Peppermint Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies Recipe (2024)

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Peppermint Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies Recipe (1)

Last Updated on April 6, 2022 by Anne-Marie

This gluten-free thumbprint cookies recipe is divine – soft, moist, and buttery with a sugary crunch.

These peppermint Hershey kiss cookies make wonderful edible holiday gifts. Don't forget to save a few for Santa!

Peppermint Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies Recipe (2)

Why this recipe works

You'll love baking these gluten-free classic thumbprint cookies for cookie swaps and Christmas parties this holiday season.

This delicious thumbprint cookies recipe made with Hershey Kisses can be quickly assembled from ingredients you can quickly pick up at the store.

It's convenient, too, since a batch of these buttery cookies can be made in about 40 minutes, including cool downtime.

Cook up a batch of these delicious cookies after dinner. Or, if you don't mind waking up early, you can bake up some in the morning before going to school or work.

Ingredients

How to make this recipe

Hershey thumbprint cookies are so much fun for the Christmas holidays.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Mix buttery spread, brown sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and coconut milk in a large bowl until well blended.

3. Stir together the dry ingredients in another bowl – gluten-free baking flour, baking soda, and salt.

4. Add flour mixture to butter mixture a little at a time. Mix until well blended.

5. Pour sparkling sugar onto a medium-sized plate. Using a small cookie scoop, measure out cookie dough into enough for a 1-inch ball. Roll the dough balls in sparkling sugar.

6. Then place the cookie on a baking mat or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.

7. Bake cookies for 8 minutes or until edges have browned slightly and the cookies have set.

8. While cookies are baking, unwrap candies.

9. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven. Cool cookies for 2 minutes. Gently press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. Using a spatula, carefully move cookies to cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

10 Store cookies in an airtight container until serving time.

Peppermint Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies Recipe (3)

FAQs

Baking up a gluten-free cookies recipe

These yummy cookies are so tasty that no one will notice that they are gluten-free cookies. That's because they're made with Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.

This gluten-free baking flour measures and bakes up just like regular flour. I always get great results with it.

Learn how to measure flour correctly for the best results in your everyday baking.

Check out my Best Gluten Free Products List to find more of my favorite gluten-free baking products!

Peppermint Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies Recipe (4)

Are these dairy-free cookies?

The DOUGH for the thumbprint cookies is dairy-free since the recipe uses a vegan buttery spread and unsweetened coconut milk.

You can use another type of dairy-free milk, such as unsweetened oatmeal or soy.

If you aren't a fan of vegan butter, try coconut oil.

KISSES AREN'T DAIRY-FREE!

Unfortunately, Hershey Candy Cane Holiday Kisses and all chocolate kisses (including the dark chocolate) contain either non-fat milk or lactose, a milk sugar.

So don't bake with Hershey's kisses if you can't tolerate dairy products.

Use these dairy-free cookie fillings instead:

● Spoon a dollop of your favorite jam. Any type of jam will do, and a variety would be pretty on a cookie platter.

IDEAS: raspberry jam, orange marmalade, apricot jam, blueberry jam, or lemon zest. (A teaspoon of jam should do the trick.)

● Do you make homemade jam? Check out my recipe for Easy Fig Ginger Jam.

● Or use some strawberry sauce in the center of the cookies. DELISH!

● Pipe in some dairy-free cake frosting or your favorite flavor of nut butter in the middle of the cookie.

● Add a few Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips (they're dairy-free).

Peppermint Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies Recipe (5)

Are these vegan cookies?

No, these aren't vegan thumbprint cookies since there is an egg in the recipe and Hersey's Kisses aren't vegan.

However, you could use a vegan egg substitute in the dough and a vegan filling.

If you do, let us know how that worked out in the comments.

More gluten-free cookie recipes

Check out The 60 Best Gluten Free Christmas Cookies Recipes for the ultimate cookie list.

Bake up these gluten-free cookies for your holiday cookie exchange:

Fruit Filled Cookie Cups

Oreo Balls

Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Pine Nut Cookies

Lemon Flavored Meringue Cookies

Homemade Granola Bars

Yield: 46 COOKIES

Peppermint Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies Recipe

Peppermint Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies Recipe (6)

This gluten-free thumbprint cookies recipe is soft, moist, and buttery. These peppermint Hershey kiss cookies make wonderful holiday gifts.

Prep Time20 minutes

Cook Time8 minutes

Total Time28 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup vegan (dairy-free) buttery spread, softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk
  • 2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup white decorative sparkling sugar
  • 1 package Hershey's Candy Cane Holiday Kisses (approximately 48 candies per package)

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Mix buttery spread, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, and coconut milk in a large bowl until well blended.
  3. In another bowl, stir together Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, baking soda, and salt.
  4. Add flour mixture to butter mixture a little at a time. Mix until well blended.
  5. Poor sparkling sugar onto a medium-sized plate. Using a small ice cream scoop, measure out dough into enough for a 1-inch ball. Roll the ball in sparkling sugar and place the cookie on a baking mat on a cookie sheet.
  6. Bake cookies for 8 minutes or until edges have browned slightly and the cookies have set.
  7. While cookies are baking, unwrap candies.
  8. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven. Cool cookies for 2 minutes. Gently press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. Using a spatula, carefully move cookies to cool on a wire rack.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

46

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 55Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 23mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 0gSugar: 9gProtein: 1g

Nutritional information is automatically calculated per the ingredients list. Serving size may not be accurate. Please double-check with your preferred nutritional app for the most accurate information.

