Hazelnut Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Buttery vegan hazelnut shortbread cookies, with raspberry jam centers

Hazelnut Jam Thumbprint Cookies: When we were talking about holiday cookies, Char pointed out that we didn't have any jam thumbprint cookies on the site. I said 'Oh NO! But I LOVE thumbprints!'

With a bit of tweaking, our favorite valentine cookies became hazelnut jam thumbprints.

This is a nut shortbread cookie, made with lots of fat, sugar, flour and ground nuts. It should have a dense crumbly shortbread texture when baked, contrasting with the gooey jam filling. Make the cookies small and the thumbprints generous!

Total Prep & Cook Time: 45 Min.

36 cookies, 2 per serving

Nutrition Data Per Serving, 2 cookies, 57g: 229 calories, fat cal 84, 10g fat, 34g carbohydrate, 18g sugars, 93mg sodium, 1g fiber, 3g protein, low cholesterol, good source Manganese. Estimated glycemic load 22

Ingredients:

1 cup toasted hazelnuts (135g), ground (see directions below)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour OR 1 1/4 cups gf all purpose flour (250g)
1 tsp baking powder (6g)
1/4 tsp salt (2g)
1 Tbsp tapioca OR corn starch
2/3 cup Earth Balance or other veggie spread (108g), softened at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar (unbleached cane sugar or coconut sugar)(170g)
1 tsp vanilla extract (5ml)
1/2 cup raspberry jam (120g)

Directions:

Toasted Ground Hazelnuts:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
Place nuts on a cookie sheet and bake for 8 - 10 minutes
Place in a dish towel or napkin, and rub gently to remove loose skins. Don't worry if you don't get all of them off.
Grind nuts in a food processor until they form a coarse meal.

Cookie Dough:

Mix flour, tapioca or cornstarch, baking powder and salt together in a bowl
In a separate bowl, beat soft veggie spread and sugar until light and fluffy, using a spatula or elecric beater
Beat in vanilla extract
Add hazelnut mixture to the liquid ingredients, mixing well. Stir in flour mixture a bit at a time until the mixture forms a soft dough
Form the dough into a ball, then flatten into a 1 inch disk. Wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour until firm
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F
Grease cookie sheets, or line with parchment paper
Form dough into 1 inch balls
Place balls on cookie sheets, 15 to 20 on a sheet
Press your thumb into the center of each ball to flatten the cookie and make a shallow depression
Fill the depression in each cookie with a small spoonful of jam
Bake cookies for 12 - 15 minutes. Cool completely on racks

Recipe Tips:

If you can't get hazelnuts, or don't want to bother roasting and grinding, almond meal will also work in this recipe.

We love parchment paper for lining cookie sheets - no oil needed, no sticking to the pan, even browning, no burning.

We're also partial to raspberry jam but strawberry or apricot jam are just as blissful in thumbprints. The cookies in the picture above look rather homemade (i.e. not perfect), but trust me, they taste divine!