The Best Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies (Soft & Buttery!)

These super easy gluten free thumbprint cookies take simple, lightly sweet butter cookies to the next level with your choice of fillings. Fill with jam before you bake, or chocolate ganache afterward!

Why these gluten free thumbprint cookies recipe are so special

The cookie dough isn't very sweet at all—which is just what we want. It has only 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar, combined with 1 1/4 cups gluten free flour blend, and 1/2 cup butter.

The delicate sweetness of the cookie dough makes these cookies perfect for rolling in granulated sugar—and filling with something sweet.

After the cookie dough is shaped into rounds, we roll each pieces in a bit of granulated sugar. That creates a super thin, crackly shell in the oven.

When you bite into the thin, crispy outer shell of each cookie, first you'll find the most tender butter cookie. Then, your favorite filling inside.

Maybe you're partial to a jammy, baked filling. Or you might prefer a smooth, unbaked simple chocolate ganache.

Tips for filling gluten free thumbprint cookies with jam

The most classic thumbprint cookie is filled with jam. They're the easiest type to make, too, since we create the hole and fill it with jam before baking.

When the jam bakes into the hole of the cookie it does two things. It keeps the hole from closing at all during baking, and it thickens the jam, so it has the perfect baked texture.

Can I add jam to my thumbprint cookies after baking?

Yes, you can add the jam after baking. Let's say you decided to leave your thumbprint cookies unfilled, and then decide you'd like to fill them with jam.

If you plan to travel with or store the cookies at all, I wouldn't add jam after baking. It won't dry down at all, and will be quite messy.

But if you serve them right away, fresh, shiny jam in your thumbprint cookies will be beautiful. It'll taste delicious too!

Is jam gluten free?

Pure jam should be gluten free. It's made with nothing more than fruit, sugar, pectin and perhaps a preservative like citric acid.

Some brands of jam aren't certified gluten free, since they may be contaminated with gluten-containing ingredients. All of Bonne Maman's products are gluten free, so you can stick to those to be sure.

Tips for filling gluten free thumbprint cookies with chocolate

To fill thumbprint cookies with chocolate, create the holes in your cookies, and then bake them without filling them. If you were to add chocolate, or even chocolate ganache, to the filling before baking, the chocolate will become unpleasantly dry.

I don't recommend filling your baked thumbprint cookies with simple melted chocolate. It will set and be kind of crunchy in the center of your beautifully tender, buttery thumbprint cookies.

Instead, try filling your thumbprint holes with the simplest chocolate ganache. All it takes is 2 ounces of chopped chocolate, and 1 fluid ounce of heavy whipping cream.

Melt the chocolate and cream together by heating the cream and letting it sit with the chocolate. Mix until smooth, and pour into the baked cookies.

When the filling sets, it will be only slightly less firm than the butter cookies beneath it. I can't wait for you to taste that perfect texture combination!

How do I keep my thumbprint cookies from spreading too much?

Your butter, or vegan butter, must be at the proper temperature when you begin to make this dough. They're made by beating room temperature butter until it's light and fluffy.

The proper temperature is cool room temperature, or about 65°F. If your butter is too warm, it won't beat properly and the cookies may spread more in the oven.

If you're accustomed to bringing butter to room temperature by microwaving it, you'll find that that won't work in these cookies at all. You'll be able to tell because the butter won't become fluffy during beating, and the cookie dough will feel greasy.

The cookies will still taste delicious, though! They just won't hold their shape as well.

If the butter is at just the right temperature, but you just don't beat it enough, your cookie dough will be stiffer than you expect. The baked cookies will also be a bit less tender.

But again, they'll still taste delicious. They're homemade, after all!

Are these butter cookies? Shortbread? Sugar?

These easy jam thumbprint cookies are butter cookies. All three varieties of blonde cookies, butter, shortbread, and sugar cookies, are made mostly with the same ingredients.

They each have a similar taste, too. But they're very distinct in texture and even different in flavor.

What are gluten free butter cookies?

Butter cookies are made with just gf flour, sugar, butter and egg yolks. That's basically how you make spritz cookies.

If you're putting the dough through a cookie press, you need all the same ingredients, but in slightly different amounts. That's how we make a stiffer cookie dough that can make it through that press.

Here, we're rolling the dough into balls, creating a hole in the center which we fill with jam or leave empty, for later filling. The dough can be a bit softer.

What are gluten free shortbread cookies?

Shortbread cookies are the simplest cookies around, as they're made with flour, sugar, and butter. That's it. No eggs, no milk, no water.

Shortbread cookies are more delicate than butter cookies. They don't have an egg or egg yolk to help bind them.

Check out our whipped gluten free shortbread cookies. They even have a delicate jam filling, too!

What are gluten free sugar cookies?

Sugar cookies are more like “regular” cookies. They have a full egg, not just an egg yolk.

Sugar cookies are made with our classic butter, sugar, and gf flour mixture. But they also have a chemical leavener (baking powder, usually).

Sugar cookies can be made as drop gluten free sugar cookies, or as cut-out gluten free sugar cookies, too.

Since sugar cookies are much less delicate than butter cookies, they're much easier to ship for the holidays.

Ingredient information and substitution suggestions for gluten free thumbprint cookies

How to make gluten free dairy free thumbprint cookies

If you need to replace the butter in this recipe, I recommend using vegan butter. My favorite brands are Miyoko's Kitchen and Melt.

You can also try butter-flavored Spectrum non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening in place of the butter. Be sure the shortening is at cool room temperature, and it should become fluffy when you beat it.

If you make the cookies with the jam filling, there's nothing else to replace to make these cookies dairy free.

If you'd like to make chocolate ganache filling, try using canned coconut cream in place of heavy whipping cream. You'll only use the cream, no liquid, from a can of coconut milk.

I like semi-sweet chocolate, since the cookies themselves aren't very sweet, but it's a matter of taste. Just be sure your chocolate is dairy free if that's important.

Can you make gluten free egg free thumbprint cookies?

I'm afraid I don't know of any proper substitution for the egg yolk. The egg yolk adds texture, mouth feel, and helps bind the cookie dough.

I haven't tried it, but I've read that pureed silken tofu can be an effective substitute. You could also try an additional tablespoon of butter, for richness, but melt it and add it when you do the egg yolk.

How to make gluten free thumbprint cookies, step by step