These easy almond flour thumbprint cookies are healthy, vegan, gluten-free cookies made with almond flour. They are soft, chewy, moist cookies with a sweet raspberry jam center, dairy-free and refined sugar-free! No need for butter and sugar in this recipe, only 8 wholesome ingredients!
Thumbprint Cookies are classic holiday cookies that have a filling of raspberry jam in the middle. They are made with a buttery texture and a delicious fruity taste from the jam.
The classic thumbprint cookie recipe is not vegan because it contains butter, egg yolks full eggs, and sometimes honey to sweeten. For a vegan version, you need a dedicated plant-based thumbprint cookie recipe. This recipe is the healthier version of my 3-Ingredient Thumbprint Cookies.
Ingredients
This is a healthy thumbprint cookie version made with no refined sugar, dairy-free, and gluten-free. Let’s see the ingredients you need to make these delicious vegan Christmas cookies.
- Almond Flour – You need ultra-fine blanched almond flour for the best result. I am using ultra-fine almond flour from Bob’s red mill. It’s a grain-free and gluten-free flour perfect for baking these cookies. Also, note that almond meal will work too, but it is a coarse ground of almonds, making cookies grainy. I don’t recommend this option if you expect smooth, soft, white/golden almond flour raspberry thumbprint cookies.
- Maple Syrup – or agave syrup, but they will have a sweeter taste.
- Melted Coconut Oil – use refined coconut oil if you don’t like the flavor of coconut oil. However, don’t use other oil. It won’t come out great. In fact, coconut oil solidifies under 74°F (23°C) and provides a chewy soft texture to the cookies. Other liquid oils will make the cookie spread, and they won’t form up. I didn’t try vegan butter in this recipe, so I am unsure how it will come out with it.
- Vanilla Extract – or almond extract to enhance the almond flavor of these cookies.
- Apple Cider Vinegar or lemon juice – the combination of acid ingredients with baking powder gives a little raise to the cookie, just what you need for a soft vegan gluten-free thumbprint cookie.
How To Make Almond Flour Thumbprint Cookies
It is very easy to make thumbprint cookies with almond flour. First, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Then prepare the cookie dough.
- Add all the ingredients together into a medium bowl and combine with a spoon (photo 1): almond flour, baking powder, salt, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract, and mix until the cookie dough forms.
- The dough becomes sticky but shouldn’t be too wet (photo 2).
- Scoop the batter with a measuring spoon. I am using 1/2 tablespoon to make these small healthy thumbprint cookies. But, if you want to make larger cookies scoop 1 tablespoon of cookie dough.
- Then, roll the dough in your hands to form a ball and place each ball onto the cookie sheet.
- Press each cookie dough ball in the center with the back of a measuring spoon or your thumb (photo 3). If you choose to make small gluten-free almond flour thumbprint cookies like the one in my picture, your thumb will be too large to press the dough. That’s why I recommend using a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon to create the ‘cave’ in the center of each cookie.
- Fill each cookie with raspberry jam or the jam you love (photo 4). Almond flour jam thumbprint cookies bake quickly. Usually, 12 minutes are enough. You know they are cooked through when the sides of the cookies are golden brown.
Pro Baking Tips
Almond flour cookies bake faster and brown fast. That’s why I recommend watching the oven often between 10 minutes and 14 minutes. As soon as the cookies’ sides are turning golden brown, take out the baking sheet from the oven.
Don’t expect the cookies to be hard and crunchy. They will be very soft and firm up after they cool completely. First, cool the cookies on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Then, gently transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack and wait for 30 minutes to appreciate their texture.
Cookies Filling Options
There is so many delicious filling you can add to these thumbprint cookies. My favorite fillings are below:
- Chia seed jam – for a healthy thumbprint cookie recipe, use homemade chia seed jam as a filling. Plus, if you use refined sugar-free chia jam, these will be paleo thumbprint cookies approved too! The best flavors to go with almonds are raspberry, apricot, and strawberry.
- Peanut butter and jam – add half peanut butter and half jam to make peanut butter jam thumbprint cookies.
- Melted dark chocolate – melt vegan chocolate chips.
Troubleshooting
If it’s your first time baking cookies with almond flour, there are a few things that could surprise you.
Below I listed the most common issue you can encounter and how to fix them.
- Cookie side cracks – this happens all the time when you press the cookie dough to form the thumbprint shape. If you don’t like the cracked aspect, wet your fingers and rub them around the cookie to smooth the surface.
- The dough is too moist – it can happen if you used coarse almond flour or almond meal. Add more almond flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the cookie dough is easy to shape into small cookie balls.
- Jam fade after baking – depending on the fruits used in your jam, the color may fade in the oven. Add more fresh jam to the thumbprint hole after the cookies cool completely. It will pop out the color on top.
