Vegan Thumbprint cookies are a classic holiday cookie that is easy to make a filled with delicious toppings like jam.
Growing up, many people love making thumbprint cookies. Then vegan thumbprint cookies allow for you to have the same fun traditions even if you don’t consumer eggs or dairy.
They are a classic holiday/Christmas cookie because of how fun and festive they can be and the present super nicely as a gift.
In addition, dairy free thumbprint cookies are a hit among even inexperienced bakers because they don’t require a lot of ingredients and are fairly easy to make.
While most people fill them with jams like grape or strawberry – the filling options are pretty wide open for possibilities.
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What ingredients do you need for vegan thumbprint cookies?
A recipe with minimal ingredients is always a winner in our books!
These dairy free thumbprint cookies need just 8 total ingredients – 7 for the cookies and 1 ingredient for the filling!
- flour
- salt
- vegan sugar
- vegan butter
- dairy free milk
- vanilla extract
- almond extract (optional)
- Strawberry jam (or another filling ingredients)
How do you make vegan thumbprint cookies?
You are going to start by preheating your oven to 350°F (177 °C).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large bowl, add vegan butter and sugar and beat until creamed together (about 2-3 minutes). Scrape down the sides if needed.
Add in milk and both extracts and mix just until combined.
Add in flour and salt and use a spatula to combine.
Scoop out the dough and roll into a ball, about a tablespoon size. Use your thumb or the back of a ¼ measuring teaspoon to make an indent into the cookie.
Place on parchment paper and repeat with remaining dough.
Bake cookies 11-13 minutes or until very lightly golden brown. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes. Then remove to a cooling rack. Fill cookies with jam or other desired topping.
Let cool completely before serving or storing in an air tight container.
What are other filling ideas for vegan thumbprint cookies?
Jam is the most popular filling idea for thumbprint cookies. You can use all one flavor or mix it up. You could use strawberry or grape.
Other ideas would be:
- preserves (like raspberry or apricot)
- peanut butter or other nut butters (almond for example) or even sunbutter
- vegan salted caramel filling
- vegan vanilla frosting or chocolate frosting
You can also drizzle chocolate sauce or powdered sugar.
Can you make these Top 8 Allergen Free thumbprint cookies?
The flour can be replaced with gluten free flour or almond flour. We like King Arthur Gluten Free measure for measure.
The vegan butter may contain soy, so make sure you grab a soy free version. We like Earth Balance soy free butter. It comes in a red tub.
Also you can omit the almond extract altogether and just use all vanilla extract.
Can you prep these vegan thumbprint cookies ahead?
Absolutely!
You can make the cookies and store the cookies in an air tight container for up to 7 days.
What are other vegan cookies I should try?
Once you try these delicious vegan cookies, you will want to try more. These are some of favorites, and we know you will love them too !
- Incredible Vegan Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie
- Easy Vegan Sugar Cookies
- Vegan M&M Cookies
- Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
- Easy Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- Bonus: Try our Vegan Ice Cream sandwiches
Pin this vegan thumbprint cookie recipe for later:
Vegan Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup vegan butter, softened
- ½ cup vegan sugar
- 2 tablespoon dairy free milk (we like oat)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract (only use vanilla if nut allergy)
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup strawberry jam (or other filling options – see post for ideas)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177 °C).
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add vegan butter and sugar and beat until creamed together (about 2-3 minutes). Scrape down the sides if needed.
- Add in milk and both extracts and mix just until combined.
- Add in flour and salt and use a spatula to combine.
- Scoop out the dough and roll into a ball, about a tablespoon size. Use your thumb or the back of a ¼ measuring teaspoon to make an indent into the cookie.
- Place on parchment paper and repeat with remaining dough.
- Bake cookies 11-13 minutes or until very lightly golden brown.
- Remove and let cool for 5 minutes. Then remove to a cooling rack.
- Fill cookies with jam or other desired topping (see post for ideas).
- Let cool completely before serving or storing in an air tight container.
Nutrition
Norma
These are so delicious! The only problem was that they cracked quite a bit when making the imprint (I used a 1/4 tsp. measure, which is genius by the way!!!). My gang will not care and will devour them, lol, but am just wondering if you have some advice. I used Earth Balance and just let it come to room temperature. Thanks so much!!
Susan
Easy to make cookies with a nice crumb and crunch. We fill ours with lemon curd, various flavored jams, and Nutella. This is the second cookie recipe I have used from this site with great success. My husband has a very restrictive diet, so when I can bring something special to him it’s a treat for both of us.
LarishaBernard
I’m so glad you are enjoying the cookie recipes Susan and that you’re able to enjoy the treat with your husband!
Lindsay H
Can you cook the cookie with the jam on them?
LarishaBernard
We don’t recommend
Yiskah
Would be helpful to know how many grams are per ingredient.
LarishaBernard
We hope to add that feature in 2021. Thanks for the feedback
Eve
Amazing cookies! I used raspberry preserves for most of them but I made a few with nutella and a few with cookie butter and they were so good.
LarishaCampbell
so excited to hear you loved our recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review! Have a great day
Vanessa
The perfect recipe! Loved the amount of sweetness, not too little, not too much. Very easy to make and made everyone in my family very happy, thanks for the recipe!
LarishaCampbell
We’re so excited that you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
Josie
Absolutely delicious! Already made them twice & about to make them a third time very soon. 🙂
LarishaCampbell
We are thrilled you loved them! Hope you continue to enjoy them!
Megan
These were very yummy and festive for Christmas! I did half raspberry and half strawberry and I put the jam in before baking. Just personal preference. My kids helped a lot with the thumbprints and the jam so my cookies weren’t as pretty so I sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top to pretty it up a bit.
LarishaCampbell
LOVE IT! Thanks for sharing! We are so happy you got to enjoy this time with your kids making one of our recipes!
Cheryl
These are so easy to make and so delicious! I have baked a batch every day for the last 3 days, everyone loves them! I’m going to give them out for Christmas this year. Thanks so much for posting this recipe!
LarishaBernard
This makes us so happy Cheryl!