Vegan Gluten-Free Thumbprint Cookies

A perfect little sweet treat that's vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and so much fun to make! These Vegan Gluten-Free Thumbprint Cookies make a great after school snack, everyday dessert, or festive cookie for the holiday season! Just 6 ingredients.

I have very clear memories of eating Pepperidge Farm thumbprint cookies as a kid. Apricot-raspberry was my favorite. The buttery, slightly salty shortbread cookie combined with the slightly tart fruit jelly in the center...everyone loved them, right? I mean, I'm someone who chooses chocolate and vanilla desserts over fruity desserts 9 times out of 10, and even I loved them.

Now some bad news. I just pulled up the Pepperidge Farm website to check out the ingredients in their "Distinctive" thumbprint cookie collection. Not good, folks. Not good. This is why homemade (and vegan) cookies are the way to go!

Almond Flour Cookies

Since almond flour has such a naturally buttery flavor, I knew it would be perfect for making oil-free cookies. Obviously the texture of these cookies isn't exactly like a butter-filled, classic thumbprint cookie, but I'm okay with that because these have other perks. And I have a feeling you're going to love them, too.

Use your favorite jam, jelly or preserves - strawberry, apricot, orange, raspberry - anything goes! For refined sugar-free, choose a store-bought, all-fruit jam or make your own simple, naturally sweetened jam at home. See the blueberry jam below? All you need are two ingredients and about 10 to 15 minutes to make it! Seriously easy. The fruit flavor becomes SO concentrated and delicious.

How to Make Your Own Jam for Thumbprint Cookies

In a small sauce pan combine 1 cup of frozen fruit such as blueberries, cherries, blackberries, or raspberries (chop larger pieces of fruit) with 1 tablespoon of sweetener (I used maple syrup). Bring to a low simmer, and cook over medium-low heat until thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Voila! You now have refined sugar-free jam! One cup of fruit will make a tad more than you need for filling these thumbprint cookies. Just store the leftover jam in the refrigerator, and enjoy it over the next few days.

The photo above shows what the cookie dough should look like after you've mixed the wet and dry ingredients together. It should be very moist, slightly sticky, but not wet. If you accidentally add too much water, just mix in a bit more almond flour.

I used a small cookie scoop to measure out the dough, which makes it really easy to get uniformly sized cookies, but you can also use a tablespoon. Scoop up about 1.5 tablespoons of dough per cookie.

These thumbprint cookies don't spread during baking, so you'll be able to fit all of them on one small baking sheet. Next, use your thumb to create an indentation in the center of each cookie. After the first impression with my thumb, I like to use my index finger to even it out. Fill it up with jam and bake. It's as simple as that!

The photo above is what the thumbprint cookies look like before going into the oven. And below is how they look when done.

Thumbprint cookies are classic treat to share during the holidays, but I think they should be enjoyed year-round!

I hope you enjoy these Gluten-Free Thumbprint Cookies! If you do try them I would love for you to come back and give the recipe a star rating. You can also leave a comment below to let everyone know how they turned out.

On facebook or instagram? Share a photo of your thumbprints and tag @myquietkitchen so I can see!

More healthy vegan sweet treats:

Oat Flour Peanut Butter Cookies 
Oil-Free Sunbutter Cookies
Strawberry Banana Oat Bars 
Spelt Cookies with Peanuts and Chocolate
Vegan Gluten-Free Pie Crust 
Oat Flour Double Chocolate Cookies

Vegan Gluten-Free Thumbprint Cookies (oil-free, too!)

Author: Lori Rasmussen, My Quiet Kitchen

Healthy vegan thumbprint cookies made with your choice of jam. Gluten-free, oil-free, naturally sweetened, and made with just 6 ingredients!

Servings: 14 cookies

4.94 from 15 votes

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Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 18 mins

Total Time: 33 mins

Equipment

• parchment paper
• cookie scoop (1.5 Tbsp)
• baking sheet

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• 1 ½ cups almond flour (168 g) - Pack into measuring cup like you would when measuring brown sugar.
• ⅓ cup tapioca flour (40 g)
• ¼ cup coconut sugar or other granulated sweetener
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• approx. ¼ cup jam of choice - I used fruit-sweetened orange and raspberry storebought jam and a homemade, 2-ingredient blueberry jam (see Notes for recipe).

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Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Combine the almond flour, tapioca, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
• In a mug whisk together the water, vanilla and maple syrup. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir until fully combined.
• The dough should stick together but not be overly wet. With a small cookie scoop or a tablespoon, scoop up 1 ½ tablespoons of dough per cookie and place on cookie sheet. Use your thumb to make an indentation in the center of each cookie, and fill with jam.
• Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown. The cookies will be soft right out of the oven; allow to cool on the baking sheet.

Notes

Storage

Store cookies at room temperature in a container with the lid not fully sealed (unless you don't mind the cookies getting soft) for up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to 4 days.

Easy 2-ingredient blueberry jam:

Combine 1 cup frozen wild blueberries and 1 Tbsp maple syrup in a small sauce pan. Simmer over low to medium-low heat until the berries have burst and the liquid has mostly evaporated. This should take about 10 to 15 minutes total.

Store leftover jam in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Estimated Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 108kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 3gFat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 44mgFiber: 1gSugar: 6g

Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used. We calculate this information using the online calculator cronometer.com.

Did you try the recipe?I love hearing from you! Comment below with your feedback.