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These Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies with pretty, naturally dyed, pastel icing are perfect for Easter or anytime you want to get festive. Easy to make and kid approved!
Aren’t these Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies adorable?! I can’t stop staring at them.
I also can’t stop shoving them in my mouth. Luckily, my kids are shoving them in just as fast so I won’t eat the whole batch myself.
The cookies themselves are soft and delicate, like pecan sandies, and super easy to make.
Ingredient notes
The base for these gluten free thumbprint cookies only needs 6 ingredients and none of them are gluten, oil, butter, dairy, eggs or refined sugar.
The main ingredient is almond flour, which is made from whole, blanched sweet almonds.
Almonds are healthy nuts providing a good amount of manganese and vitamin E, as well as a healthy serving of monounsaturated fats. Not only do almonds have a healthy boost of protein, they are also very low in carbohydrates and gluten free.
If you stopped right there, you’d have a totally acceptable, yummy cookie perfect for a treat any day of the year.
But, I didn’t stop there. I decided to top them with some pretty pastel icing. Some natural, whole food, dyed icing that is!
The inspiration for these gluten free thumbprint cookies came from Trefzger’s Bakery in my hometown of Peoria, IL. They sell the most amazing pastel colored thumbprint cookies.
Their cookie base is not your regular shortbread, they are more like soft pecan sandies. They sell these all year round and I can remember them being at a lot of family celebrations. But, I always felt like they were Easter cookies because of the spring time colors.
While I’m sure my ingredient list looks drastically different than theirs, I managed to create a soft, delicate cookie with a slight chew…and yes, containing pecans, too, just like the bakery cookie.
I used raspberries, kale, peaches and turmeric to create the beautiful pastel colors for the icing.
Can you taste it? Yes, very slightly.
Personally, I don’t like super sweet icing, so I really loved the subtle background flavors of the kale and turmeric…though I doubt you would be able to pinpoint what it was if you didn’t know.
These flavors did mellow some on day two and were barely noticeable. The raspberry flavor remained a little more pronounced, but who doesn’t like sweet berry icing?
The kids gave a big thumbs up to all three flavors.
If you’re worried about the kale or turmeric flavors coming through, start with as little as possible until you get the color you desire.
Or you can play around with other fruits/veggies/herbs/spices. Have fun with your food!
More vegan Easter desserts
- Lemon Crinkle Cookies
- Vegan Lime Bars
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Coconut Clementine Mini Loaf Cakes
- Dairy Free Cinnamon Truffles
- Chocolate Cherry Walnut Truffles
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you tried it, please use the rating system in the recipe card and leave a comment below with your feedback.
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For even more easy family recipes, be sure to check out my cookbook, The Meatless Monday Family Cookbook!
Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie Base
- 2 ½ cups almond flour
- ¼ cup finely diced raw pecans I pulsed whole pecans in my food processor several times
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup creamy raw almond butter
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
Pink Icing
- ½ cup organic powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon raspberry juice
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened, plain non-dairy milk
Green Icing
- ½ cup organic powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ – ½ teaspoon kale juice
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened, plain non-dairy milk
Yellow Icing
- ½ cup organic powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons peach purée
- ¼ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric optional
Instructions
For the cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, finely diced pecans, salt and baking powder and set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the almond butter and maple syrup until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir thoroughly to combine.
- Taking about 1 tablespoon of dough at a time, press it into a ball shape (rolling it might cause it to fall apart) and place on the baking sheet. Using two fingers, gently press down on the dough to flatten it out a bit. Then with your thumb or the back of a ¼ teaspoon measuring spoon (its the perfect size), press down in the center to make a small indentation. Repeat with all the remaining dough.
- Bake 6 to 8 minutes, until they edges start to turn brown. They will still be delicate when they come out, but they will continue to firm up as they cool. If the indentations rose up a bit, you can gently press them back down with your thumb or the measuring spoon (I recommend the measuring spoon at this point since the cookies will be hot and I don't want you to burn your thumb!)
- Let cool on the baking sheet for 1 to 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to continue cooling completely.
- Once cool, fill the indentations with the icing of your choice.
