These gluten free thumbprint cookies are made with walnuts and filled with dark chocolate for a delicious treat! They’re fabulously crisp, fun and decadent and made with wholesome plant-based ingredients like ground walnuts, tahini, ground flax and maple syrup….an easy and healthy cookie recipe that everyone will adore.
Everyone’s favorite holiday cookie got a makeover and it’s refined sugar free, dairy-free, oil-free…and also will steal the show for great taste! Honestly, this beauty is the best cookie to make for a cookie swap…everyone will be asking for the recipe!
These crunchy thumbprint cookies are easy to make and filled with dark chocolate for a rich and satisfying delicious, gluten-free and vegan cookie. It’s a richer, more decadent thumbprint cookie compared to my almond flour thumbprint cookies filled with jam.
Ingredient Notes
- Walnuts: if you don’t have a food processor to turn the walnuts into a flour consistency, use almonds…you can find almond flour in most grocery stores already ground.
- Tahini: make sure to stir the jar really well when you first open it for a drippy, consistent consistency. You want to avoid portions that are either too oily, or too dry.
- Arrowroot powder: this is an important ingredient to keep cookies from spreading too much. If you don’t have any, substitute with cornstarch.
- Ground flax helps hold cookies together!
How to make them
Place walnuts or walnut halves, or pieces into the bowl of a food processor.
Use a combination of “on” and “pulse” to grind the walnuts into crumbles without turning them into a nut butter paste.
Add ground nuts, arrowroot powder, ground flax, baking powder and salt into a medium sized bowl.
Mix well, until all arrowroot is evenly dispersed.
Meanwhile, stir the tahini and maple syrup together in a small dish or pyrex measuring cup and add to the walnut mixture.
Stir well, combining wet ingredients with the dry ingredients until uniform in texture.
Use two spoons to “drop” cookie dough batter onto a large rimmed baking sheet lined with unbleached parchment.
Use the back of a small spoon (or use your thumb) to make a small indent into the center of all the cookies. Pop tray into freezer for a few minutes while you melt the chocolate.
Heat the chocolate chips over super low heat (or use the microwave) until just barely melted. Stir really well.
Use the same tiny spoon to distribute chocolate into the indents in the cookies.
Bake in preheated 375 oven for 12 minutes.
Transfer baked cookies to a wire rack to cool. Allow cookies to cool COMPLETELY before storing in an airtight container.
When cooled completely and stored properly, cookies will stay crisp and delicious for 5 days at room temperature, 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer.
Debra’s Pro Tips
- Save money: walnut pieces are cheaper to buy than whole walnuts. You’re going to grind them into tiny pieces anyway, so buy the less expensive walnut pieces.
- The longer you’re able to allow the cookie dough to chill before filling, the less the cookies will spread when you bake them.
- I like the thinner, crispy cookies (so I just pop them in the freezer for a couple minutes), but if you prefer a bit thicker and chewy thumbprint cookie, then let the indented cookies chill for a minimum of 30 minutes before filling with chocolate and baking.
- Walnut thumbprint cookies filled with chocolate are the perfect gluten-free and vegan choice for that cookie exchange party!
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📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies with Walnuts and Chocolate
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup walnuts
- ¼ cup ground flax
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup tahini
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 and line large rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
- Place walnuts into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the "S" blade. Process until crumbly, but not sticky. Use the pulse function if needed to not overprocess. The consistency should be close to a coarse flour.
- Pour walnut flour into a medium sized bowl and add the ground flax, arrowroot, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
- In a small bowl or a liquid measuring cup, stir together the tahini and maple syrup.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the walnut mixture of dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Use a spoon to scoop out about a tablespoon of cookie batter, and then use another spoon to push that onto the prepared baking sheet. Continue until you have 24 small mounds of cookie dough.
- Use the back of a ¼ teaspoon measure to indent a small "thumbprint" like circular cut out into the center of each cookie. Pop the tray into the freezer while you prep the chocolate.
- Melt the chocolate. You can microwave for 20 second intervals, stirring in between until it's just melted. OR, use the stovetop and set a small pan over some boiling water. Either way, be sure to melt the chocolate slowly, careful not to let it burn.
- Take cookies from freezer and then use that ¼ teaspoon measure to scoop melted chocolate into each of the cookies indentation.
- Bake for 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. Store cookies at room temperature for 5 days, in the fridge for 2 weeks or freeze for 3 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
Sandy
These look great but I haven’t made cookies before and am a bit confused re the stated 24 serves and 18 mounds if dough…..did you make them larger?
Debra Klein
Thank you for catching that typo. This recipe will make 2 dozen cookies. You CAN divide the dough into 18 portions…it will yield larger cookies.
Sandy
Thanks for such a prompt reply. I have to watch the carbs because of diabetes, so will probably opt for the smaller ones. Was the nutritional information for the 24 or18 please?
Debra Klein
The nutritional information is based on making 24 cookies.
Sandy
Many thanks for your confirmation…was hoping it was the smaller number but am planning to use Yacon syrup or zero cal sweetener to save. Many thanks for all your great recipes.