I first tasted Vegan Thumbprints at a Zen Buddhist monastery deep in the California wilderness. Because the location was so remote, homemade cookies were one of our few treats, so needless to say, we were verrrry attached (ahem) to the kitchen's cookie offerings. I'm boldly revealing my not-very-blissful ignorance when I admit to sighing in disappointment when I first saw these vegan cookies on the menu. But one bite was all it took for my ignorance to drop away like a veil. (Ha!) These cookies are that amazing! Read on for the recipe.
Nutty, oat-y, sweet with maple syrup and a touch of jam, these thumbprints will please vegan and non-vegan palates alike. They're a hearty tasting cookie — I personally feel that two or three with a cup of strong hot tea is a wonderful way to start your day. They're quick to mix up, easy to form and fill, and will disappear off of your cookie plate in a twinkle.
Since my Vegan Thumbprint Awakening so many years ago, I have learned not to scoff at vegan baked goods and my life is the better for it. I hope these cookies do the trick for you, too.
2 cups whole almonds
4 cups quick-cooking oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour, divided
1 cup canola oil
1 cup maple syrup
Assorted jams of your choice (see note)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat.
In a food processor, pulse the almonds until they are chopped into smallish pieces. It's OK if you have a variety of sizes, just don't grind them to almond flour. I tend to leave them chunkier than most people because I like to bite into a decent piece of almond when eating these cookies. But you can grind them pretty fine, too. Dump the almonds into a large bowl.
Using the same food processor bowl, grind the oats with the salt into a fine meal and add to the almonds. Again, I like to leave a little texture in the oats. Add 1 1/4 cup of flour, reserving the remaining 1/4 cup.
Measure and pour the canola oil into the bowl, followed by the maple syrup. (Doing it in this order, and using the same measuring cup, means that all the maple syrup will glide out effortlessly. Cool!)
Mix with a wooden spoon until combined. If the dough seem runny, add the additional flour but don't worry if it is too soft, as it will stiffen up a bit as it sits. I usually let it sit for about 15 minutes.
Form into rough balls about the size of a whole walnut. The dough will be slightly wet but surprisingly not too sticky. You may want to use one of those cookie-sized ice-cream scoops if you have one (I don't). The cookies can be fairly close together as they don't spread much.
Using the back of a round quarter-teaspoon measuring spoon, make an indentation in the top of each cookie. Wipe the spoon clean and use it to fill the indentation with your jam of choice.
Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the cookies begin to brown slightly. Remove from oven and let cool for about 15 minutes before moving to a rack to cool further (they're a bit fragile when they first come out of the oven).
Notes:
• I like to use a variety of jams for taste and color on my cookie plate. My favorites are red raspberry, apricot, and quince.
• If you want to avoid sugar completely, you can dot the cookies with an almond, or a sliver of dried fruit like dried apricot or a few raisins before baking.
• I have heard of using whole wheat pastry flour instead of the regular unbleached white flour but I have yet to try it. I imagine it would be pretty good, adding to the nutty taste and hearty texture.
• The unbaked dough keeps very well in the refrigerator for about two days if kept well-covered.
• These Thumbprints are a ubiquitous vegan treat and I'm sure there are many variations out there worth exploring. Have you ever added coconut, or used pecans or hazelnuts? Tell us in the comments!
Related: Leaving Cookies for Santa
(Images: Dana Velden)









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Comments (28)
Yum. These look and sound delicious. I'm printing this so I can give them a try.
Those do look good, and even better the ingredients list is short and sweet! I was worried that there'd be something awkward to find on it (which I find is sometimes the case with veg*n foods).
These look great. I need some treats for a lactose-intolerant one whose stomach doesn't do well with all the butter-heavy stuff. Best of all, these look FAST.
These cookies look delicious and are very similar to a recipe I tried earlier this Fall. I made a couple variations including: drizzled peanut butter and chocolate chips in separate batches. http://natsknack.blogspot.com/2010/11/berry-stella-cookies.html
I like adding vanilla, lemon zest and ginger when using pear preserves. Also, adding coconut and cocoa powder to the base dough is fantastic with raspberry jam!
could you use the slow cook variety of oats?
