Cranberry Thumbprint Cookies (Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free)

Cranberry Thumbprint Cookies are dairy-free and gluten-free, and make the perfect addition to your holiday baking list. They’re small batch and freeze well, but they also have a deliciously crispy and chewy texture with a sugary coating and an orange cranberry filling.

*This recipe was originally published in November 2018 and has been updated with new text and photos and minor tweaks to the recipe. Scroll to the bottom to see an original photo.

So it’s officially less than a month until Christmas and my attention has definitely shifted to all the Christmas cookies. The smell of gingerbread and peppermint has been filling the house lately, along with the cozy aroma of cranberries and orange zest simmering on the stove.

Cranberry and orange – a Christmas combo

In case you haven’t noticed, I enjoy the combination of cranberry and orange, especially around the holidays. There’s something so Christmassy about the tart and sweet duo. If you’re a fan too, you might also enjoy these recipes:

• Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Muffins

• Orange Cranberry Kombucha Moscow Mule

• Cranberry Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

Why you’ll love these cranberry orange cookies

• They’re grain-free, gluten-free and dairy-free.

• They have a crispy, sugar coating with a soft and chewy texture that pairs nicely with the tart cranberry filling.

• You can make them ahead of time and store them in the freezer for the holidays.

• You can enjoy them as is, or drizzle them with melted chocolate.

Details on a few ingredients

Cranberries: You can use fresh or frozen cranberries to make the cranberry orange jam filling.

Almond flour: I normally use superfine blanched almond flour in gluten-free baking. In this recipe, it adds moisture to the cookies and helps create a chewy texture.

Buckwheat flour: This is a grain-free, gluten-free flour that I often pair with almond flour in gluten-free baking. You can buy light or dark buckwheat flour, and it’s usually found in the organic section of grocery stores. I normally use light in this recipe to keep the cookies a lighter colour, but dark works too.

Cane sugar: It’s similar to granulated (white) sugar but it’s minimally processed. It also has a slightly courser texture. In this recipe, it’s used to sweeten the cookie dough and to roll the cookies in to create the crispy coating.

Coconut oil: Two tablespoons of virgin, cold pressed coconut oil is used to help replace butter in the cookies. Make sure it is soft but not melted as you want it to cream together with the sugar and cashew butter.

Cashew butter: Nut butter is used in this recipe to work with the coconut oil to replace the butter. I opted for cashew butter as it is lighter in colour. It’s often expensive and sometimes difficult to find, so feel free to replace it with almond butter. The cookies will just turn out a slightly darker colour.

How to make these cranberry thumbprint cookies

• Make the cranberry filling in advance so the chia seeds have time to plump up and thicken the jam.

• Use an electric mixer to beat together the sugar, cashew butter and coconut oil until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

• In a small bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to the wet mixture until a dough forms. 

• Shape the dough into roughly one-inch balls and roll in cane sugar.

• Arrange about 2-inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and use your thumb to create a little well in the centre of each cookie.

• Bake for about 8 minutes and remove from the oven. If the thumb impressions have disappeared, carefully use a 1/4 teaspoon to reshape them. Add the jam filling to each thumb impression. Return to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

• Enjoy as is or drizzle with melted chocolate and let them firm up in the refrigerator.

Frequently asked questions

Do cookies with jam need to be refrigerated? Since these cookies have a chia jam filling, I suggest storing them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It also gives them an extra chewy texture. 

How long can you keep thumbprint cookies? They should last for 4-5 days if stored properly.

Can you freeze jam-filled cookies? Yes, just wait for the cookies to fully cool and place them in an airtight container, either in a single layer or in between sheets of wax paper. Freeze for up to 3 months. (You can also freeze them with the chocolate drizzle, just make sure it is set before you layer the cookies in a container).

Can you make these gluten-free thumbprint cookies with another type of flour? I’ve only tested this recipe with a mix of buckwheat and almond flours, so I can’t say for certain how all-purpose flour or a 1:1 gluten-free flour would affect the texture.

Can you make them with another type of sugar? If you can’t find cane sugar, you can use granulated sugar in the cookie dough. In order to create the crispy cookie coating, however, I suggest using a courser sugar to roll the cookies in, such as turbinado sugar.

Additional recipe tips and substitutions

• Make sure the nut butter and coconut oil are at room temperature. This will ensure they mix together smoothly with the cane sugar.

