These quick and easy Keto Raspberry Jam Thumbprint Cookies are made with almond flour and are low carb and gluten-free!
Wow, we are so excited to launch our new low carb blog! And this is my very first entry, a favorite recipe of mine, Keto Raspberry Jam Thumbprint Cookies! I first had the thumbprint cookies about 30 years ago, one of my friends made them and she gave me the recipe. I’m so happy I was able to make a low carb version of these thumbprint cookies because they are so delicious!
These cookies are so quick and easy to make and I have made them for years at all of the parties and gatherings that we have had because they are always a favorite of all my friends and family. The best part is that these raspberry thumbprint cookies are low carb, Keto friendly and gluten-free to boot!
Since I was diagnosed with diabetes I’ve been trying to turn all my favorite recipes into low carb options, including desserts, and I was so happy to find out that there were options of ingredients to use like Almond flour in place of regular flour and Monk fruit in place of sugar, so wow! And it was so easy.
Now I can have a sweet treat! I’m so happy and obviously, you’re also looking for low carb options, so I hope you enjoy these raspberry jam thumbprint cookies too! Even people who don’t have to be carb-free will love these too.
What Ingredients are in this Low Carb Thumbprint Cookies Recipe?
Almond flour – I replaced the regular flour with almond flour because it has a good taste and consistency and very low in carbs because its just almonds which are very low and healthy.
The brand I like to use is Honeyville almond flour because its extra finely ground, making the cookie lighter, but you can use any brand that you would like. Kirkland’s has one that’s a few carbs less which you can also try.
The Sweetener – I replaced the sugar with monk fruit because it’s a great no carb substitute. I use classic Lakanto Monkfruit, which is zero net carbs per serving, zero glycemic, zero calories, and keto approved. Plus the taste is great, no after-taste like some other sweeteners.
It’s so easy because the portions are one for one so there are no hard mathematical equations! Even though Monk fruit is my sweetener of choice, there are other options to choose from such as Stevia and Xylitol. These are the 3 I have found work the best.
Sugar-free Raspberry jam – I have always used regular jam which contains sugar, and if you want to you still can because there’s not a lot of carbs if you just eat a cookie or two. But since we’re being good here, it’s nice to know that there is a replacement for that too.
Smuckers makes a sugar free raspberry jam that’s good, with only 5 carbs per Tbsp, which fills about 3 cookies. Plus they have several flavors for variety.
Chopped pecans – I love pecans with my thumbprint cookies because they add so much flavor and crunch to each bite. Another great option is chopped walnuts, which I’ve done so many times too. It’s your preference.
If you don’t care for nuts you can certainly make the thumbprint cookies without any nuts but I prefer the great taste and texture that the nuts add along with the jam. Yummy!
Variations on Low Carb Thumbprint Cookies Recipes:
One variation for people who don’t care for jam is to just leave the thumbprint empty with no filling at all. The cookie is so delicious that even without the jam I can’t stop eating them.
Another variation is to make them with the jam but without the nuts, especially appealing to people who have a nut allergy or who just don’t like nuts.
Now if you don’t want Raspberry filling in your thumbprint cookies then feel free to change your filling over to strawberry, blackberry, cherry, apricot or any other flavor jam that you like or you can mix and match using several types of jam in the same batch. It’s nice for a party to have various flavors which may appeal to the taste buds of more people plus the variety of colors can make a beautiful platter!
If you don’t like jam or fruit then there are other delicious fillings we love to put in the center such as chocolate spread, peanut butter, or caramel. Just make sure that whatever you choose to use that you find something that’s as low carb as you can find.
We make our Keto thumbprint cookies with almond flour but you can use coconut flour instead and also achieve a great result. I’ll go more in depth on this later on.
How to Make this Yummy Raspberry Thumbprint Cookie Recipe:
First, you’re going to mix a ¼ cup of granulated monk fruit (or other no sugar sweetener) and 1 stick of butter together with an electric mixer.
Then add 1 tsp of vanilla and 1 egg yolk to the mixture and mix thoroughly.