Pink Icing
- Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until smooth.
- Add more non-dairy milk if you want it thinner, add more powdered sugar if you want it thicker.
- Tip: For the raspberry juice, I defrosted about ½ cup of frozen raspberries. Once thawed, I placed them in a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and with the back of a wooden spoon pressed the raspberries down in the strainer so the juice seeped through.
Green Icing
- Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Start w/ ¼ teaspoon of kale juice (you can start with even less if you are worried about the flavor…and add more if you want it darker.
- Add more non-dairy milk if you want it thinner, add more powdered sugar if you want it thicker.
- Tip: I juiced 3-4 leaves of kale in a juicer. Store bought green juice should work as well.
Yellow Icing
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl until smooth. The turmeric is optional, but leaving it out will create a light peach color as opposed to light yellow.
- Add more non-dairy milk if you want it thinner, add more powdered sugar if you want it thicker.
- Tip: I defrosted some frozen peaches and pureed them in my blender.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition values are calculated using online calculators and are estimates only. Please verify using your own data.
Jodessa says
love the simplicity if this recipe! Just wanted to confirm that it is baking powder that is used (as listed in ingredient list) as in the directions you list baking soda… thanks so much for sharing your recipes!
Jenn S. says
Yes, baking powder. Thanks for catching that…I’ll change it now!
Sarah says
These are just so darn pretty! I am captivated every time I see them! I might need to try your filling with my regular dot cookie (because we can’t do nuts) because I can’t get over how cute they are!
Jenn S. says
Oh, thanks, Sarah! It’s time consuming with all the different colors, but totally super easy! If you stick to one color, it’s really a breeze!
Brenda says
I don’t know what I did wrong but my cookie “dough” was just powdery and they wouldn’t hold together if I tried to make the depression in them. Even when I tried to pick one up to eat it, it just fell apart. Help!
Jenn S. says
Oh no! I’m so sorry, Brenda. I’m just seeing this now. You likely just need to add a little more liquid. It could just be the difference in brands used. I use Trader Joe’s Raw Almond Butter, which when stirred well, is still quite runny. Some brands are a little thicker which could make a difference. Even a tsp or two of water could be used to get it to a consistency that holds together.
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day says
These are the prettiest cookies! I love how you used fruits and vegetables for the colors.
Jenn S. says
Thank you, Amy! Pastels are so pretty in the spring!
Dianne says
These are so cute, and I love that you used natural foods as food coloring!
Jenn S. says
Thanks, Dianne! I’m in love with the pretty colors!
Mary Ellen | VNutrition says
These are so beautiful! Perfect for easter and they look so delicious. I LOVE how you didn’t use artificial dyes for the cookies. 🙂
Jenn S. says
Thank you, Mary Ellen! I was really happy with the colors! Better than I imagined actually.
Sina @ Vegan Heaven says
Oh these look so cute, Jenn!! 🙂 My grandma used to make these for my brother and me when we were little. Yummy! What a great idea to use almond flour.
Jenn S. says
I love a recipe that evokes memories of childhood! Thanks, Sina!
Sus // roughmeasures.com says
How cute are these? I’m loving the natural, pastel colours here! That almond meal sounds delicious.
Jenn S. says
Thanks, Sus! The almond meal works perfectly in these!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
How gorgeous are they! I wish I could reach in a grab one or two, oh ok maybe three. Stumbled, pinned and yummed
Jenn S. says
Thank you, Jac!! You would definitely need a few! 🙂
Linda @ Veganosity says
Okay, I’m loving the vibrant colors that natural juices gave the frosting. These are so perfect for spring, Jenn!
Jenn S. says
Thank you, Linda! I still can’t get over how gorgeous they turned out!
choclette says
Love, love, love that you used kale to colour your icing. I only use natural colours too and would have gone with matcha for green, but I love this idea. Your cookies sound super delicious and they look so pretty. So sorry to hear about the fall – I hate it so much when mishaps like that happen.
Jenn S. says
Thanks, Choclette!! I have only had matcha once and I LOVED it, but I have yet to use it in cooking. I need to get on that!! Thanks for the idea!