Gluten-Free Thumbprint Cookies (Paleo)

Dairy-free thumbprint cookies piled on a plate next to a cooling rack with more cookies on it.

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Gluten-Free Thumbprint Cookies (Paleo)

These Gluten-Free Thumbprint Cookies are an easy, wholesome treat! You can use your favorite jam and even roll them in crushed nuts or coconut. This one-bowl recipe makes a lot so luckily they freeze well too.

And they're also dairy-free, refined sugar-free and Paleo.

Prep Time20

Cook Time12

chilling time1

Total Time1 32

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: cookies

Calories: 84kcal

Author: Don Baiocchi

Ingredients

1 tablespoon coconut oil
⅓ cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1 large egg, room temperature
1¾ cups superfine blanched almond flour, not almond meal
¼ cup arrowroot flour/starch
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ cup fruit-sweetened jam, such as apricot, raspberry or cherry
optional coatings: unsweetened shredded coconut, crushed pistachios, crushed pecans

Instructions

In a large, microwave-safe bowl, add the coconut oil and microwave until melted, about 1 minute.
To the coconut oil, add the honey, vanilla and almond extract (if using). Whisk until thoroughly combined. Add the egg and whisk again until combined.
Place a sieve over the bowl and add half of the almond flour to the sieve. Sift it into the bowl, pressing through any hard clumps, and repeat with the rest of the almond flour. Remove the sieve and add the arrowroot and salt directly to the bowl. Stir with a spatula until completely combined.
Chill the dough in the fridge for at least an hour or up to 2 days.
When the dough is almost ready, heat the oven to 350° F.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Use a tablespoon or 2-tablespoon-sized cookie scoop and create about 2-tablespoon-sized balls of dough. If using the coatings (coconut, pistachios and/or pecans), roll the balls in the coatings. If the dough is sticking to your hands, get your palms slightly damp with water. Place the balls on the parchment-lined baking sheets (12 balls on each sheet). The cookies will spread a bit as they bake.
Use the palm of your hand to just barely press the cookies down so they're flat on top (don't press too hard, you don't want them to be too big or too thin). If the dough is sticking to your hands, get your palms slightly damp with water. Then use the bottom of a round tablespoon measuring spoon or ½ tablespoon measuring spoon to press into each cookie. Press down almost all the way. You want a somewhat wide and deep well in each cookie. If the dough is sticking to your spoon, get it slightly damp with water.
Fill each cookie with ½ teaspoon jam (it helps to use the handle of a smaller measuring spoon to get the jam out). Don't spread the jam out in the well - it'll spread naturally.
Bake the cookies on two racks in the oven for 10-12 minutes, rotating and swapping the sheets halfway through, until the cookies are golden brown around the edges of the bottoms. Let cool completely (on cooling racks, if using).

Notes

Nutritional note: The nutrition info does not include the optional coatings (coconut, pistachios, pecans).

Substitutions

Feel free to use your favorite jam. Cherry, apricot and raspberry all work well.

I know some people have success using finely ground sunflower seeds in place of almond flour to make recipes nut-free. I have not tried that with these cookies - if you do, please let me know how it goes.

You can use maple syrup in place of the honey.

You can use tapioca flour/starch in place of the arrowroot.

You can add the zest of a lemon or half an orange to the cookie dough for extra flavor.

Make ahead

Before rolling out the cookies, the dough can be refrigerated for at least an hour or up to 2 days.

Once the cookies are baked and cooled, you can keep them in the fridge for up to 5 days. They will get softer and chewier in the fridge.

Freezer info

To freeze them, roll out the cookies, place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, gently flatten them and add the well for the jam but don't fill them with jam. Place in the freezer for at least 4 hours. Once the cookies are frozen through, transfer them to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.

When ready to bake, transfer the frozen cookies to 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, fill with jam and proceed with the recipe. You might need to add 1-2 minutes to the cooking time but you might not, so check them at 10 minutes to be sure.

Nutrition