- Cookies are browning too fast – tent the cookie tray with a piece of foil halfway through baking or decrease the oven to 325°F (160°C).
Frequently Asked Questions
These are egg-free thumbprint cookies, and therefore they store very well at room temperature in a sealed jar for 1 week.
Make sure you store your cookies in a dry place. Almond flour absorbs moisture quickly, and the cookies become sticky if stored in a humid area.
If you store these dairy-free thumbprint cookies in the fridge, they tend to soften and get sticky.
You can freeze these cookies in airtight containers for up to 3 months. You can then thaw them for a few hours in the fridge.
Yes, you can swap it for avocado oil or melted vegan butter. It even works without any fat, but it’s a bit more crumbly.
No, it wouldn’t work well. If all you have is all-purpose flour, use my 3-Ingredient Thumbprint Cookies.
More Vegan Gluten-Free Cookies
If you love vegan, gluten-free cookies, I have plenty more recipes for you to try. These cookies are delicious Christmas cookies or simply everyday snacks.
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Almond Flour Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups Almond Flour
- ¼ cup Melted Coconut Oil
- ¼ cup Maple Syrup
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Almond Extract
- 1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar - or lemon juice
To fill the cookies
- ¼ -1/3 cup Raspberry Jam
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients: almond flour, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, baking powder, salt, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
- Stir with a spoon to form the cookie dough batter. It should be sticky but easy to roll into a cookie ball, not wet or runny – see the picture above in my post. If it is too wet, add more almond flour 1 tablespoon at a time.
- To make 32 small thumbprint cookies, scoop 1/2 tablespoon of cookie dough per cookie otherwise, to make 16 large cookies, scoop 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie.
- Roll the cookie dough in your hand to form a small cookie dough ball and place the ball on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat to form 32 cookie balls, leaving a 1-inch (2cm) space between each cookie ball.
- For small cookies, place the back of a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon in the center of the cookie dough ball. Press gently to form a hole in the center of the cookie, the sides of the cookie may crack slightly, and that's ok. If you made larger cookies, use your thumb to press down each cookie dough ball.
- Fill each thumbprint cookie up to the 3/4 of the hole – not up to the top, or it may overflow in the oven.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the sides of the cookies are slightly golden brown. They will be soft when you take them out of the oven, and that's fine.
- Cool 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then slide a spatula under each cookie to transfer onto a cooling rack.
- If some jam evaporates or fades in color during the baking process, you can add a little more after they completely cool down.
Storage
- Store in a dry place, sealed cookie jar at room temperature are the best, for up to 1 week. They can get sticky if stored in a humid place or in the fridge.
They came out perfect. Used apricot preserves with no sugar added. Very pleased. Will make again!
These are awesome cookies! I used cherry preserves and I rolled them in chopped almonds. I also subbed honey because I had no maple syrup. I even baked them too long because I forgot to set the timer and they still came out great. Awesome recipe!
Delicious. I enjoy them best when they are just out of the oven. They soften a lot after they’ve been cool for a while. Any suggestions on retaining/recouping the fresh out of the oven crispness?
I depends a lot on how humid the air is, they suck air moisture! What you can do is keep one of these moisture-absorbing sachets that comes in some protein powder and leave that at the bottom of the cookie jar.
These had amazing flavor. I subbed melted earth balance for a buttery flavor instead of coconut oil, and used guava preserves instead of raspberry. They were very soft and chewy without any of the shortbread texture i usually associate with thumbprint cookies, and I was surprised that they were perfectly sweet with just the maple syrup. When I’m not cooking for a friend who prefers to eat GF I’ll make them again with half almond/half regular flour. Thank you!!
Oh thank you!!!
can you freeze them? like shape them, freeze and then bake later?
or cook them, and then freeze?
They freeze really well once cooked. You can also freeze the uncooked dough, it also works.
I never leave comments, but these are one of the most delicious cookies I’ve ever tasted. I’m not Vegan, but I was trying to find a way to use up half a jar of homemade jam and a bag of almond flour & stumbled onto this recipe. I’m so glad I did! They were so moist and yummy that I ran out & bought MORE almond flour to make another batch.
Be sure to follow instructions and let them cool for 5 mins before moving to a cooling rack. I found out the hard way but happily ate my mistakes.
Continued from my prior note: I also used a half and half maple syrup: Lakanto maple syrup with monkfruit
Wow! A new family favorite. Easy, simple ingredients and a great result. Variety in the jam will be fun to try. Thank you. I used a blueberry pecan bourbon jam that I got from Trader Joe’s during the holidays. Scrumptious!
Do you pack the almond flour into the cup?
Not really, you fill the cup up to the top, lightly press and remove the excess on top. Don’t over pack
Delicious recipe, will definitely make these again. I reduced coconut oil by 20grm and added 20grm of peanut butter to compensate, it turned out great.