Jammy gluten-free thumbprint cookies made with almond flour. Soft chewy butter cookies paired with a moist jam-filled center, these are the perfect classic holiday cookie.
My love language is freshly baked cookies.
It all started with two jars of local organic preserves that arrived in a gift box a few weeks back. I also had a gift box sent to my good friend Amanda and I set out to make a custom recipe just for her. Something that showed off the preserves while also sharing their intensely flavored jams with my friends and neighbors.
That's how I went down the path of nearly 300 thumbprint cookies in 3 days. So, Amanda, this recipe is dedicated to you.
Why these are the best gluten-free thumbprints
While I'm an all-around holiday cookie lover, jammy gluten-free thumbprint cookies might be one of my all-time favorites. With a soft, chewy butter cookie paired with a moist jammy center, it's easy to accidentally eat a dozen of these one-bite cookies.
Mix them up with different flavors and colors of jam for a picture-perfect cookie gift platter or dessert-table centerpiece.
Folks are divided on the proper texture of a thumbprint cookie - some like a shortbread while others prefer a soft pillowy cookie and still others like a soft chewy cookie. I'm in this last camp. I want it to be sturdy enough that it doesn't crumble when you take a bite, but soft and slightly chewy.
When I tested a version using egg yolk, I found the texture too soft and not crisp enough on the outside. The great thing about gluten-free baking is you can adjust the flours to adjust the texture, so I'm relying on almond and oat flour for the softness.
Almond Flour thumbprint cookies
Super-fine blanched almond flour is my favorite flour to use for gluten-free cookies because its slightly sweet nuttiness pairs beautifully with buttery cookies. Depending on what flour you pair it with, it can bake up soft and pillowy, crisp and snappy, or crisp and chewy.
These almond flour thumbprint cookies use almond, oat, and tapioca flour. Together these flours produce a cookie that's sturdy, but soft and slightly chewy even without any eggs. Save for the almond extract I added in my final batch, the cookies themselves don't taste like almonds without the extract. Instead, almond flour gives a hint of nuttiness with the warmth and coziness of a freshly baked cookie.
Almond flour also adds moisture and fat to the cookies, which means you need more flour than a traditional cookie recipe to keep them from spreading, but this also allows them to stay thick and moist.
Tips for Making these Cookies
- Mix the dough well. After the flour is incorporated, mix it for 30 seconds longer to moisten the dough until very pliable. This extra beating releases some of the oil from the almond flour, making it easier to roll super smooth balls with fewer cracks.
- Roll tight cookie dough balls. Rolling the cookie dough ball up super tight will make it less likely to have large cracks when indenting and baking.
- Roll the dough in sugar. Rolling the dough in sugar is optional, but gives them a smoother look when baked up.
- Don't use your thumb to make the thumbprint. Your thumbprint isn't round so you'll end up with less-than-perfect indents if you use your thumb (not to mention if you have long nails!). I recommend using a rounded ½-teaspoon measuring spoon to make the indents.
- Slowly indent the cookie. If you rush with your indents, you'll end up with cookies that crack under the pressure. Instead, carefully and slowly make your indent, using your thumb to smooth any cracks that start to form.
What Kind of Jam for Gluten-Free Thumbprint Cookies?
Flavor of jam
You can mix these thumbprint cookies up with whatever flavor of fruit jam or preserves you like best. Here they're pictured with a combination of strawberry conserve and tayberry conserve.
I also tested this as a gluten-free raspberry thumbprint cookie that pairs well with the almond cookie base. Use orange marmalade, blueberry jam, or any other fruit preserves of your choice!
The jam should not be runny
With a runny jam, the liquid will seep into the tiny little cracks creating cookies that look like bloodshot eyeballs. That's fine for Halloween, but otherwise, stick to thicker jams or preserves. If using a runny jam, press it through a fine-mesh sieve to get out the very liquidy part and use the rest.
Glossy or rustic
If you're looking for the thumbprint cookies that have that almost jelly-like glossy filling sort of like a stained glass window, use a jelly or jam that's cooked down into a thicker, more gelatinous texture without large bits of fruit. When I make these with St, Dalfour's raspberry fruit spread, the filling bakes up more translucent and thicker. With these thicker fruit spreads, you can also add more jam to the thumbprint without risking it spilling over in the oven.
On the other hand, if you like the darker more rustic look (that's what's pictured here), choose something with thicker chunks of fruit like a preserve or a conserve. Just be careful that it's not too runny (see above note).
Can I freeze thumbprint cookies?
