Grain-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, soft and chewy vegan thumbprints.
When I was a little girl.
Each year during the holiday season.
I’d roll up my sleeves.
Put on my little apron.
Get covered in flour.
And in sugar.
And bake Christmas cookies with my sister and mom.
We would kick my dad and all of my brothers out of the house.
Because boys aren’t fun to bake with, you understand.
And we would blast Amy Grant’s A Christmas Album as loud as we could.
We’d dance and laugh and sing around the house like no one else in the world was watching. Recalling this, these really were some of the happiest days of my childhood.
We’d make what seemed like hundreds of cookies. Rum balls and snowballs. Sugar cookies and gingerbread men. And we would make, thumbprints. So this recipe is really near and dear to my heart. So here we have elevated, healthy-ish vegan thumbprints.
They are just seven basic ingredients.
Almond flour, baking soda, salt, vanilla, coconut oil and maple syrup.
And, jam.
I’ve swapped out the all-purpose flour with almond flour to make these thumbprints naturally gluten-free. I recommend using Bob’s Red Mill Super Fine Gluten-Free Almond Flour. Trader Joe’s also sells an almond flour I’m a fan of. I traded in coconut oil for the butter. I recommend using an extra filtered variety that is odorless and tasteless. Unless you like the taste of coconut oil. Which I don’t prefer it in baked treats. I buy mine at Trader Joe’s – the one with the green label.
And I use maple syrup instead of sugar. You could also use honey instead of maple syrup if that’s what you had on hand. Making these the refined sugar, grain and gluten-free, vegan thumbprints of your dreams.
Vegan Thumbprints with Raspberry Jam + Sea Salt
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted + cooled {see notes}
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon raspberry jam {see notes}
- flake salt optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk together in a bowl the almond flour, baking soda and salt. Then add in the coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla. Stir the batter until it forms a dough.
- Roll tablespoon sized portions into balls. Place the balls on the cookie sheet and press down lightly in the middle with your finger to leave a small indentation in the center of the cookie. Fill the indentation with 1/4 teaspoon of jam.
- Bake for 13 - 15 minutes. The cookies will be quite soft when you remove the tray from the oven. Leave them on the tray undisturbed to cool. They will take form as they harden slightly. Finish with a little more jam and flake salt if desired.
Emily says
Oh my goodness. I am making these tomorrow. They look so amazing! Currently I’m battling morning sickness and NOTHING looks amazing, but these do. Well done.
Brandy @A Mindful Mantra says
These cookies look so cute and delicious! The photos are gorgeous!
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says
I’ve always loved jam thumbprints, they are the best! I’m going to make a batch of these before the holidays are over.
Alli says
These look yummy! I am going to make some today.
Mary says
Me and the husband wanted something sweet last night after dinner and had nothing in the house so I searched for a simple quick (healthy) recipe and these were GREAT. Thank you!
Sherrie says
Yes! I’m so happy you loved these Mary.
amanda kerns says
Can’t wait to try this one! Trying to go paleo while starting a home bakery business. Needless to say, it’s imperative that I have paleo dessert alternatives on hand at all times!
Sherrie says
Happy to provide you grain-free goodness Amanda.
Tami says
I just made these cookies. They are perfect. I love them and will keep baking them. Wonderful. Thank you for the recipe.
Sherrie says
Awesome – this makes me so happy Tami!
Sara says
I recently went grain-free and was really sad that I wouldn’t be enjoying my ‘normal’ favorite Christmas cookies. So these are back on my list to love! Thank you.
Lyndsey says
OMG these are one of my most fave cookies to bake at Christmas time, so happy I came across this healthier version, they sound delicious!
Theresa says
I wonder would it work to substitute a portion (maybe half?) of the almond flour with coconut flour? I would love to make a big batch of these but only have one small (and expensive) bag of almond flour.
