I’ve loved thumbprints ever since I was a kid. Any recipe that tells me to jam my thumb into cookie dough and fill it with actual jam is a winner in my books. Did you ever eat those packaged cookies with the cream and gooey strawberry filling? Not technically a thumbprint cookie I guess, but they sure did taste amazing. I don’t even want to know how many sleeves of those cookies I ate growing up. I’m sure you’d still see a few clinging to my artery walls!
Today, I have a vegan and gluten-free version to add to my growing thumbprint recipe collection. This time, I set my heart on making a thumbprint with a lovely raspberry almond flavour using almonds, almond butter, almond extract, and raspberry jam as the feature ingredients. They turned out fantastic – lightly sweet, with a buttery almond flavour and pop of sweet raspberry goodness. If you are a fan of peanut butter and jam, you will love this “grown-up” version.
Served with a side of Gossip Girl on Monday night, it was the perfect balance of wholesome…and not so wholesome. Eric claims he isn’t a fan of both thumbprints and Gossip Girl, but I found him devouring both. Never trust a person who says they don’t like thumbprint cookies!
Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies (Gluten-Free and Vegan)
Yield
18 cookies
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups raw almonds, processed into almond meal (about 1.5 cups almond meal)
- 1/4 cup brown rice flour
- 2 tbsp ground flax
- 1/4 tsp + 1/8th tsp fine grain sea salt
- 1 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/2 cup raw almond butter (see note)
- 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 5-6 tbsp raspberry jam
- approx 1/3 cup shredded coconut, for rolling
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F and spray a large baking sheet with oil, use a silpat mat, or line with parchment paper.
- If making almond meal, place raw almonds into a high-speed blender. Process on high speed until a fine crumb, making sure not to process too long or the oils will release. Alternatively, you can use store bought almond meal.
- In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (almond meal, rice flour, ground flax, salt, and baking powder). Use your fingers to break up any clumps of the almond meal. In a smaller bowl, mix together the almond butter, maple syrup, and almond extract. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until combined.
- Shape dough into balls (about 1.5 tbsp or so). If dough is too sticky, place in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to firm up.
- Roll balls in coconut. Place balls of dough about 1.5-2 inches apart on the baking sheet. With your thumb, press into the middle of the ball and shape a small well with your fingers. Add 1 tsp of jam into each well.
- Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes, watching closely after 9 minutes. I baked mine for 11.5 minutes. Cool on sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. Channel your inner grandma and enjoy with hot tea!
Tip:
If making these completely gluten-free be sure to check all your ingredients to ensure they are certified gluten-free. The almond butter I used is very "drippy" so I don’t suggest using a firm nut butter here. If you do, you may have to add some oil to the mixture. You can also roll the balls in chopped nuts instead of coconut.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
If you find yourself with some delicious in-season raspberries (or other berries!), you can try making your own raspberry puree or jam for the middle. I would probably just smash some with a fork and add a bit of sweetener to taste!
looks and sounds delicious.
I agree, we all love thumbprint cookies apparently! But with coconut…so clever! :)
My favourite cookies growing up were raspberry tartlets from pepperidge farms…but these are way healthier I’m betting!!!
Cute new header :)
I love the new banner :D
Thanks Fanta!
Would omitting the flax be okay?!
I’m not sure, this was my first time making them! I want to say it would be fine, but Im not sure how much they are binding…
Mmm, these look delicious! And whilst your photos are always amazing, these ones seem particularly so – I love the last set of 3 in particular :)
Thanks Kari!
These look awesome! Can’t wait to try them. Thanks for the recipe Ange!
Sounds perfect! However instead of jam I would put raw raspberry “jam”. It’s super easy to make: 2 cups fresh raspberries, 1 tablespoon raw agave nectar, mash these two together, and you have a healthier jam!
Those look delicious. I may have to try those soon!
One of my students gave me some homemade blackberry jam last week …. I think I finally figured out what to do with it!
Those look dreamy :P So making these for the next gossip girl monday night :D
These look delicious. I have such a weakness for thumbprint cookies!
Question…if being gluten free isnt really that important to me personally, then would it be okay to sub in whole wheat flour? Sometimes whole wheat flour can mess with texture, but I’m too novice of a cook to understand how to fix that lol!
I love this recipe! It’s wonderful and I love thumbprints. This is on my list for my next cookie I bake! Thanks Angela!
