Enjoy childhood comfort food with a healthy twist!
These gluten-free thumbprint cookies have all the flavor of peanut butter cookies you remember as a kid but none of the processed ingredients.
So basically, you can enjoy them without fear that they’ll affect your regular diet- just like this peanut butter protein bark.
They’re made in under thirty minutes and though they’re classified as a healthy dessert, as a Certified Nutrition Coach I use them as an indulgent snack too 😉
Soft, flourless cookies that are guaranteed to induce some happy memories.
- Dairy-free, gluten-free, and paleo
- Easy to make
- 8 grams of protein
- A hit with kids
Ingredients You'll Need
One of the perks of these peanut butter and jam thumbprints is that they contain minimal ingredients.
Though most peanut butter blossoms will contain baking soda, that's just not needed here.
You most likely already have everything in your cupboard (from these gluten-free pantry staples) and they whip up in under thirty minutes.
Creamy peanut butter: opt for natural, creamy peanut butter to avoid any unnecessary oils (learn more about how seed oils can have negative health effects). Plus, choosing natural peanut butter will give them a more authentic flavor. Personally, I use homemade peanut butter.
Jam: jam or jelly, use what you love! I often opt for chia jam to give a dose of healthy fats but anything will work.
Egg: this helps bind the cookies together. In my experience, using a flax egg to try and make the flourless cookies vegan does not work.
Maple syrup: all you need is a hint of syrup to add some sweetness to the recipe!
Cacao powder: totally optional but it is nice to switch it up sometimes. Plus there are a lot of benefits in using cacao powder so if you want to amp up the nutrient profile of these peanut butter thumbprint cookies this is a great way to do it!
How To Make The Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies
- In a bowl combine all the ingredients (saving some of the peanut and jam for topping)
- Whisk until completely smooth
- Line a baking sheet and use a trigger ice cream scoop to portion the batter into balls
- Grease a fork and make a crisscross in the cookies
- Using a ½ teaspoon, create a thumbprint into each of the cookies
- Bake until just done
- Top the gluten-free thumbprint cookies with more peanut butter and jam
- Place in the fridge to store
Important Teaching Tips
The peanut butter thumbprint cookies won’t seem done when they come out of the oven, this is normal! Let them sit to finish cooking on the baking sheet and then transfer them to a cooling rack. Be gentle.
Likewise, because there is no baking soda and not a lot of baking powder they don't "fluff up" like a traditional cookie.
Store the flourless peanut butter cookies in the fridge in a container. Know that they will firm up a bit on storing.
Frequently Asked Questions About Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies
You should always fill thumbprint cookies after they have baked. Especially when using peanut butter, if you fill them before baking the nut butter is most likely to burn in the oven while cooking.
Due to minimal ingredients, peanut butter cookies do not expand much. By forking them you thin them out a bit so that they cook evenly.
While baking powder will help cookies rise, baking soda helps to keep them light, and level. These gluten-free peanut butter cookies are flourless so we don't want them to rise too much (or they'll deflate). Thus, baking soda isn't necessary.
These peanut butter and jam thumbprint cookies are similar to peanut butter blossoms but they're not exact. For one thing, peanut butter blossoms are topped with a Hershey's kiss, and they're also normally rolled in granulated sugar.
Jelly is the strained juice of fruit and thickened, it tends to be much smoother. Where as jam is made from the actual fruit. Either will work for these flourless thumbprint cookies.
More Healthy Dessert Recipes You'll Love
- Healthy keto fudge
- White chocolate fudge
- Dark chocolate crunch bars
- Candy cane fudge
- Hot chocolate bombs
- Cashew chookies with chocolate frosting
- Chocolate coconut drop cookies
- Chocolate magic shell
- Healthier dessert recipes
- Chocolate almond flour cookies
Flourless Peanut Butter And Jelly Thumbprint Cookies (dairy & gluten-free)
Video
Equipment
- Silicone cooking sheet
Ingredients
- ½ cup natural peanut butter
- 1.5 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 egg
- 1 tbs raspberry jam I use chia jam
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons cacao optional
- 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter for topping
- 2.5 tablespoons jam for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- In a large bowl, combine the peanut butter, syrup, egg, baking powder, jam and cacao if using. Mix until no clumps remain.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Portion the cookies into seven using an ice cream scoop then lightly press down with a fork (they do not expand too much).
- Use your thumb to press a small dent into the center of the cookie.
- Bake for 3 minutes, rotate the pan and bake for another six.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet.
- When cooled, divide out the peanut butter topping into the cookies. Then divide the jam and lightly swirl.
Notes
- The cookies won’t seem done when they come out of the oven, this is normal! Let them sit to finish cooking on the baking pan and then transfer them to a cooling rack. Be gentle.
- Store the flourless peanut butter cookies in the fridge in a container. Know that they will firm up a bit on storing.
- Any jam or jelly will work for the gluten-free cookies.
- The nutritional values are calculated without the cacao powder. With the cacao powder, the recipe makes seven cookies.
- Check out my favorite brands and where to buy all these healthy pantry staples here.
Disclaimer:
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data"
Nutrition
Shelby S says
The best ever flavor combo these cookies come out light but dense and absolutely delicious.
Katrina says
They look so cute! I know my kids would go crazy for them. We're a huge PB&J family 🙂
fitasamamabear says
It's the best ever combo 😀
linda spiker says
PB and J is always a winning combo but add chocolate and yowza!
fitasamamabear says
Chocolate makes everything better 😀
Renee D Kohley says
What kid doesn't love PBJ!? My girls will love making these - thanks!
fitasamamabear says
Right?! Best combo every haha - let me know what they think!
Farrah says
I have a plethora of different jams and nut butters--can't wait to try making these! They're such a classic! :]!
fitasamamabear says
We also have an alarmingly amount of jam/nut butter options haha they taste goof with them ALL 😀
Hope says
These look like they would be hard to stop at one! My little boy would love these!
fitasamamabear says
Haha I'm not going to say they're not addictive... 😀
Tessa Simpson says
Loving the flavor combo here...my kiddos would love these!!
fitasamamabear says
Right?! It's a total classic.
Raia Todd says
These are definitely going to be a hit over here. And they sound easy enough that my kids can make them, too!
fitasamamabear says
My toddler helped me! And by helped, I mean ate all my peanut butter 😀