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!
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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.
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!
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.