The Princess prefers cookies in her lunchbox above any other baked good. I have no idea why, but suspect it has something to do with their portability. It is much easier to wave a cookie around than a piece of cake whilst having a chat with your girlfriends.
Of the many versions of thumbprint cookies I have made over the years, these are by far my favourite. With so many gluten free flour blends available these days, it would be easy to just use one of these in my baking. However, I am always up for a challenge, and have used wholegrain sorghum and teff flours instead. The flours, which are readily available in most supermarkets, bring additional flavour to the cookies and contrast well with the sticky jammy centre.
I like to use a full-flavoured jam, such as strawberry or plum, to fill the cookies. Any jam will work well here, so simply use your favourite. Although the cookies can be filled either before or after baking, my preference is to fill them just before I slide the tray into the oven. This allows the jam to soak into the cookie dough as it bakes, and as the jam caramelises in the heat it forms a glorious chewy centre - my favourite part.
These gluten free thumbprint cookies are slightly crumblier than their gluten laden cousins, so don't take a leaf out of The Princess's book and eat them in the middle of the kitchen, leaving a trail of crumbs behind you. They will keep for up to a week in an airtight container, although will soften slightly. Whilst they are still quite delicious when soft, you can crisp them back up with just a few minutes in the oven.
And in case you were wondering, yes they do freeze well. The Princess appears to have this theory that all baked goods become slightly poisonous over time, which normally results in Mr Grumpy having to finish the remnants in the cookie jar. Not that he's complaining. I now bake only half a batch of cookies, and freeze the rest. Less chance of them becoming poisonous that way.
Glorious jammy #glutenfree Thumbprint #Cookies are perfect for afternoon tea. Click To Tweet
Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies
Author: Tania @ The Cook's Pyjamas
- 150g (1½ cups) walnuts
- 60g (1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon) rapadura sugar
- 60g (1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon) teff flour
- 140g (1 cup) sorghum flour
- Pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 180g (6.4 oz) softened butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Approximately ⅓ cup jam
- 2 Tablespoons sorghum flour, extra
- Pre-heat the oven to 175C (155C fan forced)
- Line a baking sheet with baking paper and set aside.
- Place the walnuts, flours, sugar, salt and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor.
- Blitz until the nuts are broken into small pieces.
- Add the butter and vanilla to the food processor.
- Process until the mixture forms a dough. Take care not to over-process the dough.
- Take tablespoons of the dough, rolling each spoonful into a ball.
- Place the balls on the lined baking tray, leaving space between the cookies for spreading.
- Now you need to make an indent in the centre of the cookie. I use the end of a wooden spoon handle, which I dip into the flour then press into the centre of the cookie. I like to make quite a deep indent which allows me to place more jam in the centre.
- Use a teaspoon to drop jam into the indent, and gently press the jam into the hole with the end of the spoon.
- Bake the cookies for 12 - 15 minutes, or until the cookies are golden and the jam is bubbling.
- Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes. Don't skip this step or the cookies will fall apart as you try to transfer them to a cooling rack. Do not be tempted to eat the cookies at this stage as the jam is molten and can cause a nasty burn.
- Once the cookies have cooled slightly, transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container.