“Mantecaditos” My Puerto Rican Version of Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

I have been eating “Mantecaditos’ since I was a little girl. Then, I learned how to make them and have been giving them as holiday gifts to family and friends. I changed the traditional recipe to make it my own, replacing the shortening with unsalted butter and instead of vanilla, I used Amaretto Disaronno and Almond Extract. I always add a traditional small drop of Guava jelly in the middle of the cookie to take it to another level; however, you can add the jelly of your choice. Try them and share the love with family, friends and co-workers during this holiday season.
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Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: About 45 minutes all together
Approximate Cost: $5.12 or .21 cents per cookie
Servings: Makes about 2 dozen

Ingredients
1 1/2 stick of unsalted butter, at room temperature ($1.97)
2/3 cup granulated white sugar (.40)
1 teaspoon Amaretto (.50)
1 tsp. Pure Almond Extract (.20)
1/2 teaspoon of salt (.10)
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour ($1.15)
½ tsp. baking powder (.15)
1 egg (.15)
1/3 cup of Guava Jelly (.50)

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy then add the egg and beat.
Add the Amaretto, almond extract and beat until it all blends.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Add slowly to the butter mixed bowl, beat until it’s all completely worked in; however, do not over beat.
Use a spoon to scoop a med size ball in the palm of your hand to form round-balls out of the dough.  
Arrange them on a cookie sheet 1 inch apart, they will expand.
Press your thumb in the middle gently to make a dent and fill it with jelly.
Once you have filled the cookie sheet, place it in the refrigerator to chill for 10 minutes. After that, place in the oven and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are completely baked, golden brown in the bottom and a little lighter on top. Let them cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to completely cool.
Store them when completely cool, in an air-tight container. They will be OK for about 5 days, but trust me, by then, they will be gone.
 
HACKS:
You can freeze the dough to bake them fresh as you need them during the week.
 
Also, it helps to have your hands slightly wet with cold water when forming the cookies.
 
Finally, I use Guava Jelly or paste, since that is what makes them traditional for me and my family. However, you can add any other jelly flavor, or chocolate kisses, or peanut butter or peanut butter cups, anything really.