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!
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This recipe is amazing!! Some of the best gluten free cookies i have ever had! Seriously delicious and i have gotten great complements for my baking skills solely from this awesome recipe.
Wow, I’m so glad to hear that! That’s great that people liked them so much. Thanks for your comment!
Same here! Girls at work want to pay me to make more for them and their husbands!!! They are really delicious!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that. That’s awesome! Thanks for your comment and sorry for just now seeing it!
Hi, these look yummy.I’m hoping to make them soon. What would be a good sub for the eggs and how much to use? Thanks.
Hi there! I’ve never used an egg sub in these so I’m not positive it’d work. I’m guessing 1 chia or flax egg would work (but it’s really just a guess!).
These were a big hit on my Christmas cookie tray. They froze well. Thank you for a terrific recipe!
I’m so sorry for just now seeing your comment! I didn’t realize I wouldn’t have internet at my in-laws over the holidays. :/ I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed the cookies! Thanks for your comment and sorry again.
These are insanely delicious! My poor GF dad is used to having crummy tasting food and desserts. This is the best GF cookie we’ve ever had. You’ve given us good food again. Thank you a million times!
I’m so terribly sorry for just now seeing your comment! I didn’t realize I wouldn’t have internet at my in-laws over the holidays. :( I’m happy to hear that you and your dad enjoyed these. And your poor dad! I have tons of gluten-free desserts and I promise they’re all far from crumbly. Thanks for your comment and sorry again for being so slow to reply!
I made these vegan- subbed in aquafaba (chickpea juice) and a bit of ground flax- turned out delicious! they were a little delicate…but very good. i feel like these are a can’t miss!
I love that you made them vegan! How much aquafaba did you use? Thanks for the tip! I’m so happy that they came out well with your subs. :)
idk how i never saw this! 3T is what iused. That is the standard measure of aquafaba used to = 1 whole egg
Awesome! Thanks so much for letting me know. :)
Can I use almond meal instead of blanched almond flour?
😊
Yes, if you don’t mind the little bits of almond skin! :)
Can you use gluten free baking flour as a sub for the coconut flour? If so, use the same amount? And if using butter as a sub for coconut oil, should you use the same amount?
Hoping to bake these tonight!
Unfortunately not. There’s no sub for the coconut flour as it absorbs so much more liquid than any other type of flour. I’ve heard that oat flour sometimes works in some recipes but I have no idea if it’d work here. Use 8 tablespoons of butter in place of the 7 1/2 tbsp of coconut oil. I’d love to hear how they come out!
Can the coconut flour be left out and just up the almond flour?
Unfortunately not. :( I’ve tried. They don’t come out with the right texture.
I am bewildered about the 4 days life of these cookies. Does this mean they must b e eaten as soon as baked? My usual Christmas cookies are kept in tins for several weeks. HELP how can they keep longer?
Of course they last longer (I’m sure a few weeks would be fine) but they won’t be as tasty as fresh or if you eat them within 4 days. There’s nothing to add to them that’ll make them last longer. You could freeze them if you like!
These were so good. I did have a problem with then falling apart when I was rolling and thumbprinting them. I added a tiny bit more coconut oil but in retrospect maybe I should have added another egg or the egg white of another egg. It just seemed to crumbly. I also baked about a minute longer. So good though! Thanks for the recipe. 🤗
I’m happy you enjoyed them! It seems like some people find them crumbly but I never have. I guess it depends on the type of almond flour you use. Thanks for your comment. :)
Just made these with butter. Rolled in whipped egg whites and almond flour before baking. Delicious. A great hit. Will make these again.
The egg whites is a great idea! Thanks for the tip and your comment. :)
I just made these and they are very good! I did sub butter for the coconut oil though. Thanks for the easy recipe.
You’re welcome! I’m happy to hear that you liked them. :) Thanks for your comment!
Love…. Love…. Love these cookies! They are a part of our traditional annual baking day! Lol, we usually just dip pretzels in almond bark (a long time joke), but it’s official! We actually bake now!
These look delicious! Do they freeze well?
Thanks! They do. :)
Can I substitute almond flour with another flour? If yes, what would you recommend?
Thank you 😊
Hi there! I’m sorry for just now seeing your question. Almond flour is really only interchangeable with other types of nut flours / meals. I haven’t tried anything other than almond flour in this recipe, but I think cashew meal could work.
