On Sunday, I realized that I only have 5 days left to bake holiday cookies!
I knew it was time to roll out a childhood favourite before it was too late.
The only catch?
These cookies took me 5 trials until I was satisfied with them!
I was in one of those picky moods and I started testing all kinds of flours and changing up the wet ingredients. I can be very stubborn in the kitchen at times. Well, I can be very stubborn period. I am a bull after all.
If I’m in a positive frame of mind I like to think of my stubbornness as persistence or dedication…now we’re talking!
The flops actually weren’t too bad, aside from the whole wheat pastry flour version, that is. Thankfully, Eric usually brings leftover cookies into work to share with his coworkers so I don’t have to throw anything out.
Let me first review what cookies I have made over the past couple weeks…
(click the image to be taken to the post)
and now I present to you one of my childhood favs…
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Strawberry Walnut thumbprint Cookies
The combination of aromatic almond extract and strawberry jam is a match made in heaven. What I really love about these vegan Thumbprints is the texture from the pecans and walnuts. Of course, the fruity, gooey middle is impossible to resist!
Adapted from Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan
Yield: 14-16 cookies.
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup + 2/3 cup stone-ground kamut flour* see flour note below
- 1/2 cup walnuts, finely crushed or processed in food processor
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp brown rice syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp pure almond extract
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 3 tbsp almond milk
- Approx 1/3 cup strawberry jam
- 1/2 cup pecans, crushed or processed
Directions: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or non-stick mat.
In a large bowl combine the flour, crushed walnuts, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and whisk until combined.
In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients: maple syrup, melted coconut oil, vanilla, almond extract, brown rice syrup, and almond milk. Stir well.
Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until just combined.
Roll the dough into balls. Now very lightly dip your fingers in a cup of water, tap off excess, and then roll the ball in your wet fingers. Now roll the ball in the crushed/processed pecans. This little bit of water helps the pecans stick to the ball. Now place the ball that is now covered in crushed pecans onto the baking sheet.
With your thumb and finger press a large well (approximately 3/4 inch in diameter) into the center of each ball (but don’t go all the way through!) and shape it with your fingers, pinching the edges as you go around. Fix any cracks that may form in the dough with your fingers.
Fill the hole with a generous amount of jam- about 1/2-1 tsp. Place cookies about 1 inch apart.
Bake in the oven at 350F for 17-18 minutes. The cookies should be slightly firm to touch. Cool for about 15 minutes on the baking sheet. Now, chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes before serving. My favourite way to eat them is cold, straight from the fridge as the flavours seem to pop more! The cookies are also really good from the freezer too.
Flour Notes: I tried various flours and the stone-ground kamut was superior in texture and taste. Kamut flour yields a dense, almost caramel-like interior. I also tried 3/4 cup white flour and 2/3 cup whole wheat flour and the result was cake-like so it was not my favourite. I also tried whole wheat pastry flour and this was a huge flop. The cookie was very wet, spread out too much, and didn’t set so I do not suggest subbing in WWPF in this recipe unless you are willing to undergo a few trials and adjust the liquid amount. All in all, if you want the best outcome, use stone-ground kamut flour. You may be able to sub in all-purpose for the Kamut, but I am not sure if the flour amount would need to be adjusted or not.
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Whisk dry ingredients together.
In a small bowl whisk together the wet ingredients and then add wet to dry.
Get in there with your hands and knead the dough and squeeze it together until it comes together.
Roll the dough into balls using about 1.5 tablespoon of dough per ball.
Now very lightly dip your fingers in a cup of water, tap off excess, and then roll the ball in your wet fingers. Now roll the ball in the processed pecans. This little bit of water helps the pecans stick to the ball.
Now place the ball that is now covered in crushed pecans onto the baking sheet (note: above photo should have crushed pecans on the balls! It was from a prior trial.)
With your thumb and finger press a well into the center of each ball (but don’t go all the way through!) and shape it with your fingers, pinching the edges as you go around.
Fill the hole with strawberry jam- about 1/2-1 tsp.
As you can see, I like a generous jam to cookie ratio!
Bake for 17-18 minutes at 350F and allow to cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet. Now place the cookies in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes.
I prefer to eat Thumbprints straight from the fridge because the almond extract and strawberry flavours seem to pop more when chilled.
