Almond-Jam Thumbprint Cookies

I love making preserves in the summer and finding things to make when them come winter!  This is a great recipe I came across in one of my favorite now out of print magazines, ReadyMade.  This is a great vegan cookie I added to last year's Christmas cookie tray and I was surprised how it was a favorite of most people I gave it to (I agreed, but I love vegan bakestuff!...  even the meatiest of meat eaters loved this cookie!).  The nuttiness with the fruit was really great.  I made with several different toppings...  grape jam, peach preserves, currant jam and even beer jelly.  They all turned out great and went fast since everyone just had to try them all!




Almond-Jam Thumbprint Cookies
Readymade Magazine, June/July 2011
from "Vegan Family Meals" by Ann Gentry

Notes: These little gems are moist and not too sweet, with just the right amount of crunchiness. Use a food processor to pulse the almonds into a fine flour.

Suggested Preserves: apricot or raspberry preserves or apple butter

2 1/2 cups whole almonds
1 1/2 cups oat flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons almond extract
3/4 cup preserves

1. Preheat oven to 325° F. Line two heavy baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Pulse the almonds in food processor until they form a fine flour with some small speckles of nuts still visible. Leave some small bits of the almonds for a nice crunchy texture.

3. Stir the ground almonds, oat flour, pastry flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk the maple syrup, apple juice, oil, and almond extract in a medium bowl. Stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture until blended.

4. Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop (about 2 tablespoons), scoop the dough in mounds onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. (If you don't have an ice cream scoop, just roll 2 tablespoons of dough into a ball for each cookie.) Using the end of a wooden spoon, make an indentation about 1/2 inch in diameter that goes to the bottom of the cookie, but not through the bottom. Spoon the preserves into a pastry bag or a small resealable plastic bag with a bottom corner cut off. Pipe the preserves into each indentation, mounding them just above the top of the cookie (the jam will melt down as the cookies bake).

5. Bake the cookies until they puff and become pale golden on the top and bottom, about 25 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to cooling racks and let cool. Cookies will keep for two days, stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

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