What do you suggest to use intead of almond flour? I am allergic to almonds, well all nuts, tree or otherwise! Also has to be gluten free!
For whatever reason, thumbprint cookies always remind me of Christmas.
That said, I made jam about two weeks ago — and it’s almost ready to eat — so I have a feeling I’m going to be using a good bit of it making some cookies! They look just delicious. And my gluten-free office mate is pretty excited about these too.
Hi Ange!
I am totally making these for my mom on Mothers Day! She can’t eat chocolate (oh the horror!) So these are perfect!
Can I just add that you really inspire me! I have been a creeper of your blog for a long time now. I am always “starting” a new diet. Always! Reading your blog, and seeing that eating healthy, vegan, delicious food can get me to the happy place I so long for! I really need to just suck it up and do my workouts, and eat right..but make it fun! I always fall into the rut of chicken and veg… once that’s get boring, I fall off the wagon and eat junk.
I use to be vegan. A very undernourished vegan.. I was crazy skinny, and miserable. Funny thing was, all my friends thought I looked fantastic. It really does a number on your head!
I am now slowly trying to work to becoming a vegan. Eating healthy, different meals, and not obsessing over calories, or how much fat may be in a cashew! I am starting the Couch to 5k plan. I really want to become a runner.
So.. after this completely too long post! Just thanks! For the inspiration on food and workouts, and following your gut and dreams!
Have a amazing day!!!
completely off topic here – but FINALLY got around to making a Green Monster yesterday & today made for the whole family. gotta say – yesterday i felt literally clinically depressed and today I’m almost back to my old self! those ARE miraculous! (plus I’ve been eating teff porridge for breakfast and veggie loading otherwise…)
I want these with coconut ice cream on top. too much gilding the lily?
Wow! These look awesome!
The funny thing is that the next recipe I was planning to try was your old version of these!
But now, I won’t even have to convert it to be gluten free! Yay!!
Thanks Angela :)
I was wondering, I have almond butter, but it’s quite dry and crumbly. But I also have shredded coconut, and when I’ve made coconut butter before, it comes out quite drippy. Do you think it would work to sub out almond butter with homemade coconut butter? (And then rolling these in almonds instead of coconut)
If you think that works, I have everything in my kitchen, and these are being made tonight!
Hey Kerry, gosh I really dont know! It would be an experiment for sure. Let me know if you try it.
Oh my, those came out wonderfully, thank you for a great recipe! The coconut butter worked out great – I did add about a tablespoon of water and a tsp of melted ev coconut oil because the dough was a bit dry. I made them for my class tomorrow, hopefully they will enjoy them! (That is, if they last until tomorrow)
made ’em yesterday and the whole family was delighted with them (included my 4 dessert-loving kids). i followed the recipe to a T and they were perfect!
These look amazing and I’m very excited to stumble upon them. For a short time I’m doing a gluten-free, soy-free cleanse (on top of being vegan) and I am finding myself always scrambling for something sweet.
your timing on this recipe was perfect! tomorrow’s my bday and i work in an elementary school so i was going to bring something in for the class. coincidentally, today was someone else’s birthday and she brought in choco chip blondies, so i wanted to make something entirely different and i was thinking to myself “hmm, thumbprint cookies might be good” …i went to your blog and my decision was made!!
do you think all-purpose GF flour (bob’s red mill) would work instead of brown rice flour?
thanks!
Thank goodness you posted this!!! I am addicted to the Knotts Berry Farm raspberry shortbread cookies, and this is a much healthier alternative! Thanks Angela!
These are going on my, “to do” list! I am making a Mother’s Day brunch for four – any favorites you would suggest?
look delicious and healthier..=)
Tested and just approved by my two toddlers. I wish I could post a pic!
yay! You can upload the pic to my Facebook page if you’d like :)
I’ll have to remember that for next time. We finished them already :) But my house is practically an “Oh She Glows” toddler test kitchen so there will be another time. Don’t tell my husband but I ate the ones I had set aside for him while the kids where napping.
beautiful! Do you think it would be possible to make these with another nut besides almonds? maybe peanuts or cashews…?
hmm good question! Im really not sure. Please let me know if you do try it out!
Hi Angela! I love your blog. It reminds me of how much I miss Toronto and all the goodies that are available there. I live in South Korea and it is hard to get some ingredients most of the time. I made a variation of almond thumbprint cookies the other day but I used whole wheat flour, not rice flour. They turned out to be very dense.Do you think it was because of the flour?
