Jam-filled Thumbprint Cookies (Gluten-Free)

Jam-filled Thumbprint Cookies (Gluten-Free)

Yesterday was our peanut butter and jelly baking day. A few days ago I used Target's Cartwheel to get 25% off of their Market Pantry Jam. With a new jar of jam, I need a recipe to make use of this new bargin. 

Having never made Thumbprint Cookies before, I was not expecting to like them, but these are really good! Good enough, that I had to go back and write down the recipe, since I was just throwing ingredients into the bowl rather haphazardly.

But, I am actually going to make this recipe, again!

These cookies are soft and chewy. They remind me very much of the cookies that are sold by Knott's Berry Farm. 

Having made them, now, I am thinking they would also work well with apple jelly and the addition of 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Perhaps, that will be the next version I make of these Jam-filled Thumbprint Cookies.

Ingredients:

2 cups fine milled almond flour

1/2 cup all purpose gluten-free flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 large egg or 2 egg yolks (for people allergic to egg whites)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup favorite jam

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

I made this recipe late in the day, after baking for hours. Therefore, I just threw all of the ingredients into the stand mixture. This avoided multiple bowls and allowed me to clean and make the dough at the same time.

To begin with, I put the almond flour in and let the mixer beat out the lumps. Then, I added the all purpose gluten-free flour. While these two flours blended, I straightened up a day’s worth of baking in my kitchen.  I put the sugar, baking powder and salt into mixer while it continued to spin away.

Without ever turning mixer off, I added the egg and vanilla and finally the coconut oil. The oil was added ¼ cup at a time. This makes for a very damp, oily dough.

Roll the dough into 1" balls and place on cookie sheet with parchment paper. Again, your hands will get very oily.

Yes, these are ‘thumbprint’ cookies, but I use a small spoon to make an indentation in the center of each cookie for the jam, halfway down or a bit more. Remember, oily. The spoon works great! Then, reform the cookie into a more even ball shape, as they tend to crack when you make the indentation.

Fill up the center of each cookie with about a 1/2 teaspoonful of your favorite jam. It is probably not a good idea to lick the spoon after filling each cookie, because even though the cookies will be baked, but the jar of jam will be filled with all of those germs. (This is my own personal reminder!)

Bake for 10 minutes. The cookies should be lightly brown on bottom.

Let cookies cool on pan for a few minutes or they will crumble apart, then remove to a wire rack and cool completely.

Makes about 30 cookies.