… A Special Pairing of Flavors!
There’s something special about the combination of flavors in these cookies. Whether we’re talking about the pairing of the peach with the amaretto, or the peach with the ginger, you’ll get an exquisite lusciousness. Both variations use the gluten-free, dairy-free buttery shortbread recipe I use in my chocolate-filled pecan sandies and my dark chocolate thumbprint cookies. It melts in your mouth. The peach amaretto filling has a sweet, almond note, while the peach ginger filling is again sweet but with a sharp, bright bite to it. Both make my mouth water!
I’ve baked more batches of these cookies this holiday season than I should probably admit. Thankfully I haven’t eaten all of them myself. They’re a favorite Christmas cookie of many with whom I’ve shared them. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
Gluten-free Dairy-free Peach Amaretto Thumbprint and Peach Ginger Thumbprint Cookies
Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 18-20 minutes
Oven temp: 350ºF
Cool time: at least 10 minutes
Makes: about 5 dozen (60) cookies
Ingredients:
2 3/4 (330g) cups gluten-free all-purpose flour – I use Authentic Foods Bette’s Gourmet Four Flour Blend
1/4 cup blanched almond flour – I use Honeyville
1/4 teaspoon guar gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
8 ounces (1 cup or 2 sticks) non-dairy margarine or softened butter – I use Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread – red tub
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla – McCormick’s is gluten free
1 cup peach jam – I use Polaner’s All Fruit with Fiber
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger, grated with a microplane
1/2 -1 teaspoon amaretto – I use Disaronno
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine all-purpose flour, almond flour, guar gum, and salt in a small mixing bowl. Stir well. Set aside.
Beat sugar and margarine in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until sugar is dissolved. Scrape the bowl, then beat in egg and vanilla until well mixed. Add the flour mixture into the wet mixture, gradually and on low speed, until dough forms.
Scoop a ball of dough, using15g of dough, about 1 scant tablespoonful, then press a depression into center.
Place dough cookies on a prepared baking sheet, 20 per sheet, and bake on center oven rack at 350ºF for 10 minutes. The cookies don’t spread so dough thumbprints can be placed just 1 inch apart. The bottoms will become golden when the cookies are done, but the rest of the cookie will not color – that’s perfect!
Combine 1/2 cup peach jam and amaretto in small bowl and the other 1/2 cup of jam and ginger in a second small bowl. Stir each well. Set aside.
Remove pan from oven from oven, gently refresh indentation very gently as cookies will crack if pressed too hard, fill cookies just to top of depression with your peach jam mixtures, then return to oven to continue baking 4-5 minutes longer.
Transfer baked cookies, still on parchment paper, onto cooling rack and let cool at least 10 minutes. They will completely crumble if you move them when they’re still warm. Store at room temperature open air or in a re-sealable airtight container.
*To substitute one egg, use 1 Tablespoon flax meal or chia seeds combined with 3 Tablespoons hot water. Set aside for 10 minutes to become gelatinous. This will provide a perfect egg substitute in this recipe. Egg replacer may work (I’ve not tried it.) Substituting the egg with applesauce or fruit puree in this recipe will not work.
Safe food is a journey … Thrive!