Once that is done, add 1 ½ cups of almond flour.
TIP: Just a little hint, if the egg is jumbo use 1 ½ cups flour, and if the egg is just large use about 1 ¼ cup to 1 1/3 cup of flour. As you become more comfortable with making these cookies you will be able to tell by feeling how much flour to use. You have to be able to roll them into balls. If it’s too wet you won’t be able to roll them.
Chill the mixture for at least an hour or even overnight in your refrigerator depending on when you have the next available time to bake them.
When you get ready to bake them, roll them into one inch balls.
Coat the cookies in egg white and then roll them in finely chopped nuts and then place on a baking tray. I’ve always used walnuts but lately, I’ve been using pecans and have loved the way they come out. You really can’t go wrong with either option.
You can use a regular cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper to avoid the cookies sticking to the pan or you can use a baking stone, which is always my favorite for baking cookies of all kinds. The cookies won’t spread too much so place them about an inch or so apart from each other.
Next press your thumb into the middle of the cookie to make an indent.
Bake about 10-12 min at either 350 or 375 degrees depending on how hot your oven runs
If the indent in the cookie starts to close in just take out and use a small spoon to enlarge the indent and place back in the oven to finish baking.
Once they are done, take them off the tray and place on a cooling rack. Just be patient and wait until they have cooled down because cookies made with almond or coconut flour tend to be crumbly so be careful so they don’t fall apart.
Once cooled off you can place some jam of your choice in the center of each cookie and fill to your desired amount. Depending on how many carbs you can afford to eat, you can either use regular raspberry, with seeds, jam or you can use sugar-free raspberry jam, with seeds. I usually use the Smucker’s brand.
Both are good and if you decide to use a full sugar type, let’s face it, the carb content isn’t very much, only 13 carbs per Tbsp which fills about 3 cookies. But it’s your choice which one to use…
Is this Raspberry Jam Thumbprint Cookie Recipe Low Carb and Keto friendly?
Being a person that has to be so conscious of eating only a small amount of carbs every day, these cookies allow me to be able to have a sweet treat and still stay within my limits. This is because the almond flour is just like eating almonds. FYI it takes about 90 almonds to make a cup of flour.
There are 1 ½ cups of flour in this whole batch of cookies so each cookie is low carb. And the monk fruit replaces sugar and is zero carbs. What a treat! I added up all the carbs in a batch of cookies from the flour, sugar, jam, and nuts.
Each thumbprint cookie has 7.5 total carbs but when you subtract the fiber and sugar alcohol each delicious cookie has only 3 net carbs per cookie. So it’s ok, have a couple and enjoy!
Almond Flour vs. Coconut Flour for Low Carb Thumbprint Cookies
Almond flour and coconut flour are the 2 best options for making keto thumbprint cookies because they are both low in carbs, they taste good, and produce soft cookies. They are both great substitutes for regular white flour and both can be used in a wide variety of recipes.
Both are interchangable. Any recipe that calls for almond flour you can use coconut flour and vise versa.
You can also use coconut flour to make thumbprint cookies but in this recipe, I prefer the almond flour. I like the consistency better for these jam cookies and the almond flour is just pure almonds and so, therefore, a little lower in carbs than coconut flour.
Is this Thumbprint Cookie Recipe also Gluten-Free?
Yes, the cookies themselves and obviously also the nuts are absolutely gluten-free, but just make sure that whatever filling you choose is also gluten-free.
I just gave some to my friend who is so allergic to gluten and she was so happy to have them and enjoyed eating them, so rest easy!
How to store Thumbprint Cookies:
I always make a double batch so that there are leftovers for us for the next couple of days. One nice thing is that if you have leftovers, just put them in a plastic container or a metal tin and they will stay fresh for many days, but your family will probably eat them up much sooner…
If you leave the cookies at room temperature they will stay fresh for about 3 days. Make sure they are in an air-tight container which will provide maximum freshness.
TIP: Never put away cooked cookies to store until they are completely cooled down first. The heat trapped inside the container will make them soggy!