Yes! I recommend making the thumbprint cookies all the way up to the point where you add the jam. To save time, I go ahead and add the jam before freezing, but you could also wait until you're ready to bake to add the jam. Freeze them on a baking sheet for a couple of hours. Once frozen you can transfer them to a freezer bag or container to store for longer.
When ready to bake, just pop the frozen cookies on a lined baking sheet (adding the jam if you haven't already) and bake right out of the freezer, adding 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
Recipe
Jammy Gluten-Free Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 100 g (¾ cup + 2 tablespoons) super-fine blanched almond flour
- 65 g (½ cup + 2 tablespoons) gluten-free oat flour
- 85 g (¾ cup) Bob’s Red Mill tapioca flour
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter,, room temperature
- 80 g (¼ cup + 2 tablespoons) granulated sugar,, plus more for rolling
- ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ cup fruit preserves/jam,, see note
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a couple of tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl for rolling and set aside.
- Sift together almond flour, oat flour, tapioca flour, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix to combine.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients into the butter and mix until well combined. Mix for 30 seconds longer to moisten the dough until very pliable.
- Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into a tight 1-inch circle, smoothing any cracks (the tighter you roll the dough, the less likely it is to crack). Gently flatten into a disc and gently toss the disc in the bowl of sugar to coat. Place 1-inch apart on the baking sheet and carefully and slowly use your thumb or the back of a ½ teaspoon measuring spoon to make a deep indent, smoothing any cracks if desired.
- Spoon scant ½ teaspoon of jam into the indent. Repeat with remaining dough.
- You can chill or freeze the cookies on the baking sheet or bake it immediately. Bake for 14-15 minutes (adding 1-2 minutes if baking from frozen), until the cookies are set and the bottoms are just barely golden brown. Remove from heat and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Holly -
Oh my goodness...you made my Christmas with this recipe!! I've been gluten free for a few years and I've tried one or two gluten free thumbprint recipes that were very meh. Not this one!! SO GOOD!! These cookies are my childhood and it was so lovely to have them again and just as good as the original. The only modification I made is that I skipped the sugar coating, as my mom's recipe never called for that. They turned out wonderful! Thank you so much!!
Brenda -
Delicious! But be sure to use a finely granulated sugar. I used granulated sugar from Azure Standard, which is a little more coarse, and it was too crunchy. Will remake with the right sugar. I love the addition of almond. Also, using a high-quality European unsalted butter is definitely the way to go!
Geoffrey Selling -
I just made these for my GF daughter as part of the Christmas cookie sampler which I share with friends. 7 kinds are GF and 9 kinds have gluten. I've tried several GF thumbprint cookies and this was by far the best. Excellent detail in the instructions. My Bob's RM almond flour was a bit clumped so I processed all three flours (almond, tapioca and oat) in my food processor for about 5 seconds and that mixed them well and broke up the clumps. I tripled the recipe and got EXACTLY 60!!! I did notice different timing. After 14 minutes, the cookies were still pale white with no browning at all anywhere. I kept them in for one or two additional 3 minute stints and that very lightly browned them nicely. No, they're not the same as the gluten version but they are very tasty and look pretty. My daughter and GF mother-in-law will be VERY pleased. I squeezed warmed, stirred raspberry jam out of a squeeze bottle into the indentations that that worked perfectly. I also dipped the bottom of a measuring spoon in the rolling sugar so it wouldn't stick when I made the indentations. They look so much better with that kind of indentation that an assymetrical thumbprint. Bravo on an excellent recipe. I will try others of your recipes. My wife liked them too!!!
Wendy Campbell -
I didn’t have tapioca flour so I subbed with cassava flour and I found the dough was super dry so I added an egg yolk and a little bit more butter and that got the dough to a workable consistency. The cookies cracked a lot when I pushed the little spoon into them but I pushed them back together and that seemed to work bc they didn’t crack more in the oven. Unfortunately they’re still so dry and just kinda fall apart when you bite into them so must’ve been the cassava flour. All well, still delicious albeit a bit messy!
Dartmouth mom -
These are delicious! I subbed tapioca starch for bobs red mill gf flour & it was perfect. My family loves them & I can’t wait to show them off at my family’s Christmas party!
You must make these!
Tatiana -
I am reviewing these for myself so I am giving a 4 but hubby gives it a 5 for sure. I am not GF and he is. I have a hard time not having that fluffy flake apart consistency like G shortbread thumbprints but the taste of these is really good. Jam thumbprints are my hobby’s fav cookie all around and I have not made any since his diagnosis. He is super happy about these!
