Paleo Thumbprint Cookies With Jam

Paleo Thumbprint Cookies with Jam are a healthy twist on this classic cookie. Made with minimal ingredients, no refined sugar, are gluten-free and dairy-free, your whole family is sure to love them.

These paleo thumbprint cookies with jam completely shocked me in the best way possible. When I first went to make them, I was expecting them to turn out dry or too crumbly, with a taste that didn’t really remind me of shortbread cookies.

A Healthier Version of A Childhood Favorite

I almost couldn’t believe when I bit into them and was THRILLED that they literally tasted like my grandmother’s famous shortbread cookies. Except they are made with really nutritious ingredients.

Plus, if you’ve been following me on Instagram, I’ve been obsessed with making my blog’s homemade chia jam lately. There is something about making your own homemade jam that just makes you feel like a badass. And it is super easy – double win!

How to Make Paleo Thumbprint Cookies

To make a healthier version of my favorite cookies as a kid, I made a few ingredients swaps. I took out the refined sugars and used only whole ingredients.

Ingredients

These are the ingredients I used. They all made the cookies taste just like my grandma’s! I am so excited!

• Almond Flour
• Salt
• Baking Soda
• Coconut Oil
• Honey
• Vanilla

Coconut Oil Paleo Substitute

I didn’t think that the cookies tasted like coconut oil. But if you want something with an even milder flavor, you can use avocado oil.

Use the same amount of avocado oil as you would of coconut oil. It’s an easy 1:1 substitute.

You can also use grass-fed butter. I prefer not to use dairy products, but real butter will add an amazing flavor to the cookies.

When To Add the Thumbprint to the Cookies

I like to add the classic thumbprint right after I roll the dough into balls and put them on the cookie sheet.

You can literally push down in the middle of the cookie dough balls with your thumb and create a little indentation.

Sometimes the cookies will puff up during the baking process. If this happens, take them out after about 10 minutes and push down in the middle again.

Thumbprint Cookies with Homemade Chia Jam

I recently posted my recipe for homemade chia jam, and I cannot tell you the number of times I have made it over the past few years. It has become a staple in my fridge – I mix it into oatmeal, eat it on toast, and even put it in the center of cookies!

With both the cookies and the jam, there is only eight total ingredients. Both of them also only take a few minutes to whip up, so you can make these right when you realize you were supposed to bring a dessert to your dinner party!

Make Peanut Butter and Jam Cookies

One of my favorite ways to make these cookies a little different is to make PB&J sandwiches out of them.

I prefer almond butter over peanut butter, so I spread some almond butter on the bottom of the cookies, then sandwiched them together with the jam on the top/outside.

These are such a scrumptious and kind of addicting little snack. It feels so good to eat a few when you know they are made with whole ingredients.

Freezing Tip

Lots of people like to make cookies ahead of time and store them in the freezer. I prefer to store the raw dough in the freezer and then bake fresh cookies.

But you can also store the baked cookies in the freezer too. Just freeze them before you put the jam on top. Then, after they thaw out, you can add the jam.

Freezing them with the jam on top doesn’t work very well.

These paleo thumbprint cookies with jam are gluten-free, can be made vegan if you use all maple syrup, and are dairy-free. All of the ingredients can most likely be found in your pantry if you’re into paleo baking.

Enjoy!

After making these, if you still have a paleo sweet tooth my Paleo Chai Spiced Cookies would be perfect to bake!