Gluten-free Thumbprint Cookies (grain-free, dairy-free)
These gluten-free thumbprint cookies are also grain-free and dairy-free! They have a fantastic texture and can be adapted to use different zests, extracts and jams.
I love gluten-free cookies like these year-round. I don’t understand why raspberry thumbprints are associated with Christmas. I mean, they’re raspberry flavored!
To me, that screams summer. So here’s a little piece of summer for you in December.
Use whatever flavors you’d like
I first made these cookies in January when I was experiencing the post-Christmas winter blues. So, of course, I loaded them with lemon zest and extract. Lemon does a great job of cheering me up.
With Christmas around the corner, I thought I ought to try an almond version, and they were just as delicious.
Or maybe even more delicious?! It’s hard to pick a favorite.
You can, of course, use whatever extract and jam you’d like. Some commenters have used apricot jam, and I think that sounds amazing in combination with almond extract. Blueberry jam would also be great!
A less fussy dough
The dough in these raspberry thumbprint cookies is almost the same as the one in my lemon curd thumbprints. Except I made these dairy-free!
To do that, I just used coconut oil instead of butter and reduced the amount by a tablespoon. The two types of fat are often not interchangeable in cookie recipes.
And the raspberry version is actually a little less fussy! For whatever reason, you have to pre-bake the lemon curd cookies a little before adding the curd.
They came out looking funky when I made the indentation, added the lemon curd and then baked.
These raspberry thumbprints eliminate the need for a pre-baking step. It’s not much, but I’ll take one less step as an improvement!
How to decorate thumbprint cookies
I think a powdered sugar glaze is pretty standard with thumbprint cookies, but I know most of my regular readers don’t like it when I use powdered sugar (neither do I), so I just used some melted white chocolate. It’s also full of white sugar, so it’s not really any better, but at least it tastes like something other than pure sugar.
I think these gluten-free thumbprint cookies are quite pretty without the white chocolate on top, so you can easily leave it out. That means less washing up, which is always good. ;) If you want to use white chocolate and need these cookies to be dairy-free, you can make your own dairy-free white chocolate.
Using different types of sugar?
I used a light-colored raw sugar in the cookie dough and recommend thinking twice before using a dark raw sugar or coconut sugar. You don’t want the molasses-y taste to interfere with the light almond taste!
If you need something that’s free of refined sugar, check out my paleo peppermint cookies, gluten-free orange cookies or peanut butter cookies.
These gluten-free molasses cookies are also amazing! They remind me of the Archway cookies from my childhood.
If you try out these gluten-free thumbprints, please let me know how you like them!
Gluten-free Thumbprint Cookies (grain-free, dairy-free)
Ingredients
- 2 cups (200 grams) finely ground blanched almond flour called ground almonds in many countries
- 1/4 cup (34 grams) coconut flour sifted if lumpy
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) raw sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 7 tablespoons (98 grams) refined coconut oil or 1/2 cup (113 grams) butter if you can have dairy, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg 50 grams out of shell, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/3 cup (100 grams) raspberry jam or jam of choice
- 1/2 cup (85 grams) white chocolate for piping, optional (omit for dairy-free)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the almond flour, coconut flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.2 cups (200 grams) finely ground blanched almond flour, 1/4 cup (34 grams) coconut flour, 1/2 cup (100 grams) raw sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/8 teaspoon salt
- In another medium bowl, stir together the coconut oil, egg and almond extract.7 tablespoons (98 grams) refined coconut oil, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon almond extract
- Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir just until combined. The dough will feel quite wet. Let sit for 10 minutes, which allows the coconut flour to absorb the liquid.
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and line a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Roll the dough into 1″ balls and place 2″ apart on the prepared cookie sheet. The dough will feel quite greasy but this is okay.
- Using your thumb, make an indentation about 3/4 of the way down into each cookie. You may want to re-form the edges a little to make them prettier.
- Fill each indentation with 1/2 teaspoon of jam. Be sure not to overfill them.1/3 cup (100 grams) raspberry jam
- Bake for 8 minutes or until the cookies have barely started browning on the bottom.
- Let the cookies, which will be very soft, cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Pipe with white chocolate, if desired.1/2 cup (85 grams) white chocolate
- Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
- If you use unrefined coconut oil, these will likely have a coconut taste to them. With refined coconut oil, there will be no coconut taste.
- The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator.
- Adapted from my lemon curd thumbprint cookies.
Nutrition
Categories:
Cookies, Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Spring Recipes, Summer Recipes, Winter Recipes,
The flavor is absolutely delicious. However, I used “measure for measure” gluten free flour instead of almond and my dough wasn’t moist at all. I test baked a cookie and it was very dry. I then added some of the juice from my raspberries along with a bit of melted coconut oil, and the dough’s texture was much better. They came out sort of falling apart, so I reformed them when they were still warm out of the oven to make them less ugly, ha. I love this recipe, and this may be a user error due to my almond flour substitution.
Thank you!
I use measure for measure gluten-free flour all the time and unfortunately, it’s not even close to being a sub for random mixes of almond flour + coconut flour. It’s only meant as a sub for all-purpose flour. So that’s why the recipe didn’t work. I hope you can try them again as written and I’m confident you’ll have much better luck. :) I’m glad that flavor was at least good and you didn’t have to throw them away!
What can I use in place of the coconut flour?
I’m so sorry for just now seeing your question! There’s unfortunately not a sub for coconut flour as it’s so more absorbent than all other types of flour. Sorry about that. I so wish there were!
Do these work out if you coat the outside in chopped almonds?
I haven’t tried it, but I think it’d work! You might need an egg white or something to get the almonds to stick.
Followed the recipe exactly and turned out perfectly – amazing taste. Definitely a winner recipe to use again so thank you!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed the cookies and that you’ll be making them again! Thanks a bunch for your comment. :)
My daughter especially likes the thumbprint cookies, says they remind her of eating marzipan. I make them for our grandson who is gluten and dairy free. Altogether a winner.Thanks for the great recipe. Will be trying others
You’re welcome! I’m really glad that you enjoyed them so much. Thanks a ton for your feedback! I hope you’ll enjoy the other recipes just as much. :)
I love this recipe. It is one of my favorite Christmas cookies. They are easy to put together and tastes great.
Yay! I’m so glad to hear that! And I’m sorry for just now seeing your comment. It got lost somehow. :/
Could you use an egg substitute to make these vegan?
I haven’t tried it, unfortunately, so I can’t say for sure. It only calls for 1 egg, though, so I’m optimistic it’d work. Just can’t be positive!
I made these this weekend. They are amazing! Can’t even tell they are gluten/dairy free. Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy that you liked them so much. :) I’m sorry for just now seeing your comment. It got stuck in spam for some reason.
Can these be frozen?
Yes!
Hi can I use rice flour or a different flour? Almond flour is way too expensive where I live and I cannot have coconut flour any alternatives your recommend? Thank you!
Unfortunately not. If you can’t use the flours in this recipe, you’d need to find a recipe that uses the flours you can use. :/ Sorry about that!
Would dairy free butter work in place of the coconut oil? We’re very very new to the dairy and gluten free world.
I haven’t tried it but it should work without an issue in place of the amount of butter given. :)
I used butter instead and it worked great!
Awesome! I’m glad to hear that. :)
I am so excited to try these thumbprint cookies!! They are amazing!
These are fantastic! The perfect little treat!