Thumbprint Jelly Cookies

This variation on the traditional jelly cookies will satisfy your craving for crunchy, gooey, sweet treats. The color and flavor of the jelly is a delicious contrast to the nutty base. These cookies make a great holiday or party treat. The beauty of the colorful jelly makes them festive!

Choose an all-fruit jelly, jam or preserve for this recipe. Most jellies and jams use refined sugar for sweetening, preserving and to activate the gelling properties of the pectin. To make jam with sugar you need to use almost as much sugar as fruit. That’s a lot of sugar! So make an effort to find a brand that uses only natural fruit. St. Dalfour and Crofter’s are two good brands.

Have fun making this modified version of an old fashioned favorite. The butter, sugar and flour have been replaced in these cookies. Now they are gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free and full of the good hearty nutrients and protein of nuts.

Ingredients:

(use organic whenever possible)

1/2 cup coconut oil (room temperature)

1/3 cup agave nectar

2 cups raw nuts (use pecans, almonds, cashews, walnuts or any combination of these)

1 1/2 cups arrowroot powder or tapioca starch

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

½ cup of all-fruit jelly, jam or preserves

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream together coconut oil and agave in a large bowl by hand or with an electric mixer. Make sure to get all the lumps out.
3. Coarsely grind nuts in a food processor.
4. Add the rest of the dry ingredients to the food processor and pulse a few times to mix.
5. Stir the contents of the food processor into the wet ingredients until well mixed.
6. Form into small cookies 1/2 inch thick on oiled cookie sheet.
7. Make a thumbprint well in each cookie and fill it with a dollop of jelly.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until slightly brown on the edges.

Makes 2 dozen cookies