• Your other ingredients, such as almond flour and egg, should also be at room temperature to ensure the coconut oil doesn’t firm up as you mix together the cookies.

• If you want to change up the filling, you can use any kind of homemade or store-bought jam. Apricot or raspberry jam would be delicious, as well as an orange marmalade. To keep things festive, you can even use red or green cherries.

• These thimble cookies are meant to be crispy and crackly on top so need to worry about trying to prevent them from cracking like some other thumbprint cookie recipes.

• These cookies will spread a bit (unlike most recipes for thumbprint cookies), so make sure you space them about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

• To keep these cookies gluten-free, make sure your ground cardamom and any ingredient substitutions are certified gluten-free. 

• The melted chocolate drizzled on top of the cookies is optional. I used dairy-free dark chocolate, but if you don’t need these cookies to be dairy-free, you can drizzle any kind of melted chocolate or even icing on top of the cookies.

Other cranberry desserts for Christmas

• Cranberry White Chocolate Rolls are a festive and decadent treat for your holiday brunch with fresh cranberries, coconut and white chocolate.

• Chocolate Cranberry Cake is decadent and fudgy with juicy cranberries and dark chocolate chips. It’s completely vegan and makes a lovely Christmas Day dessert.

• Cranberry Pistachio Cookies are ultra chocolatey with crunchy pistachios and dried cranberries all dipped in melted dark chocolate. They make a perfect addition to Santa’s cookie plate.

• Dark Chocolate Cranberry Bark is easy to make and loaded with dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds. You can package them up as holiday gifts or add them to a Christmas cookie exchange.

If you make these cranberry thumbprint cookies, I would love to hear what you think in the comments below!

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Cranberry Thumbprint Cookies

★★★★★ 5 from 14 reviews

• Author: Leanne
• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 12-14 cookies
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Gluten Free

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Description

Cranberry Thumbprint Cookies are dairy-free and gluten-free, and make the perfect addition to your holiday baking list. They’re small batch and freeze well, but they also have a deliciously crispy and chewy texture with a sugary coating and an orange cranberry filling.

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Ingredients

For the cranberry jam filling:

• 1/2 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen
• 2 tablespoons cane sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• Juice and zest from half an orange
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds

For the cookie dough:

• 1/4 + 1/4 cup cane sugar, divided
• 1/4 cup cashew butter, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons virgin, cold pressed coconut oil
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup light buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the chocolate drizzle:

• 1/4 cup dairy-free dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 tablespoon virgin, cold-pressed coconut oil

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a small sauce pan, stir together the cranberries, sugar, cardamom, orange juice and zest and bring to a low boil, stirring occasionally to ensure the mixture doesn’t burn. Once the mixture starts to thicken, remove from heat and stir in the chia seeds. Cover and let cool.
3. To make the cookie dough, add 1/4 cup cane sugar, cashew butter and coconut oil to a large mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat together until creamy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
4. In a small bowl, sift together the buckwheat flour, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. On low-speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture until a dough forms. You may need to stop a few times to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
5. Add the remaining 1/4 cup cane sugar to a small plate. Shape the dough into roughly one-inch balls and roll in the sugar. (You should get 12-14 balls). Arrange about 2-inches apart on the baking sheet and use your thumb to create a well in the centre of each cookie.
6. Bake for 8 minutes and remove from oven. If the thumb impressions have disappeared, carefully use a 1/4 teaspoon to reshape them. Add the cranberry filling to each thumb impression. Return to oven and bake for another 5 minutes. Let cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. For the optional chocolate drizzle, add the dark chocolate chips and coconut oil to a small microwave safe bowl and microwave in two 30-second intervals, stirring in between and after until smooth. Drizzle the chocolate over the cookies.
8. Store cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freeze for up to 3 months.

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Notes

1. Make sure the cashew butter and coconut oil are at room temperature. This will ensure they mix together smoothly with the cane sugar.
2. If you don’t have cashew butter, you can substitute almond butter.
3. If you can’t find cane sugar, you can use granulated sugar in the cookie dough. In order to create the crispy cookie coating, however, I suggest using a courser sugar, such as turbinado, to roll the cookies in.
4. To keep these cookies gluten-free, make sure your ground cardamom and any ingredient substitutions are certified gluten-free.
5. Be sure to check out the detailed sections above the recipe card for additional advice and suggestions for making this recipe.

Keywords: cranberry orange cookies, gluten-free thumbprint cookies, jam-filled cookies