I also love how the nuts give the cookies a hearty crunch and a great texture. The cookie base is actually not that sweet, but it balances out the sweet jam filling quite nicely.
The result is a Thumbprint cookie that is not too sweet, but just right!
Workout News
A little while ago, Angela was kind enough to give me one of her ‘Friends and Family Membership discounts’ for Goodlife gym. It is a heavily discounted yearly membership for the club, costing me only $16 per month for unlimited access to any Goodlife gym in Canada! I am thrilled because I would not have been able to afford the regular membership price, but at $16 a month I simply can’t go wrong. I will have access to all the fitness classes, the weights, and of course the cardio equipment.
I used to be a member of Goodlife back in highschool and university and I loved doing the Body Pump classes and also a few of the other Les Mills classes like RPM spinning. I can’t wait to change it up a bit and start doing weight training again. Thanks Ange!
Make sure you check out Sketchie’s pic of the day…it’s pretty cute and there is a little story about his latest hijinks.
Goodnight!
I love thumbprint cookies! Do you think it would work with spelt flour? I may try that out later… I’ve been eyeing a baklava thumbprint cookie idea and this would be a great base for it.
I somehow missed your dipped cookie dough balls post, but I made some myself last week! Blogger minds think alike, I guess.
ive been looking for a good thumbprint cookie and these are right up my alley! i got so excited, but now the only problem is that i cant kind kamut flour anywhere :( i’ve been looking for a while, not even my health food store has it. i have buckwheat, teff, and spelt , but i’m not sure if it’ll give me the same consistency..
I am so excited to make this in the afternoon! For the first time I have all the ingredients which seems necessary since the amount of time you put to perfect it
The thumbprints looks amazing! I’ve never seen Kamut flour though, maybe I’ll have to look hard in the bulk section.
Congratulations on making it SO far in Project Food Blog! It has been really fun seeing your posts and voting every week. My roommate has been making 10 different kinds of sugar cookies this week, and thank god I saw this post today so I can make these – they look SO GOOD. I’ve been down in the dumps this week, and coming to your site always gives me a little perk up. Have a wonderful Christmas!
PS – Your cat goes under the tree skirt? Mine sits in the middle of the tree and as you walk by meows at you or reaches out and whacks your arm!! Very scary!
bahaha Sketchie used to do that as a kitten. :)
Thanks for your kind words…I hope you are feeling better soon!
Mmmm I love thumbprint cookies! These look great! :)
Wow, those look soo yummy!!! I am definitely trying those out this weekend :) Happy Holidays!!!
Those look great! Do you think agave would be a good substitute for brown rice syrup?
Just wanted to say I <3 your blog
Hurray for the gym membership discount! I go to Goodlife too when I’m home for holidays. I’ve only tried out the spin class, so I’m excited to hear your reviews of some of the other classes if you try them out!
I’m definitely making these for x-mas. Thank you!
I have some family who would love to get a little goodie bag of these on Christmas Day! Gracias :) I’m a die-hard spelt user, but haven’t jumped on the kamut train yet. I’ve swapped the amount of kamut to spelt 1 to 1 before without any issues. What do you think about trying that for this recipe?
I taste tested one earlier, and it was delicious! I will definitely be making more of these. Thank you :)
I love the pics with recipe titles you have been doing lately!
Hi Angela,
I am craving something sweet and fruity, and thought these might do the trick.
Would you recommend these or the raspberry almond ones that you just posted?
Which do you like better? :)
These look delicious… but im curious to know why in the recipe it calls for 3/4c + 2/3c kamut flour. Are you supposed to add the 2/3 c at the end if needed? Or do you just add both measurements to the dry mix right off the bat?
thanks.
Yes I added both right into the dry mix – sorry for the confusion!
Wow, I looove thumbprint cookies, these look amazing!!!
Do these need to be stored in the fridge? If not, what is the best way to store them??
Thanks!
Store in the fridge or freezer in a sealed container.
These look great. Of all the ones I’ve looked at, these look to be the most like the ones of my childhood (and adulthood, who am I kidding?), but without the egg and wheat. I do not have kamut flour, not is it gluten-free, I think. So I have decides on a few flours and a ratio of 1/4 volume starch and equal parts of my flours which consist of varying densities and proteins. I came up with a blend that equals the same density per volume of kamiya flour 119g/cup. I will check back tomorrow and let you know how it goes!
Pardon my autocorrect! Kamiya should be kamut!