Originally posted on December 10, 2015 and November 29, 2017. Updated with new pictures and information.

Peppermint Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why are my thumbprint cookies falling apart? ›

The dough should be chilled for at least 30 minutes, so that you can shape it into balls and indent without falling apart. Check that your oven temperature isn't too high.

How do you keep gluten-free cookies fresh? ›

Large cakes usually freeze really well, all cookies, bars, brownies, sliced GF bread, and even waffles (which you just stick into the toaster frozen). Seriously, not only will you not have problems with dry, crumbly next day baked goods, but the freezer totally preserves them, making them taste fresh-baked.

Why did my thumbprint cookies spread out? ›

Mixing Butter & Sugar

If your butter is under mixed, it won't have the air pockets to hold it's shape. If it's over-mixed, the air pockets decrease in size and are unable to hold their shape in the oven—causing your cookies to spread. It's best to cream butter and sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes.

Can I freeze dough for thumbprint cookies? ›

Absolutely! Thumbprint cookies will either have their indentions made before or after baking. If that occurs before baking, you can do that before they're frozen so that they're ready to go when you're ready to bake them.

Should you refrigerate thumbprint cookies? ›

No. After baking, thumbprint cookies do not need to be refrigerated. To store them, simply save in an airtight container at room temperature. You can store them in the refrigerator if you prefer, but it's not necessary.

Why are my gluten free cookies falling apart? ›

Chilling helps the flours and xanthan gum absorb liquid, which makes the dough sturdier and easier to handle. Without a proper rest, your cookies are likely to crumble. Think of mix-ins as the Spanx of the cookie world. They are a sly way to ensure that your cookies look like cookies, not misshapen gluten-free blobs.

How to make gluten-free cookies less dry and crumbly? ›

Add extra liquid: Gluten-free flours tend to absorb more liquid than regular flour, so you may need to add more liquid to your recipes to compensate. This can help to keep your baked goods moist and prevent them from becoming dry and crumbly.

What happens when you use gluten-free flour in cookies? ›

Gluten free flours often contain lots of water grabbing gums and starches so we have to ensure that there is enough water present to fully hydrate the gums and gelatinize the starches. When starches do not gelatinize, the baked good can have a gritty texture, and this commonly happens with flours such as cornflour.

Should you refrigerate gluten-free cookie dough before baking? ›

5. And refrigerate the dough if it's too sticky. Gluten-free cookie dough is stickier than standard cookie dough, but chilling it can help. This is because cold dough is less sticky, and it doesn't spread as easily, too.

How do you keep thumbprint cookies from sticking together? ›

You can also separate each layer of cookies with wax paper (something we do in our packaging) to keep them from sticking together and falling apart.

What is the shelf life of thumbprint cookies? ›

Store thumbprint cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week. You can keep them at room temperature or in the fridge.

What happens if you don't freeze cookie dough before baking? ›

Putting cookie dough into the freezer before baking can help solidify the fat from the butter in your cookies, which in turn keeps them from spreading too much in the oven. Colder dough will not expand as much as warm dough does. This will produce a higher, thicker cookie.

Can you freeze cookie dough in a Ziploc bag? ›

For cookies with a sugar coating, I usually do not roll in sugar until just before I bake. Placed rolled cookie dough onto a parchment paper lined sheet pan, and freeze for an hour until solid. Transfer to a ziploc bag or airtight container and label.

Can you freeze homemade gluten free cookies? ›

The baked cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.

How to keep cookies from falling apart? ›

How to Keep Cookies on a Baking Sheet from Crumbling and Sticking
  1. Follow Your Recipe. Cookie and bar recipes are generally more forgiving than cakes, but all baking is based on chemistry. ...
  2. Grease Your Pan. Jason Donnelly. ...
  3. Line Your Pan or Cookie Sheet. ...
  4. Give Your Cookies Time to Cool. ...
  5. Cut the Bars and Remove Cookies from Sheet.
Oct 31, 2022

Why are my baked cookies falling apart? ›

Too much flour: If you add too much flour to your cookie dough, it will be dry and crumbly. Make sure to measure your flour correctly using a kitchen scale or by spooning it into your measuring cup and then leveling it off. Not enough fat: Fat helps to bind the ingredients together and make cookies chewy.

How do I stop my thumbprint cookies from spreading? ›

Chill the cookie dough.

Chilling cookie dough helps prevent spreading. The colder the dough, the less the cookies will over-spread into greasy puddles. You'll have thicker, sturdier, and more solid cookies. Whenever I make cookies, I plan ahead and chill the cookie dough overnight.

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