By Halloween was simple this year. We didn't have money for big costumes after the flood, so we made them from what we had. Kayla was a superhero with a cape from an old sheet. I was a doctor with a white coat from one of Mama's old shirts.
This week I made budget-friendly treats for school — simple cookies with what we had. They were a hit. I wrote the recipe as "Flood Year Treats."
On Wednesday I started thinking more about medical school even though it's far away. I read about scholarships and told Mama. She said, "One step at a time, baby."
Saturday MawMaw Shirley let me make the entire red beans and rice by myself. It turned out creamy and perfect. She said, "You the one who stirs now."
At night I wrote: "Even after water tries to take everything, we still celebrate and we still cook." Twelve years old and feeling the quiet strength growing inside me. I'm not rushing my future. I'm stirring it patiently.
That Halloween felt like proof that we could still find joy even when everything felt heavy — we didn’t need much to celebrate, just each other and a little creativity. These thumbprint cookies came from that same spirit: simple ingredients we already had, pressed together into something sweet and festive. Making them for school felt like carrying that quiet strength right into the classroom. Here’s how I made our Flood Year Treats.
Halloween Thumbprint Cookies — Flood Year Treats
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 27 min | Servings: 24 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup jam or jelly (strawberry, grape, or whatever you have on hand)
- Optional: 1/4 cup powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease them.
- Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat softened butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes by hand or with a mixer.
- Add vanilla. Mix in the vanilla extract until combined.
- Mix in flour and salt. Gradually stir in the flour and salt until a soft dough forms. It should hold together when pressed but not be sticky.
- Shape the cookies. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Press the thumbprints. Use your thumb (or the back of a small spoon) to press a well into the center of each ball, going about halfway down.
- Fill with jam. Spoon roughly 1/2 teaspoon of jam into each well. Don’t overfill or it will bubble over the sides.
- Bake. Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are just barely golden. The cookies will look soft — they firm up as they cool.
- Cool and finish. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 130 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 15g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 25mg