Gluten free thumbprint cookies have a delicious crumbly texture and are filled with sweet raspberry jam. With just 6 simple ingredients, they're vegan, protein-rich, one-bowl, and ready in 30 minutes!
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Whether you're in need of mouth-watering cookies for your holiday cookie platter or just because your cookie jar is empty, these gluten free thumbprint cookies are a home run.
Because we use maple syrup as the sweetener, they are low in processed sugar and are also dairy-free/vegan and made with just 6 simple ingredients.
The protein-rich almond flour makes for soft and chewy cookies (like in my almond flour peanut butter cookies), and the almond extract gives them a hint of almond flavor. I use raspberry preserves in this recipe, but you could use your favorite jam.
No rolling out or chilling dough, no special equipment needed, 6 simple ingredients, and only 10 minutes of prep time. Pair them with a cup of coffee for a delicious afternoon treat.
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⭐️ Why This Recipe Works
- Soft, chewy, tender, and crumbly
- Rich, nutty, and sweet
- Quick & easy thumbprint cookies that have 6 ingredients and can be prepped in 10 minutes
- Healthy cookies that are gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, vegan, naturally sweetened, and protein-rich
- Delicious paired with afternoon tea or coffee or as an addition to your holiday cookie platter
- Make-ahead instructions provided
🍪 Ingredient Notes
- Pure maple syrup - This natural sweetener is healthier than using (processed) white sugar.
- Almond extract - Gives just a touch of deep and nutty almond flavor. If you love almond extract, be sure to try my almond cupcakes with raspberry buttercream, almond poppy seed muffins with almond paste streusel, and apricot gluten free galette.
- Almond flour - Light, moist, and crumbly gluten-free flour that gives our cookies a rich, nutty flavor.
- Slivered almonds - These are optional but I love the added crunchy texture.
📝 Variations & Substitutions
- Canola oil. Substitute coconut oil or vegan butter for the canola oil. And if you don't need these cookies to be vegan, go ahead and use real butter.
- Maple syrup. Honey can be used in place of maple syrup, or see my list of the best maple syrup substitutes.
- Preserves. Use your favorite flavor of fruit preserves.
- Gluten-free flour. I have not recipe-tested these cookies using all-purpose gluten-free flour. If you do use it, I recommend adding one or two additional tablespoons of oil to your dough, as the all-purpose flour contains less moisture.
🔪 Recipe Instructions
Preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the canola oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Add the almond flour and salt, and and mix thoroughly using a rubber spatula, until the mixture turns into a soft dough. Mixture will be slightly crumbly.
Pour crushed almonds into a small bowl and set aside.
Use a tablespoon measure to scoop out dough, and roll each portion into a ball using your hands. Roll each ball into crushed almonds and place onto baking sheet, spacing 2" apart.
Using your thumb or the back of a ½ teaspoon measuring spoon, make a deep indent in center of each ball. Fill each indent with ½ teaspoon of jam.
Bake cookies until lightly golden, 12-15 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and let cool.
👩🏼🍳 Expert Tips
- If dough is too sticky after mixing, add more almond flour 1 teaspoon at a time until dough is pliable.
- If cookies crack around the edges after indenting them, use your fingers to pinch them together before baking.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
- To freeze: Layer cookies with parchment paper in an airtight container and store for up to 2 months.
- Let cookies rest after removing from the oven. This is very important as almond flour is quite delicate; we need to let the cookies firm up before transferring them to a cooling rack.
- Make ahead: Mix cookie dough and store (covered) in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
- Serve with a steaming cup of creamy oat milk hot chocolate.
💬 Frequently Asked Questions
Almond flour makes for deliciously tender and crumbly thumbprint cookies. In this recipe, we use just 7 simple ingredients. The cookies are naturally sweetened, vegan, and perfect with a cup of coffee.
Using almond flour to make gluten free cookies helps to make them moist, as almond flour contains more moisture than gluten-free (or all-purpose) flour.
Ground almonds do not contain any gluten, so are in fact gluten-free.
🍽 Related Recipes
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Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies (with almond flour)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup slivered almonds, crushed (optional)
- ¼ cup raspberry preserves (or your favorite jam)
Instructions
- Preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the canola oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Add the almond flour and salt, and and mix thoroughly, using a rubber spatula, until the mixture turns into a soft dough. (Mixture will be slightly crumbly).
- Pour crushed almonds into a small bowl and set aside.
- Use a tablespoon measure to scoop out dough, and roll each portion into a ball using your hands. Roll each ball into crushed almonds and place onto baking sheet, spacing 2" apart.
- Using your thumb or the back of a ½ teaspoon measuring spoon, make a deep indent in center of each ball. Fill each indent with ½ teaspoon of jam.
- Bake cookies until lightly golden, 12-15 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and let cool.
Notes
- If dough is too sticky after mixing, add more almond flour 1 teaspoon at a time until dough is pliable.
- If cookies crack around the edges after indenting them, use your fingers to pinch them together before baking.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
- To freeze: Layer cookies with parchment paper in an airtight container and store for up to 2 months.
- Let cookies rest after removing from the oven. This is very important as almond flour is quite delicate; we need to let the cookies firm up before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Corinne
I am new to vegan baking and found these on Pinterest. Do all vegan baked goods taste this good?? I used apricot jam since that is what I had on hand. My kids had no idea that they were vegan and gluten free and couldn't stop eating them!
Gastronotherapy
Lol, I'm not sure that ALL vegan baked goods taste good, but I'm so glad you enjoyed these cookies, Corinne! I love that you used apricot jam - I will have to try that! And no need to tell your kids what is in these cookies! 😉