Caitlin -
If I substitute the oat and tapioca for bobs red mill baking 1:1 do you think the texture would still turn out the same?
Sarah Menanix -
I don't think it'd be the exact same, but I think they'd turn out just fine!
Heather -
These are amazing cookies!
Julia Kraft -
Made these and they completely flattened... ??? We loved the flavor but don't know why they didn't hold their shape. We went raspberry picking last weekend so instead of raspberry jam, I mashed up a few raspberries with sugar for the filling. Could that be why?
Sarah Menanix -
Oh no! I am almost positive the mashed raspberries with sugar was the culprit. Fresh berries have a lot more moisture than jam and nothing to thicken it. If you want to use fresh berries, you'd need to cook the berries down into a jam (with pectin or corn starch to thicken it) first.
Amanda -
Loved the cookies I made! 😂😂 Left out the pepper as I am not a fan. After about 1 hour of cooling, they tasted heavily of cloves, couldn’t taste the ginger. The next day the clove taste had almost disappeared and could taste the ginger. Love the texture. I used homemade oat flour without sifting. I am going to try making them into ice cream sandwiches with our homemade ice cream. 😋 Thank you for a delicious gluten-free cookie recipe.
Amanda -
Wrong cookie recipe!
Made these for a Christmas party. They were delicious. Even those who are not gluten free loved them. Will be making them again. 😋
Ani -
This cookies are amazing! They are not very different then my old recipe w regular flour, my whole family loves it! Thank you so much for a great recipe!
Ani -
I fallow the recipe and it was great, I used to make it with regular flour before I was diagnosed with celiac and now I am glad I can make it gluten free and is absolutely delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
Sara -
These came out amazing ….
I’m the only one that is gluten free in our house, but somehow no one cares and still goes for the delicious treats I make for my self and these are no exception . I did substitute the oat flour with King Arthur flour 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Karol -
Can I make my own GF oat flour blending GF oats in my blender?
Sarah Menanix -
Yes absolutely! I do that all the time when I run low on GF oat flour :) Just be sure to sift it before you use and I recommend measuring by weight instead of volume if using homemade oat flour.
Holly -
Would vegan/dairy-free butter work here?
Sarah Menanix -
I think a vegan stick butter would work great for these!
Alex -
Is there any other flour to replace the oat flour or can you omit it? Celiacs can't have oats. I have a reaction from anything with oats.
Emily -
Most celiacs can't eat oats, even if they are labels gluten free, but otherwise, cool recipe
Rosie -
I don’t know where you heard that celiac means avoid oats. Bob’s Red Mill makes GF Oats and I use it and I know others who are celiac and they do too. You have to check to make sure the oats are gf.
Gracie -
One percent of celiacs do not tolerate oats well, even gf ones. I am one of the lucky 1% so I will try this with a different flour.
Thank you for the recipe!
Emily R -
These come together so quickly and are delicious! The dough was really easy to work with. It was hard to wait long enough after the cookies were out of the oven to avoid molten jam. I used raspberry jam, which was tasty. Thanks for the recipe!
Megan H -
Such a lovely dough to work with! I purchased a special tart cherry jam with cardamon and port, and wanted to make a thumbprint cookie to showcase it. I knew I wanted almond flour in it, but not as the only flour. So I was so happy to find your recipe, especially because you are very exact on how to do everything, and I really appreciate that. They came out beautifully; the only snag I hit was trying to sift the almond flour. It gummed up in my sifter and threatened to turn into almond butter. But I just hand blended everything and it all came out wonderfully! Thank you so much for this recipe and your amazing blog.
Sarah Menanix -
I'm so glad you loved them! And that jam sounds incredible! Ah - I've not run into that issue, but I realized now that you say this, I use a hand-crank sifter with just one layer of mesh (similar to this sifter). Do you have one of the dual-layered handle sifters? If so, next time, I'd just recommend using a fine-mesh sieve to sift so you don't run into that again.
Sonja -
Do you think if one were to use this batter recipe and then replace the jam with a cherry hidden inside, the cookies would be similar to the GF almond cherry one Bartavelle cafe serves?
Sarah Menanix -
Ooo - that's a good question. I've never had that cooking and now I'm kicking myself that I've never tried it! I didn't even know it was an option, though I love their porridge! I just googled it and it looks similar in texture, so I think that might work! If you try it, let me know!
Jessica -
This makes a really nice cookie. The texture is good and it tastes delicious. Made as written.