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 a Christmas thing. 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 get rid of that 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!
Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies (grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 32 cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups (200 grams) blanched almond flour (called ground almonds in other countries)
- 1/4 cup (34 grams) coconut flour, sifted if lumpy
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) raw or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 7 tablespoons (98 grams) coconut oil 1 or 1/2 cup (113 grams) butter if you can have dairy, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg, 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)
Directions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the almond flour, coconut flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- In another medium bowl, stir together the coconut oil, egg and 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Adapted from my lemon curd thumbprint cookies
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254 comments on “Gluten-free Thumbprint Cookies (grain-free, dairy-free)” — Add one!
18 comments are awaiting moderation!
Can you use stevia as a sweetener?
I’m really not sure as I’ve never used it. Sorry about that!
I can’t do sugar. Do you think honey could be used?
The problem is that there’s no liquid to reduce in the recipe, which is necessary because of the liquid you’re adding from the honey. So I can’t really recommend it. Sorry about that!
So delicious!! I wonder how they would get if I add whey protein to them? And how much
So happy you like them! :) I’ve never added protein to my cookies so I have no idea. Sorry about that!
These cookies changed my whole bias against gluten- and dairy-free baking – soooo delicious!! I have no personal dietary restrictions but made these for guests – but would definitely make them again for myself & family.
Awesome! So happy to hear that you’ll make them again for yourself. :) Thanks for your comment!
They taste delicious! I did use coconut sugar instead and they got nice brownish colour! Such a an easy, tasty tea snack . Thank you!!!!!
You’re welcome! Good to know that coconut sugar works well. :) Thanks for your comment!
Great easy recipe. Soft and chewy biscuits.
So happy you liked them!
How well do you think these would freeze?
I’m so very sorry for just now seeing your comment! I don’t know where the week went. Do you mean the baked cookies? I haven’t tried it myself but I think it’d work fine.
Got the recipe from nephew Darryl, very easy and very tasty!
So happy he shared the recipe with you and that you enjoyed it! Thanks for your comment. :)
Can I use only coconut flour as almond flour is not easy to find where I live or maybe regular flour ? TA
Coconut flour isn’t interchangeable with any other flours as it absorbs so much more liquid. :( Sorry about that!
I didn’t have the coconut flour so I substituted it with the same amount of all-purpose gluten free flour and it did worked fine and they taste great.
Good to know that works! Thanks for the tip. :)
Can you use butter instead of coconut oil. If so how much butter.
1/2 cup. :)
Can i use coconut sugar instead of white sugar?
Would these cookies freeze well & should i freeze them without the jam?
I haven’t tried it (coconut sugar or freezing) but I think it’d work. You would probably be able to freeze them with the jam just fine.
Hi Erin! These are amazing! I made some yesterday however some of them fell apart. I didn’t substitute any ingredients. Just wondering how I could keep them from falling apart? Add more almond or coconut flour? Anyway, I would still eat them if they are broken. Will try coconut sugar next time. Thank you!
Hi there! You could try adding some kind of binder (like an egg) but since I haven’t tried it, I have no idea if it’d work. Adding more flour would just add to the problem! Some of the reviewers have had them fall apart but it seems like most people haven’t. I’m not sure what the issue could be if you’re following the recipe! What brand of almond flour did you use? I’m so happy you liked them, though. :)
Thanks for a great recipe! I made these for my work Christmas party, so myself and a coworker could have a safe, gluten-free treat!
You’re welcome! I’m happy to hear that they came out well. :) Thanks for your comment!
Made them today for hubby’s birthday (filled with butter cream frosting at his request) and they turned out so perfect! I used the weight measurements and my egg probably wasn’t as room temp as it should be and my almond flour was about 15 minutes out of the freezer, so it may have chilled the melted coconut oil a little, but the dough was still perfectly soft for rolling and baking.
Can’t wait to try it with xylitol (using an all fruit raspberry jam) for a low carb option! Thank you!!
I’m happy that they came out well! I’d love to hear how the low-carb version comes out. :) Thanks a bunch for your comment and I hope your husband had a great birthday!
Thank you! I can’t wait to make these!
You’re welcome! I hope you’ll enjoy them! :)
For everyone having “issues” with baking gluten free, I have learned a valuable lesson. When working with almond flour you will discover brand to brand huge differences, even though they look similar or identical what is produced in the end varies. I use one brand for bread like texture and another for another application.
So true! I wrote a whole post about it here (that’s my paleo chocolate chip cookie recipe). Thanks for your comment!
I made these cookies today. I substituted a Flax egg. They came out perfect! I used apricot and raspberry preserves. Delicious!
It’s great to know that a flax egg works well! Thanks for the tip. :) I’m so happy you liked the cookies!
These are amazing! Thank you so much! I had a hankering for a Fall cookie so I just whipped up a modified batch. I just added a little cinnamon to the cookie dough and used home-made apple butter instead of the raspberry jam! I am warming my caramel sauce to drizzle right now! These won’t last long! Thank you!
Oh, yum! That sounds incredible. I’ll have to try your version! Thanks for sharing. :)
Hello,
My cookies were a bit crumbly not “wet” batter. I squeezed it together to bring it together and let it sit for 10-15 mins. Wonder why..? Thank you!
Hello! Did you make any subs or any kind of changes at all to the recipe? If not, I’m not sure what the issue could be. I make these so often and have never had them come out crumbly! I hope they still came out tasty. :)
They came out wonderful, my clients I cook for, couldn’t stop eating them. Whatever happened, not sure. But that were great and eaten fast😊 Thank you!
Awesome! So happy to hear that. Thanks for your comment! :)
Yes, mine crumbled as well, but I managed to press them into balls. I did not make any substitutions, except strawberry preserve instead of raspberry. making for a fund raiser, so not going to be able to taste them, besides I eat paleo, so the sugar doesn’t work for me. Hopefully they will be a good seller! They smell delicious & look great!
I’m happy that they came out well! I hope that they were a hit at the fundraiser. :)
I only got 12 cookies out of this recipe so hope they are not too big! I set the timer for 10 min instead of 8. They are a bit doughy. Thank you! #glutenfreelady
I hope you enjoyed them! Thanks for your feedback. :)