Can I Freeze Jam Thumbprint Cookies?
Yes, of course you can! Making dozens of Jam Thumbprint cookies is of course hard work and you don’t necessarily want to eat all of them at the same time. That’s why freezing your thumbprint cookies is such a good idea.
If you want to freeze them so that you can take them out one or two at a time, place them in a plastic container, place the container in a plastic bag and zip it up for freshness and stick it in your freezer. They will last at least 2 months if you wrap them good so you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy these delicious treats!
You can also freeze the dough before even cooking them. Doing it this way the dough can stay frozen 6 months before taking them out to bake. Tightly wrap or cover the dough before putting in the freezer and divide it into portion sizes. Then when you are ready to bake them, take the dough out, put it in the refrigerator and bake when thawed!
Other Low Carb Dessert Recipes:
If you’re in the mood for some other Keto Cookies and Desserts recipes then try our:
- Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Keto Linzer Cookies
- Sugar Free Chocolate Fudge
- Easy Low Carb Brownies
- Keto Peanut Butter Buckeyes
- Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies
Both of them are Keto-friendly and low carb, and will have your friends raving!
Print
Easy Raspberry Jam Keto Thumbprint Cookies – Gluten Free, Low Carb
- Total Time: 20-22 minutes
- Yield: 15 cookies 1x
Description
Delicious and super yummy Keto Raspberry Jam Thumbprint Cookies. Go ahead and try to eat just one!
Ingredients
- ½ cup of butter or margarine, softened
- ¼ cup non-sugar sweetener, I prefer Monk Fruit
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 ½ cups of almond flour
- 1 egg white, slightly beaten
- ½ cup finely chopped nuts, walnuts or pecans
- Jam, sugar-free, flavor of your choice. My favorite is raspberry, but you can use any jam flavor you prefer or a combo of a few if you really want the yummy variety!
Instructions
- Mix with an electric mixer the butter and sweetener. Then add the egg yolk and vanilla. Next add the flour.
- Just a little hint, if the egg is jumbo use 1 ½ cups flour, and if the egg is just large use about 1 ¼ cup to 1 1/3 cup of flour. As you become more comfortable with making these cookies you will be able to tell by feeling how much flour to use. You have to be able to roll them into balls. If it’s too wet you won’t be able to roll them.
- Chill the mixture for at least an hour or even overnight in your refrigerator depending on when you have the next available time to bake them.
- When you get ready to bake them, roll them into one inch balls.
- Coat the cookies in egg white and then roll them in finely chopped nuts and then place on a baking tray. I’ve always used walnuts but lately, I’ve been using pecans and have loved the way they come out. You really can’t go wrong with either option.
- You can use a regular cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper to avoid the cookies sticking to the pan or you can use a baking stone, which is always my favorite for baking cookies of all kinds
- The cookies won’t spread too much so place them about an inch or so apart from each other. Next press your thumb into the middle of the cookie to make an indent.
- Bake about 10-12 min at either 350 or 375 degrees depending on how hot your oven runs
- If the indent in the cookie starts to close in just take out and use a small spoon to enlarge the indent and place back in the oven to finish baking.
- Take off tray and place on a cooling rack, carefully so they don’t fall apart. Once cooled off you can place some jam of your choice in the center of each cookie and fill to your desired amount.
- Depending on how many carbs you can afford to eat, you can either use regular raspberry, with seeds, jam or you can use sugar-free raspberry jam, with seeds. I use the Smucker’s brand. Both are good and if you decide to use a full sugar type, let’s face it, the carb content is not very much because there’s such a small amount in each cookie. But your choice…..
Notes
- Pecans or walnuts are the best to use with these thumbprint cookies, but you can use any chopped nuts like almonds, pistachios or cashews
- You can use a cooking sheet pan, but I get the best results out of my cooking stone because it heats more evenly.
- DON’T overcook them. They may look undercooked but they will harden when you take them out. When the nuts look golden brown they are done.
- When they come out of the oven they need at least 5 minutes before moving them onto a cooling rack. Let them cool before touching them or they will fall apart.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Dessert