Easy Raspberry Vegan Thumbprint Cookies (Video!)
These raspberry vegan thumbprint cookies tastes identical to the classic holiday cookie yet are entirely vegan, dairy free, eggless, and can be gluten free! So easy and quick to make, these will be your new favorite Christmas cookie!
Easy classic raspberry thumbprint cookies made vegan!
Raspberry thumbprint cookies were some of my favorite Christmas cookies growing up (and honestly year round!). The sweet jam baked and set into a deliciously soft vanilla shortbread cookie was just the best treat.
I decided to put a eggless and dairy free (and gluten free) spin on the classic thumbprint cookies to create these jam filled vegan thumbprint cookies that taste every bit as delicious as the traditional.
This is one of my favorite vegan cookie doughs as well: it comes together so seamlessly and truly pleases all taste buds. Plus, I’m going to walk you through how to make vegan gluten free thumbprint cookies as well!
You’ll definitely want to make a batch of these jam filled vegan cookies for the holidays!
How to make vegan thumbprint cookies
(The full measurements and instructions are found down below in the recipe card!)
These vegan thumbprint cookies are one of my all time Christmas cookies because not only do they taste just like the classic and are so simple to make, but you don’t need a laundry list of ingredients either.
For these veganized raspberry filled cookies, you’ll need:
- Vegan butter (softened!)
- Coconut sugar (or regular sugar if you want the cookies to look more like the classic!)
- Unsweetened applesauce
- Almond flour + all purpose flour (though if you’re nut free, simply swap in all purpose flour at the same ratio! If you’re gluten free and nut free, swap in gluten free 1:1 baking flour for all!)
- Raspberry jam
- Simple glaze
Once you’ve gathered the ingredients, you can begin to make these vegan thumbprint cookies!
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Next, you’ll cream together the vegan butter and sugar with a hand mixer or stand mixer in a large bowl.
- Once the sugar is slightly dissolved into the vegan butter, add in the applesauce, vanilla extract and almond extract if desired. Beat again until incorporated.
- Sift in the almond flour and flour, and use a rubber spatula to gently fold the flours into the creamed butter. This will take about 3-4 minutes to fully incorporate.
Forming the thumbprint cookies
- Once the dough is made, use a medium cookie scoop and scoop the dough into a ball. Roll it between your palms to form a smooth ball. Then place your thumb and gently press it into the middle of the cookie to create an indent.
- Gently work your thumb around the edges, creating a larger indent in the cookie that is more round. Use your pointer finger to smooth any cracks on the edges. Place the cookie onto the cookie sheet and repeat until there is no more dough. You should get about 16 cookies.
Filling the cookies
Then you’ll place the cookies into the fridge to chill for 10 minutes. Once chilled, remove from the fridge and fill each cookie with about 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam.
Next, place the cookie sheet into the oven and bake the cookies for 11 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to turn lightly golden.
Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to set for 15-20 minutes. Once the cookies have fully cooled, you can drizzle over the simple glaze onto each cookie.
Store in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Do I need to chill the dough?
Wouldn’t everyone like to know haha! I highly recommend chilling this thumbprint cookie dough, but you only need 10 minutes and that’s it!
It’s super easy though, and rather seamless in the process. You’ll form the thumbprint cookies, place them onto a baking sheet, chill, and then fill with a raspberry jam.
After 10 minutes in the fridge, these vegan raspberry thumbprint cookies will be ready to bake!
How to shape thumbprint cookies (and avoid cracking!)
After all the hard work (I mean it’s easy, but still, you bought the ingredients, that’s commitment!) you put into making these jam filled cookies, the last thing you want is a cracked thumbprint cookie.
To prevent your vegan thumbprint cookies from cracking, roll the dough in between your hands or on a smooth surface. Then gently press your thumb into the middle, working your way around the edges to create a bigger indent.
Use your pointer finger to smooth any crackers that may form from the dough indenting. Then place the cookie onto the cookie sheet and repeat!
Can I make these gluten free thumbprint cookies?
Absolutely! To make these gluten free jam filled cookies instead of just vegan Christmas cookies, you can easily swap in gluten free 1:1 baking flour, such as Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 baking flour (in the blue bag) or King Arthur 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour.
