Dairy-Free Almond Thumb-Print Cookies

You are only 5 ingredients away from almond heaven!

Truth in Advertising -- six if you count the salt.

Despite the name, these easy to make-and-bake Almond thumb-Print cookies gently rock with mild touch of almond flavor.   Egg-free, dairy-free and even gluten-free, this is one cookie you can share with almost anyone.

For those whose cookies usually resembles rocks as the result of overworking the dough, there is no gluten in almond flour, so no tender touch required.  Perfect for when your "little helpers" want to play bakery.

No special equipment needed.  When scooping out the dough, overfill each spoonful somewhat to get the perfect amount. 

Do not use tub margarine, and be sure to use almond flour (which made of almonds ground so finely it resembles flour).  Or else the cookies will instead become rocks. 


Dairy-Free Almond Thumbprint Cookies
Very lightly adapted from: King Arthur Flour
Yield: 15 cookies
Note:  store baked cookies in a sealed container up to 2 days at room temperature, or up to a month in the freezer.

1 cup almond flour
3 Tbl. stick margarine
3 Tbl. confectioners' (powdered) sugar
1/8 tsp. table salt
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3-4 Tbl. strawberry or your favorite jam or jelly

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Use a serving fork (or a couple table knives) to cut and blend all of the ingredients except the jam in a small mixing bowl until the dough comes together.

Using a round measuring teaspoon, scoop 1-inch balls of dough onto prepared baking sheet about  2-inches apart.

Other hand was busy holding the camera.

 With the (preferably clean) thumb of one hand, press an indentation into the center of each ball of dough, using the other hand to gently cup the dough in an effort to prevent it from splitting and crumbling.

Labels are almost always upside-down for lefties.

Fill indentation with about 1/4 teaspoon jam.   Less is better than more; too much jam will try to escape from the cookie during bake time.

Note the attempted escape of the jam top center.

Bake cookies for 8 to 11 minutes or until the tops start to turn light golden brown.

Remove the cookie pan from the oven.  Immediately place pan, with cookies still on it, on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.

Slide cookies, still on the parchment, onto the same rack.  Cool completely before removing from parchment.

Cookies are smaller than they appear ...
this is a demi-tasse set.

Enjoy with tea or coffee.