TheKitchn.com

Nutty, oat-y, sweet with maple syrup and a touch of jam, these thumbprints will please vegan and non-vegan palates alike. It's a hearty tasting cookie, and I personally feel that two or three with a cup of hot tea is a wonderful way to start your day. They're quick to mix up, easy to form and fill, and will disappear off your cookie plate in a twinkle.

I first tasted vegan thumbprints at a Zen Buddhist monastery deep in the California wilderness. I'm boldly revealing my not-very-blissful ignorance when I admit to sighing in disappointment when I first saw vegan cookies on the menu. But one bite was all it took for my ignorance to drop away like a veil. These cookies are that amazing! Because the location was so remote, homemade cookies were one of our few treats; needless to say, we were very attached to the kitchen's cookie offerings.

Since my vegan thumbprint awakening so many years ago, I have learned not to scoff at vegan baked goods; and my life is the better for it. I hope these cookies do the trick for you too.

Tester's notes

It was a lot of fun to revisit this recipe three years after we first published it. I have very little to add to the original, except the following:

--We originally just listed almonds as the nut of choice, but you can also use walnuts, cashews, pecans or other nuts. Or try mixing a few of your favorites!

--This time around, I tested this recipe using coconut oil (thanks to reader comments!) and I am completely converted. Coconut oil has a superior nutritional profile to canola oil, but even better, it produces a crisper cookie.

--I happened to have a wee jar of apple butter in my cupboard, and on a whim I decided to give it a try as a filling in place of jam. It is perfect, and I highly recommend using it, especially if you are looking for a lower sugar option for jam.

Vegan Thumbprint Cookies

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