Thank you!
Please check out my blog wayfaringteacher.com
Yes I do think whole wheat flour would make them dense (I find it unfortunately has that effect on many baked goods!) Hope they were still enjoyable!
I just made these, and yum is all I can say! Thanks for the recipe :)
I just made these….SO tasty and SO easy!!! This will be a staple in my cookie recipes!
Andrea
I just made these, and they are absolutely delicious! Thanks Angela for another great recipe! The only problem I had was not making a big enough well with my thumb- I pulled my first batch out of the oven, and since they flatten out a bit the jam was just kind of sitting on top. Oops! Still super delish.
I made these yesterday and they came out perfect. I wish I made a double batch because my husband inhaled them! Thanks for the recipe!
Glad to hear that Annie!
Oh yum, I can’t wait to make these. Did you use blanched almonds for your almond meal or is it okay to use raw almonds with the skin still on? I don’t want to mess up the recipe by using the wrong type. Thanks so much for the great recipe, yet again!
Nope I didnt use blanched…just regular with skin!
Oh my goodness! You have noooooo idea how excited I am to try this recipe out! Ever since I found out that I had an allergy to wheat, it’s been tough to find vegan recipes that are also wheat/gluten free that look this tasty! This is so awesome! Thanks, Angela!
I made these yesterday and wow! They are REALLY delicious!! I don’t think they will survive long in my house with a teenage boy whose always hungry, especially since they are his favourite kind of cookie! Thank you for providing a gluten free option!!
So glad to hear that Samantha!
I made these this weekend and they were AMAZING! My husband couldn’t leave them alone, he (we) ate the whole batch!
GF and vegan – perfect! Your beautiful site is making my life so much easier – thank you :-)
Thank you Carmel!
love this recipe!! Can you tell me how I can get a website blog like you have? I really like it, who hosts it? Every blog I’ve tried keeps ending up upsetting me with its lack of ability to have different tabs showcasing different parts of my life on the top of it like your is laid out. I’m not toooo internet savvy so i need one thats a bit user friendly. Thank you, i’m off to make your cookies now!!
Its a wordpress blog :) They have a ton of free themes to choose from too.
thank you so much! You’re a beautiful person! thanks for spreading your light!
Just found your website a few days ago and I’m in love! I just made these cookies tonight using buck wheat flour instead of rice flour and hazelnut butter instead of almond butter (only because they were all I had in my cupboard) and they were simply amazing- I think I might have to say they are the best cookies I’ve ever tasted! Thanks so much for the recipe!! (as a side note the buckwheat/ pesto pizza was also divine)
Your recipes are the BEST! :D
You can also put some of the rice flour with the almonds to blend so that the almonds don’t turn into butter when you process!
I used coconut flour instead of brown rice flour and they turned out wonderfully. I also subbed en er g egg replacer for flax seeds. I was shocked when they turned out delicious but indeed great texture and flavor!
That is great to know about the subs, thanks for your comment!
These look delicious
Made these, supper easy and yummy!!! I also made the carrot cake cookie… ditto. You have some awesome recipes. I have been eating Vegan since January. I have found the baking the easiest cooking transition with tons of healthy delicious simple deserts and snacks.
Any ideas for substitution on the flax? I have an allergy. Could I use an egg?
These are marvelous, delicious, wonderful cookies! I love finding a new gluten-free treat. Thank you for sharing. (I found your recipe via Pinterest)
Could you use coconut butter instead of almond butter? And would you still use the same quantities? I’m from Australia and just recently discovered your blog, loving it!
Hi Annette, Im sorry I dont know as I havent tried it any other way. Let me know how it goes if you do!
I made these and they were incredible! I used white whole wheat flour instead of brown rice flour and peanut butter instead of almond butter. Can’t wait to make them again.
My first attempt at making these and they all ran together an I ended up with one gigantic cookie the size of my baking sheet =[
Anyone else have this problem?
I used vegan becel instead of almond butter, vanilla extract instead of almond and I added 1tsp of silk because the dough was very dry.
Any ideas or help would be wonderful!
Hi Jen, Sorry to hear that! My guess is that it was due to subbing the almond butter for becel. I think almond butter is really necessary to hold everything together and keep that nice consistency.
I betchya the tsp of silk did it, too! I always make that mistake with GF baking. I think that because it doesn’t resemble “normal” batter that I should do something to fix it– and get a pan of cookie every time.