For the rest of the cookie, everything else is naturally gluten free, so no need to swap in anything else!
How to store these vegan Christmas cookies
Like all of my vegan Christmas cookies, I recommend storing these vegan thumbprint cookies in the freezer within an airtight container.
However, these cookies will keep fresh for about 1 week in an airtight container at room temperature.
If you’re planning on shipping these cookies, I recommend you freezer them before shipping, to help maintain freshness.
I hope you love these raspberry vegan thumbprint cookies as much as I do! Seriously takes me back to childhood. If you make these cookies, let me know down below in the comments section, as well as giving it a rating so that others may find it!
As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there!
Happy Christmas cookie baking!
More classic vegan Christmas cookies:
Paleo Vegan Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Vegan Slice n’ Bake Christmas Tree Cookies
Easy Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
Classic Peanut Butter Blossoms (Made Vegan!)
Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!
Easy Raspberry Vegan Thumbprint Cookies
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 11
- Total Time: 26 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These raspberry vegan thumbprint cookies tastes identical to the classic holiday cookie yet are entirely vegan, dairy free, eggless, and can be gluten free! So easy and quick to make, these will be your new favorite Christmas cookie!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar or coconut sugar*
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional, omit if nut-free)
- 1 cup almond flour*
- 1 cup all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour*
- 1/3 cup raspberry jam (or other fruit flavored jam)
Simple glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp dairy free milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together the vegan butter and sugar with a hand mixer or stand mixer.
- Once the sugar is slightly dissolved into the vegan butter, add in the applesauce, vanilla extract and almond extract if desired. Beat again until incorporated.
- Sift in the almond flour and flour, and use a rubber spatula to gently fold the flours into the creamed butter. This will take about 3-4 minutes to fully incorporate.
- Once the dough is made, use a medium cookie scoop and scoop the dough into a ball. Roll it between your palms to form a smooth ball. Then place your thumb and gently press it into the middle of the cookie to create an indent. Gently work your thumb around the edges, creating a larger indent in the cookie that is more round. Use your pointer finger to smooth any cracks on the edges. Place the cookie onto the cookie sheet and repeat until there is no more dough. You should get about 16 cookies.
- Place the cookies into the fridge to chill for 10 minutes. Once chilled, remove from the fridge and fill each cookie with about 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam.
- Next, place the cookie sheet into the oven and bake the cookies for 11 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to turn lightly golden.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to set for 15-20 minutes. Once the cookies have fully cooled, you can drizzle over the simple glaze onto each cookie.
- To make the glaze, simply mix together the powdered sugar and dairy free milk until there are no more clumps of powdered sugar. Drizzle onto each cookie and enjoy!
- Store in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
*Sugar: coconut sugar will make these cookies more tan in color, but still delicious!
*Almond flour: if you are nut-free, swap in gluten free 1:1 baking flour or all purpose flour here at the same ratio.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie with jam, no glaze
- Calories: 153
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 3.4 mg
- Fat: 5.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 23.4 g
- Fiber: 0.6 g
- Protein: 1.7 g
- Cholesterol: 15.3 mg
Lovely recipe! My mom adored them (as did I haha). I tried it with three different jams: black currant, raspberry, and three citrus. I must say that the classic raspberry was my favorite! 💕
Oh that is just WONDERFUL!!! I love all of the uses of jam too!! I have to try it with black currant, that does sound really good though!! Thank you so much for trying them!
These were an absolute HOME RUN in my house! Everyone raved about them! Love the soft cookie base with the sweet jam inside – it’s a perfect balance. Highly recommend these for any holiday celebration (or anytime really haha!)
AW my goodness!! This is the best! Aw I’m so happy to hear it! Enjoy!
So good! Made these with monk fruit sweetener and gluten free flour, and they came out perfect. Thank you!
That’s awesome!! I’m so happy to hear it! Enjoy!
Can I make the dough and freeze it so I don’t have to make all the cookies on one day?
Hi Heather! Yes you can! I would freeze it as cookie dough balls though- it will be easier than waiting for cookie dough to thaw in order to scoop!