It’s officially time for all the Christmas cookie content! I am so excited about this Christmas, because I have so many fun and healthy vegan Christmas treats planned. I’m so excited to share these vegan thumbprint cookies, because thumbprint cookies were always one of my favorite Christmas cookies growing up. Not only are these healthy thumbprint cookies, but they are also so much fun to make! I have a whole bunch of healthy plant based Christmas Cookies on my blog. Here are some of my favorite from this year:
- Samoa Truffles
- Chocolate Pecan Pretzel Cookies
- Healthy Vegan Snickerdoodle’s
- Plant Based Gingerbread cookies
- Healthy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
What makes these vegan thumbprint cookies so healthy?
I was so excited about making these healthy thumbprint cookies when I got the idea, because I knew exactly how I was going to do it. I’ve recently figured out how to replace both butter/vegan butter and refined sugar in my cookies recipes. This has been a long time coming. Cookies are probably the food I struggled with creating a healthy plant based version of the most. It took me so long, because traditional cookies are essentially just butter and sugar. Therefore figuring out a way to make cookies like these vegan thumbprint cookies without them took some time. However, I am happy to say that these thumbprint cookies are perfect and super healthy!
Making refined sugar-free vegan Christmas cookies:
Ahh, Christmas: the time of stuffing our bellies with sugary cookies and treats. Or so it used to be. It’s 2021 people, let’s get rid of the refined sugars! There are so many natural sweeteners out there that do the job just the same if not better. These Vegan Thumbprint cookies are naturally sweetened, but you would never know, because they’re that delicious!
My favorite natural sweeteners include: Dates, date syrup, applesauce, bananas, and featured in this recipe: Maple Crystals. I recently discovered maple crystals, and I am so hooked. Maple Crystals are a natural sweetener that is low glycemic and high fiber. These are the two most important factors I consider when choosing a sweetener, so when I find one that works just like sugar and meets both of these criteria I’m all in!
Best Vegan cream cheese for healthy thumbprint cookies:
There is a ton of vegan cream cheeses out there, and I am sure that any of them would work for this recipe. However there is one particular plant based cream cheese that I prefer most. That is the Kite Hill cream cheese. I love this vegan cream cheese, because not only does it taste better, but it is oil-free and made with real ingredients. I love all their products, and truly believe that they make the superior vegan creams and yogurts.
Ingredients for these Vegan Thumbprint cookies:
- Vegan cream cheese – Kite Hill
- Coconut cream
- Maple crystals “VEGAN10” for $10 off
- Gluten-free flour
- Fruit jam – Raspberry, Apricot, Cherry
Vegan Thumbprint Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 8oz container vegan cream cheese Kite Hill
- 1 tbsp coconut cream
- 1/3 cup maple crystals
- 1 1/2 cup gluten-free flour
- naturally sweetened fruit jam
Instructions
- Begin by preheating your oven to 350. In a bowl, or mixer cream the coconut cream, cream cheese and maple crystals together.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix until a solid dough is formed.
- Roll out the dough and cut two circle pieces. Cut fun shapes of your choice into one of the circles. Add the jam to the bottom piece and a little water to the edges and press the pieces together.
- Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for 10 minutes before eating. Enjoy!