I just made these on a whim using walnuts. I used blueberry jam and gooseberry jam from my local farmer's market and they're looking pretty delicious! I'm bringing half of them to work tomorrow and giving away the other half as gifts.
I forgot to mention that I only had 2 cups of oats so I subbed 2 cups of whole wheat flour and then added the 1 1/4 cup AP flour that the recipe calls for and they still worked out just fine.
These look great. 1C oil sounds like a lot of fat, but most recipes call for a similar amount of butter. And mamipdx, I would definitely use slow cooking oats!
I use coconut oil, rice flour (only 1 cup) and the thicker oats. They are a hit whenever I make them.
Yum! Totally making these though I'm going to cut out some of the oil with applesauce and see how they taste.
we just made these with whole wheat flour and slow cook oats. i added flax seed and vanilla. they are so nutty and toasty, and a sweet alternative to sticky, gooey cookies. good stuff!
Can this recipe be cut in half? would you then use only 1/2 the maple syrup & oil? What about the flour?
thanks
Hi Everyone!
As your comments prove, this is indeed a versatile recipe.
modified_tubestock: This recipe is easily halved and yes, you can just use 1/2 of everything.
lola_beans: please tell us how the applesauce experiment went!
I attempted this with whole wheat pastry flour and coconut oil instead of canola oil, which resulted in rock hard cookies--oops! Fortunately, I saved half the dough and just plopped about a 1/4 cup of dough into my mini cast iron skillet with a few tablespoons of almond milk and a handful of frozen raspberries. I threw it in the oven at 350, jumped in the shower to wash off the yoga sweat and 15 minutes later had a the most comforting porridge-y breakfast - perfect for this rainy December day! (Let's just pretend that I'm not technically eating cookie dough for breakfast.)
Thanks for all the vegan recipes lately! I used a combo of both canola oil and unsweetened applesauce (3/1 ratio). The cookies were moist and flavorful. Thanks again!
These are a little addictive. I made them yesterday and they were easy-peasy. My dough didn't need that additional 1/4 cup of flour as it held together just fine without it. I used a variety of jams: ligonberry, apricot, mixed berry and strawberry. I had at least 3 (maybe 4) out of the oven and had to go brush my teeth to prevent me from eating more. Delicious recipe; I'll be making these again.
OK, I finally got around to making these. I used 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce and 1/2 c. oil in place of the 1 c. oil. They turned out great! I would up the salt 1/4 t. next time. I also would probably only use 3/4 c. maple syrup.
Some possible variations:
adding some cinnamon and some apple jelly or even just chunks of cooked apple and cinnamon.
These are tasty and pretty simple!
Hey!! I made these for a vegan friend's bday. They were a HIT!! Thanks for the recipe.
http://www.shutterbean.com/vegan-thumbrpint-cookies/
I have a similar recipe, they are a staple in our household, great for breakfast or healthy snack. I prefer using coconut oil instead of canola, less refined and adds a butter like richness, even the NYT is signing it's praises: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/dining/02Appe.html?scp=1&sq=coconut%20oil&st=cse
And I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour + 1/4 tps Xantham Gum for a gluten-free version.
I'm going to try these immediately! I made a similar version for my blog, but it used walnuts instead of almonds and about half the amount of oil. Either way, YUM.
I made the vegan thumbprints ~ So good!!!
Staceyann Dolenti
Why no actual credit for the monastery (Tassajara) or their wonderful series of cookbooks?
I have the three separate books, but there is a new edition that compiles them into one: http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-1-59030-672-7.cfm
Wonderful books. The Tassajara Cooking Book has an excellent section on knife skills, and some sweet poetry about zen in the kitchen
i have no chance to get maple syrup, could i use sugar or honey? Thanks
I made these last year with white whole wheat flour and Trader Joe's almond meal -- a must for baking... they turned out just great.
Just made these and they were so simple and delicious! I didn't use the extra 1/4 cup flour, and they were perfect. A great holiday cookie for a mixed diet family!
Great with the raspberry rhubarb preserves I found at World Market...
I have a very similar recipe and have used coconut flour instead of all purpose with great success!
How much cocoa powder would you add?