Sherrie says
I’ve never tried that Theresa and I do know baking with alternative flour can be tricky, so I’m not sure if I can recommend changing the recipe in that way. If you end up doing it, please let me know how it turns out!
Paola says
These cookies were a great success! Perfect for those with very restrictive food diets like me. They took me less than five minutes to mix (no joke) and were quick to bake. I used Trader Joe’s juice-sweetened jam. Result was soft, savory, very little sweetened (just sweet enough for those who don’t regularly eat sugar) cookies. Will make again!
Sherrie says
Oh so happy to hear this Paola, your feedback made my day!
Michelle says
I just printed these to make for Christmas. They look so good!
Jessica says
I was looking for a nice Christmas treat for my brother’s vegan girlfriend and these were perfect! Even better that they’re gluten-free since my brother has celiac disease. They turned out wonderful. We sprinkled them with powdered sugar instead of almond flour for some extra sweetness!
Erin says
We are allergic to almonds and coconut. Could we substitute oat flour or GF all purpose flour? Would any oil work as a substitute?
Sherrie says
Hi Erin – grain-free baking is tricky, and I wouldn’t recommend that.
Cathy says
I am wondering if these cookies freeze well? I would like to make them for a baking exchange. I need to make 12 dozen, so making them in advance and then freezing would be a time saver for me.
Sherrie says
Hi Cathy – yes they freeze great!
Nicole says
We love these cookies! We have made them for Christmas for the past couple years. So THANK YOU! Yes, we froze them and they were great afterwards.
Liz says
Thank you so much for the recipe. I have not been able to find blanched almond flour anywhere and want to check if you know whether or not using all purpose flour would be an acceptable substitute?
Sherrie says
Hi Liz – blanched almond flour is the same as fine almond flour. Bob’s Red Mill makes it! Hope this helps as ap flour would not substitute.
Leigh says
Wow! Made these cookies yesterday and words can’t describe how good they are. They are just perfect. I’ll definitely be making them again and again – thank you!
Sherrie says
You’re welcome Leigh! I’m so glad they were a hit.
Dawn says
Did you maybe forget an ingredient, possibly an egg? These didn’t hold together.
Sherrie says
Hi Dawn – I didn’t. The recipe is tried and true. I’m not sure what happened on your end. Did you make any substitutions?
robyn says
Made these last night! I found that I had to bake them a tad longer, maybe 15 minute, but it could have just been my oven. We love them. I am so happy to find a delicious vegan, refined sugar-free recipe for my favourite thumbprint cookies.
Sherrie says
Hi Robyn – I’m so glad you found these and that you loved them!
Jocelyn says
I cannot wait to make these tomorrow for a Christmas Eve party! Thank you for transforming my favorite childhood cookie into grain-free goodness!
Sabine says
Just made these with my seven year old son and his best friend. So easy to make!
Sherrie says
I love that so much, Sabine. They are so easy!
Sylvia says
I can’t wait to make these cookies! I have an unbleached almond meal in my pantry. Will that work or do I need super fine almond flour? Thank you!
Sherrie says
Hi Sylvia – using unbleached almond meal should work just fine. It might change the texture slightly, but it is usable.
Alex says
I used 1 1/2 cups almond meal, 1/4 cup oat flour and upped the baking soda to 1/2 teaspoon. And they were amazing! I had to lick the bowl to clean up – delicious!
Sandra says
Can I use regular white baking flour?
Sherrie says
Hi Sandra – this recipe is developed with almond flour in mind. I wouldn’t recommend substituting in baking flour.
Cassie says
I made these last night and they were so easy and turned out so well. I used sunflower seed flour as the store was out of almond flour, but it still worked perfectly! I can’t wait to try these again with almond flour – thanks for a great recipe!
Adrienne says
When substituting the honey for the maple syrup do I add the same amount?
Sherrie says
Hi Adrienne – honey is a little sweeter than maple syrup, but I would still use the same amount. 1/4 cup should work great.