With a soft, light, texture and topped with a healthy, 5-minute chocolate frosting to make the perfect dessert. With a base of almond and coconut flour, the cookies are sweet and delicate but also deliciously indulgent.
The perfect choice for a formal gathering, holiday potluck, or random Saturday afternoon. These dairy-free thumbprint cookies give you the best of both worlds: healthy, whole-food ingredients and indulgence (like many of my other dairy-free desserts).
As a Certified Nutrition Coach, I use these almond flour thumbprint cookies for gatherings in which my family won't appreciate a true protein dessert (like protein brownies). They're sweetened with just honey which makes them a great choice for little kids so they're not too hopped up on sugar too.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Easy to make: There's no fancy kitchen skills required to make these thumbprint cookies and they whip up in about 30 minutes (even with cooling time).
Healthy: The cookies are naturally dairy-free, gluten-free, and paleo-approved. Plus, they're sweetened with just honey.
Versatile: Top the coconut thumbprint cookies with the healthy chocolate frosting, your favorite chia jam, or a dairy-free buttercream. The flavor is easy to adjust.
Ingredients You'll Need
No gluten-free baking flour or vegan butter here! These dairy-free thumbprint cookies are as minimal as it gets.. and thus, easy to make!
Almond flour: Though you can use almond meal it won't make the thumbprint cookies look as pretty. Learn the difference between almond flour and ground almonds.
Shredded coconut: This is what sweetens the base of the thumbprint cookies. I opt for unsweetened but if you have a sweeter palate, go sweetened!
Egg: To help bind the cookies (and no, eggs are not a dairy product).
Coconut flour: This gives the cookies some "bulk" while still keeping them light, essentially giving all the feeling of carbs without the actual carbs. Learn more about coconut flour vs. almond flour.
Honey: Helps the cookies hold together and gives a hint of sweet flavor.
Avocado oil: For these cookies you don't want to use coconut oil as it will change the texture slightly once the cookies cool.
Baking powder: You only need a hint of it as you don't want the cookies to rise too much.
Almond milk: Any non-dairy milk will work. We use homemade hemp milk the most as that's what we have on hand.
Chocolate frosting: my chocolate dairy-free frosting is whipped up in just five minutes, light, silky, and perfect to top these gluten-free cookies with (and to lick off a spoon haha).
How To Make Dairy-Free Thumbprint Cookies
- Combine the dry ingredients to a bowl and add in the wet ones one by one.
- Mix until combined and sticky.
- Use a trigger ice cream scoop to portion the cookies on a silicone cookie sheet on a baking pan.
- Press your thumb or a teaspoon into each cookie and manually shape them as needed.
- Bake and let cool fully before adding the thumbprint frosting.
Important Teaching Tips
The cookies are very delicate coming out of the oven so don't move them. Let them cool fully on the cookie tray first.
Likewise, use a silicone cookie mat on top of a baking tray to remove the cookies. You'll still probably need a silicone spatula to move them.
Make the dairy-free chocolate frosting as needed, it doesn't store well.
Adjust the baking time based on how big you make the cookies. You want them to be just turning golden when you remove them from the oven, they'll firm up more while cooling.
Do not frost the cookies until cooled or your frosting will melt.
How To Store Them
If the cookies are frosted, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days. Let them come to room temperature before enjoying them. The frosting will thicken up when chilled a bit.
You can store unfrosted cookies once cooled on the counter in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Any longer and you should pop them them in the fridge.
Flavor Variations
Below are a few ways to vary the flavor of the dairy-free thumbprint cookies as per your preference.
Frosting: If you don't want a chocolate frosting, try using your favorite jam, dairy-free cream cheese frosting, or dairy-free caramel sauce.
Chocolate: Want a rich chocolate base? Add a tablespoon of cacao powder to the mix.
Extracts: Change the flavor of the thumbprint cookies by adding in almond extract, lemon extract, or even peppermint.
Toppings: Get festive and sprinkle on some crushed candy canes, sprinkles, or Halloween eyes to the chocolate topping.
Frequently Asked Questions
Because there is no flour in the recipe these cookies don't need any resting time. However, this also means that they're delicate coming out of the oven as the base is mostly coconut. Let them cool completely.
Not a problem! You can actually make the thumbprint before or after the cookies are cooked. Because the cookies come out hot though, I'd recommend using a spoon to press into the cookies and not your finger.
Though you can freeze typical thumbprint cookies with flour, I don't think these gluten-free ones will work. The coconut that holds them will become a bit moist on thawing and the texture will be too mushy.
More Gluten-Free Dessert Recipes
- Dairy-free cream cheese frosting
- Paleo chocolate chip cookies
- Protein truffles
- Vanilla protein ice cream
- Dairy-free S'mores cups
- Candy cane fudge
- The BEST dairy-free brownies
- White chocolate fudge
- Peppermint patty bars
- Fudgy protein brownies
- Chocolate frosted cashew cookies
- Healthy chocolate pudding
- Peanut butter thumbprint cookies
- High protein snack ideas
- Healthy dessert recipes
Dairy-Free Thumbprint Cookies
Video
Equipment
- Silicone baking mat
Ingredients
- 1 cup Almond flour
- ½ cup Shredded coconut
- 1 Egg
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ⅛ cup Coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- 2 tablespoons Honey
- 1 tablespoon Avocado oil
- 2 tablespoons Almond milk
- 1 batch Dairy-free chocolate frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small bowl combine all the dry ingredients.
- One by one, add in the wet ingredients except the almond milk and mix well.
- When everything is sticky and clumpy, add in the almond milk. Mix until there is one big sticky mess.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone cookie sheet.
- Use a trigger ice cream scoop to portion the cookies onto the baking sheet. Then, use a fork to press them down. They don’t expand much so make sure they’re in the shape you need them.
- Ever so lightly, press your thumb into the center of each cookie.
- Bake in the oven for 8 minutes, rotate the baking sheet, and bake another 4-6 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
- While cooling, whisk together the frosting.
- Using a spoon and spatula, top each cookie with the frosting.
Notes
- The nutrition information does not include the chocolate frosting.
- The cookies are very delicate coming out of the oven so don't move them. Let them cool fully on the cookie tray first. Likewise, use a silicone cookie mat on top of a baking tray to remove the cookies. You'll still probably need a silicone spatula to move them. Make the dairy-free chocolate frosting as needed, it doesn't store well. Adjust the baking time based on how big you make the cookies. You want them to be just turning golden when you remove them from the oven, they'll firm up more while cooling. Do not frost the cookies until cooled or your frosting will melt.
- Store the gluten-free thumbprint cookies in the fridge and serve them at room temperature.
Disclaimer:
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data"
Shelby S says
These are so light and the chocolatee frosting so sweet they're perfect!