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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!
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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 star rating system in the recipe card and leave a comment with your feedback. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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.
Lucie @WIN-WIN FOOD
Yay for all things almond! And you made these so beautiful Jenn! Amazing job <3 The kiddos must have loved them 🙂
Jenn S.
Thank you, Lucie!! Yes, they did. As did my hubby who finished off the last 10 in one sitting! 🙂
Bethany @ athletic avocado
These cookies are SOOOO cute! I love that the are colored naturally! Also, almond flour is my fav flour to bake with!
Jenn S.
Thanks, Bethany! I haven’t experimented too much with almond flour for other baked goods, but I’ve used it several times now for different cookies and I just love it!
Erin
Food blogging is a dangerous business ? I am glad you were able to salvage enough cookies to photograph! They are beautiful! And the icing is simply gorgeous! xx Pinned!
Jenn S.
Super dangerous! 😉 Thank you, Erin!!
Alisa @ Go Dairy Free
These are absolutely adorable! I can’t believe how beautiful the colors are with such natural ingredients – far prettier than food dye.
Jenn S.
I agree, Alisa! I am in love with the way the colors turned out! Thank you!
The Vegan 8
These are just perfect for Easter Jenn! I love the homemade icings…sooo pretty! I could eat these up super fast!! I made some almond flour cookies today too but I sure would have loved to have some of that icing on them too, LOL!
Jenn S.
Thanks, Brandi! They cookies are delicious even without the icing, but it certainly takes them to the next level!
Sophia @veggies dont bite
I love thumbprint cookies! They are so fun and cute. And I love all your different frostings!
Jenn S.
Thanks girl! They are definitely fun! I was in the city overnight last night, but when I left there were still about 10 cookies left. My husband had yet to try them. I came home about an hour ago and the container was gone. I asked if the cookies were gone and he said yes. Assuming the kids had eaten them I asked him if he got to try any and he said, “Why do you think they’re gone?” LOL! Apparently, he liked them!! 🙂
Aimee / Wallflower Girl's Kitchen
LOVE! They are so cute, Jenn! and love the ingredients you’ve used to make them. Pinned and would love to include in an Easter round-up I’m doing next week, if you don’t mind 🙂
Jenn S.
Thank you so much, Aimee! Yes, would love for you to include them in your roundup! (assuming you are only posting a link and not the full recipe).
Aimee / Wallflower Girl's Kitchen
Of course! Just a thumbnail and link 🙂 Should be live around Thursday. Thanks Jenn, have a lovely weekend 🙂
Jenn S.
Perfect! Let me know when it’s live and I’ll promote too! 🙂
sue|theviewfromgreatisland
These are beautiful! I’ve had such great success with Bob’s gluten free mix 🙂
Jenn S.
That’s good to know Sue! I have some of that as well. Thanks!
Dini @ The Flavor Bender
I LOVE thuumbprint Cookies! I’ve never tried it with Almond flour, and the colour and look of that icing in the middle just looks so beautiful! I love Bob Red’s Mill products too 🙂 Definitely need to try these Thumbprint cookies!
Jenn S.
Thanks, Dini! I still can’t get over the color! So pretty!
Lucy
What beautiful Easter cookies! This would be such a fun baking project with kids. And gluten-free to boot!
Jenn S.
Oh yes, the pretty frosting is the best part for the kids. Mine were mesmerized at how it was turning color right before their eyes! 🙂 Thanks, Lucy!
Valentina
These are absolutely adorable! I love Bob’s Red Mill and my GF son w/ Celiac Disease with love these! 🙂
Jenn S.
Thank you, Valentina! I hope you all love them!
Taylor Thurston
Beautiful pictures! I love Pecan Sandies… now you’ve made them soft and gluten free? Sign me up!
Jenn S.
Thank you, Taylor!
Becky
Oh man. Thumbprint cookies will forever remind me of cooking with my Nani Dorothy as a kid. Yours look amazing!!
Jenn S.
Aw, I love food that can take us back to our childhood and remind me us of simple fun times! Thanks, Becky!
Cadry
So cute! And I love that you used kale, turmeric, and berries for color. I’m sorry to hear about your face plant with the measuring spoon. It’s just one of the many hazards of being a food blogger! 😉
Jenn S.
Food blogging – it’s so dangerous!! 🙂 Thanks, Cadry!
Strength and Sunshine
These are little easter cookies of joy! I LOVE thumbprints, but I’ve never made them myself!!! A shame!!
Jenn S.
Thank you, Rebecca!! The cookies were so easy! And I’m still impressed with myself at how gorgeous the colors of the icing came out!