These 8 ingredient Vegan Thumbprint Cookies are so easy to make and require no chill time! They're soft, chewy, and filled with any flavor jam for the best 30-minute vegan cookie recipe.
These vegan jam cookies are one of those recipes that look fancy but are SO easy to make. The trick is to always use a store-bought jam to cut down on time- which also means you can multiple jam cookie flavors with this base recipe.
I used a mix of raspberry jam, wild blueberry jam, and red pepper jelly to make these dairy-free & eggless thumbprint cookies, but truly any flavor tastes great in these vegan Christmas cookies!
Ingredients:
Ingredient notes:
- Jam: Stonewall Kitchen's Wild Blueberry & Raspberry jam are two of my go-to's for this recipe, however, any works! You could even use the homemade apricot jam we make in my Apricot Crumble Bars or fill them with my homemade apple butter!
- P.S.- red pepper jelly is definitely an acquired taste for cookies, so swap it for apricot jam if you're not sure you like it!
How to make thumbprint cookies
Make the vegan cookie dough
This 7-ingredient soft & buttery shortbread dough can be made in one bowl and requires no chill time.
First, cream together butter and sugar. Then, add in the flax egg and vanilla. Finally, mix in the dry ingredients including the flour, baking powder, and salt.
The dough will start off crumbly, but keep mixing until it gets thick and moldable.
Roll in sugar & add to a baking tray
Rolling in sugar is totally optional, but leads to thumbprint cookies that spread less in the oven and have a more crackly exterior- aka it's worth it!
Use a cookie scoop to scoop out 18 cookie dough balls. Then roll them in sugar and add them to a parchment-lined baking tray.
Indent & fill with jam
My favorite vegan thumbprint cookie hack?
Using the end of a cocktail muddler instead of your thumb to indent each cookie. It makes a deeper and more even indent, plus it's less messy!
Then, fill each indent with your preferred jam.
You don't want to overfill with jam- since these are relatively small cookies ½ teaspoon of jam is really enough. Otherwise, they may overflow in the oven.
Bake the thumbprint cookies
Add the jam cookies to the oven and bake for 11-12 minutes. Make sure not to overbake so they stay chewy and buttery.
Then serve these jelly-filled cookies & enjoy!
P.S.- if you skip rolling the cookie dough in sugar you can top them with a sprinkling of powdered sugar instead.
FAQ & Tips:
Can I make thumbprint cookies gluten-free?
Definitely! Just make sure to use a gluten-free 1:1 all-purpose flour mix. Please note that using flour alternatives such as coconut flour or almond flour will NOT work in this recipe.
How do I store jam cookies?
Vegan thumbprint cookies can be stored in the fridge for 24 hours or in the freezer for up to 1 month. I don't recommend storing them for more than a day in the fridge or the centers risk getting soggy from the jam.
As you know- I love cooking straight out of the freezer! However, you can also defrost frozen jam cookies for 30 minutes-1 hour at room temperature before serving too.
I can't wait for you to try these 8-ingredient Vegan Thumbprint Cookies! They make the perfect classic Christmas cookie and even work as a festive cookie to enjoy on New Year's Eve. Enjoy!
-TSG
More vegan cookie recipes you will love:
If you loved this recipe, please leave a 5-star review on the recipe card. I always appreciate your feedback and support! You can also follow along on my Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Pinterest, or sign up for our newsletter!
Vegan Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan butter room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar ( ½ cup for dough, ¼ cup for rolling before baking)
- 1 flax egg 1 Tablespoon (8 grams) ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoon water, left to sit 5 minutes
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 Tablespoons jam any flavor works!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside and make the cookie dough.
- First, add vegan butter and ½ cup of sugar to a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer to cream together until fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
- Next, add the flax egg and vanilla bean paste to the bowl and mix with the butter and sugar.
- Add in the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Then, mix together until a thick dough forms. It will start off crumbly but will become thick and stick together after a few minutes of mixing.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop out 18 evenly-sized cookies. Roll each cookie dough ball between your palms to form a round ball. Then, roll each ball in a bowl with the remaining ¼ cup of sugar that was set aside so that each dough ball is coated in sugar.
- Place the cookie dough balls on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Then, use your thumbs or a cocktail muddler to form a small indent in the center of each cookie.
- Add ½ teaspoon of jam to the center of each cookie. Then, add the tray of cookies to the oven and bake for 11-12 minutes.
- Remove the tray of cookies from the oven and let them cool for about 5 minutes. Then, move to a wire rack to continue cooling. Once the cookies are cooled and the jam has set, serve & enjoy!
grace lauren says
these turned out so good!!! definitely making them again--thanks for the great recipe!! followed as written and filled with apricot preserves. I made them *extra* small for cuteness lol so i wound up with twice as many cookies. baked them for ~9 min and turned out perfect!
i've always struggled with baking but your recipes are really accessible and i can actually kinda bake a few things now?? I definitely appreciate the background and advice you include at the top 🙂
Megan says
You are so welcome! I'm SO glad you are finding the recipes easy to follow and extra info helpful too 🙂
Zeal says
These were great! I followed as recipe said. However, I did not want my cookies covered/coated in sugar, so I skipped that bit. Maybe next time I will just add little more sugar into the mix because my cookies were slightly less sweet than I like! A great recipe overall 🙂
Jess says
Another amazing cookie! Followed the recipe to the letter, and added 1/8 tsp of almond extract for that special something. Used raspberry preserves and orange marmalade. Perfect texture, perfect sweetness. Thank you for sharing!
Megan says
Love the filling ideas- so glad you enjoyed them 🙂