Grain-free Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies

When my siblings and I were younger, you know, between the ages of 5 to 10, my mum would always come home from work with a surprise from the supermarket.

Whenever she entered the front door, the twinkle in her eyes giving away the fact that she had a surprise gift in store, the three of us, Ronald, Valerie and myself, would crowd around her and bombard her with the question “What did you buy? What did you buy??”

Some days it would be the classic black-and-white Oreo cookies that we’d stuff our mouths with between gulps of cold milk; other days it would be a Sara Lee pound cake whose creamy texture I so much adore; and some times, it would be a packet of Arnott’s thumbprint cookies filled with sweet red strawberry jam.

Now, these cookies were unlike other cookies, because instead of having the filling sandwiched between two layers of cookies, it was just one cookie with a little well filled with a thin layer of jam. They were one of my favorite cookies, battling for the first place with the Oreos.

Subscribe

Get delicious GLUTEN-FREE recipes each week!

Name Email Address

You consent to receiving our emails. Please read our Privacy Policy.

When you’re a kid, your memories tend to be filled with the things that bring you joy, and my memories are full of these surprise snacks my mum would bring home.

I remember us devouring the entire packet of thumbprint cookies within minutes; and I loved the feeling of sinking my teeth into the jam, and then chewing the cookie dough and delicious jam all at once, my mouth too full to be closed. Those were good times indeed.

I haven’t seen these cookies around since my childhood days, and every once in a while I daydream about them (more like daydream about overdosing on these delicious, addictive cookies).

This daydream eventually turned into a reality when I came across this thumbprint cookie recipe on the web.

Besides that fact that I already had all the ingredients in my kitchen cupboard, they sounded relatively easy to create – and trust me, they are probably one of the easiest cookies I’ve ever made! You could use homemade jam, or even store-bought jam, and they still taste wonderful!

I made a batch of these cookies and brought them to a tea party with some of my girlfriends, and it was a smashing success! While they didn’t taste exactly like the Arnott’s cookies from my childhood, they were still delicious and worth every single bite!

Here’s to making daydreams come true and bringing memories back to life!

What are some of the snacks from your childhood that you still dream about today? I’d love to hear about them! Leave me a comment and let me know!

GRAIN-FREE STRAWBERRY THUMBPRINT COOKIES (Makes 15)
Adapted from: Detoxinista

Ingredients:

1) 2 cup of almond flour/ almond meal
2) 1/4 cup of coconut oil, melted
3) 1/4 cup of honey, liquefied
4) 1 1/2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
5) 1/4 teaspoon of salt
6) 1/2 – 3/4 cup of strawberry jam (or peach jam, fig jam, orange marmalade, or grapefruit marmalade)

Steps:

1) Pre-heat oven to 350 deg Fahrenheit (180 deg Cel)
2) Line a baking sheet with baking paper or a silpat
3) In a medium bowl, cream together the coconut oil, honey, pure vanilla extract until smooth.
4) Add in the almond flour/ almond meal and salt, and then gently stir until dough is well incorporated.
5) Use a tablespoon to scoop even amounts of the dough and roll the dough with the palms of your hands to get smooth balls.
6) Place the balls onto the lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 fingers of spacing between them.
7) Use your thumb to make a well in the middle of each of the balls.
8) Fill the well of each cookie with around 1 teaspoon of jam.
10) Bake for around 10 – 15 minutes or until lightly golden.
11) Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.