I absolutely Love the variety of gluten free recipes you have. However, I am searching DESPERATELY for cookies; especially Christmas and other major holiday options for my granddaughter who is 4 years old and is allergic to tree nuts, coconut, sesame seeds, and beans. How in the world am I going to find a variety of options so this little one will not be left out when doing my annual baking for eight grandchildren? Can you help PLEASE ???
Hi there! I’m so very sorry for just now seeing your comment. It landed in spam for some weird reason! Most of my recipes unfortunately use almond flour or coconut flour / oil / sugar (because of my intolerances). Can she have Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour? If so, I might have a few recipes I could recommend! And this molasses cookies recipe works, I think!
I can’t eat coconut due to allergy. Do you have suggestions for coconut flour?
Thanks
There’s unfortunately no sub for coconut flour as it absorbs so much more liquid than any other flour. Sorry about that! Some people have mentioned oat flour but I’ve never tried it.
I’ve seen a recipe which uses oat flour and a little tapioca starch. Just search pinterest for gluten free thumbprint cookies almond and oat flour and it will come up.
We love these. I did try them with butter and KA measure for measure flour and they did not work. When we followed the recipe 😊 they worked fine. I don’t try to too then but use a small cookie scoop. I like the rustic look so we don’t re-roll them. I use a 1/4 tsp to make the indentation. The original recipe yeilded about 18 cookies.
Haha. Well I’m happy you decided to make them again, following the recipe. :) 1-to-1 GF baking flours are usually meant for subbing for wheat flour, so it makes sense that it wouldn’t work here (though I guess it’s always worth trying :)) Thanks so much for your feedback!
These are absolutely delicious. I substituted Lakanto classic monkfruit for the sugar. I had the same issue as Shannon with the cookies breaking apart when I pressed my thumbprint in. It was pretty time consuming to form them. However, I think I may know why this happened- when the recipe calls for 7 T of coconut oil, does that mean measure 7 solid T of coconut oil and melt it, or does it mean 7 T of melted coconut oil? I did the latter, and I’m thinking you meant the former.
Hi Krista! I’m happy that you enjoyed them. :) It’s great to know that Lakanto works well! I actually have some and never use it. Thanks a bunch for the tip. 1 tablespoon of coconut oil is 14 grams, whether it’s measured solid or melted. So it doesn’t matter if you measure before or after it’s melted. I really think it might just be the almond flour. Thanks for your comment!
Do I blanch the almond flour or can I buy it blanched? If I do it…how? I’m new to gluten free baking.
Hi there! Most almond flour is already blanched and if it’s not, it’s usually called almond meal. It’s not something you have to do yourself! :)
Everyone loves these. I’ve made them so many times and they are always a hit. The finished product has always been perfect. I find these to be *much* more time consuming than the recipe suggests. i.e. I do not have the choice whether or not to reshape the edges to “make them prettier”. Prettiness is not the issue. If I just push my thumb in the center they split from the middle into about 5 or ten pieces, kind of like pie slices. I don’t reshape the edges because I want to make them prettier. If you want an actual well that can be filled with jam, you *need” to reshape the edges to make the cookies functional (hold jam). I’ve been making this recipe for over 2 years and I make it often. It’s probably my favourite recipe. it takes me at least an hour just to form these cookies into a good enough shape though. They don’t hold together like normal cookie dough (and I wouldn’t expect them to) but they taste so good. Chilling the dough before forming the cookies does help though! If time is an issue though, I would never be able to make these in 30 minutes. Normally about 75-90 minutes. The bake time is right for me. It really is just the best recipe.
I’m happy that you’ve been enjoying them! :) I’ve also made them a whole lot but have never needed close to an hour to shape them. What brand of almond flour are you using? I would suggest trying a different one and seeing if that helps. Brands vary so much in how finely they’re ground, which has an impact on how dry (and therefore less easy to form) the dough is.
Thanks for the tips! I’ve used all different brands and not noticed much difference. If you think it might be that my dough is a little dry though, I might try adding a little bit of an extra egg and see if that helps. I use coconut flour in baking fairly often so I know it holds moisture if it’s mixed with egg. I’m sure I’ll keep experimenting probably for ever so I’ll keep you posted ;)
Haha. Experimenting forever. ;) I think your egg idea is a good one. I hope it goes well! You also try decreasing the coconut flour a little bit.