Buttery, delicious, and easy low carb cookies. What could be better? Butter and jam keto thumbprint cookies are melt in your mouth with a zing of strawberry in the middle.
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What comes to mind when you think thumbprint cookies? For me, I have a flash of the bakery famous for them in my college town, a Mad-Hatter tea party, and a Christmas cookie exchange.
I do love the versatility of these cookies. The delicious almond flour buttery cookie can be filled with any number of things. I like to use a red jam such as strawberry or raspberry, but you could even use a sugar-free ganache. Get creative!
The other thing I love about thumbprint cookies is that they’re super kid-friendly. Actually, my six-year-old son loves to make them with me, put all the ingredients in, and then say, “Mommy! Can I make the thumbprints?!”
He thinks it’s so much fun to make the thumbprint wells in the cookies, and then he eats spoons of jam while they bake. I don’t mind too much all this jam eating as long as I know what’s gone into it!
We like to use my homemade easy keto strawberry jam recipe, and I can feel good about him eating organic strawberries, chia seeds, with a bit of Swerve sweetener.
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Perhaps he’s in love with Agatha,” she said. “I hope not. I intend to marry Agatha myself. She may be a thousand years old, but she makes an incomparable jam tart. Beauty fades, but cooking is eternal.
– Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel
Keto thumbprint cookies: a brief history
Did you know that in Sweden, thumbprint cookies are called “Hollongrotta”, which means raspberry cave? I love that! I don’t know about you, but I am definitely one of those people who gets excited about the etymology of words. Where do words come from? How are they similar/different in different languages?
In Europe, it is argued whether thumbprint cookies originated in Poland, Sweden, or from Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. At least most agree they were first made in the 19th century. However, whether you call them Polish tea cakes, birds’ nests, or raspberry caves, I think we can all agree we like to eat them!
In the United States, thumbprint cookies have become a holiday staple for many families in various forms.
I used to love to help my mother make tons of cookies and go to the church cookie exchange! We would take one kind of cookie and return home with dozens of cookies of all sorts. Inevitably, the group would include jam thumbprints as well as the other popular peanut butter blossoms version (see my version of Keto Peanut Butter Blossoms here).
🍽 Equipment
To make keto thumbprint cookies you’ll need:
- large and medium-sized bowls
- a spoon
- a spatula
- whisk
- measuring cups
- baking trays
- parchment paper or silicone baking mats
🔪 Instructions
How to make keto thumbprint cookies
To begin, preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and take out two baking pans. I like to line them with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Second, take out a large bowl and plop in the softened butter, sweetener, and vanilla extract. Mix that together well with a hand mixer or really strong arm and spatula. Then, once it’s completely combined with no lumps, continue to mix and add in the egg until it’s well-incorporated.
After that, measure in the almond flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until it all up until it forms the cookie dough. Super simple so far, right?
How to prepare keto thumbprint cookies to bake
Next, roll the dough into 1 tablespoon-sized balls and set them on the baking tray about 2 inches apart. Now, wet your thumb slightly and push it in the center of each ball to make a little well for the jam. This is the part kids love to help with!
Now for the jam! Carefully put about half a teaspoon of jam in the well of each cookie. Try to keep it in the center of the cookie, but as my son says, “They don’t all have to be perfect! I’ll just eat that one.”
Lastly, bake them off for 12-14 minutes in the 325-degree oven. Be sure to let them cool for 10 minutes on the tray before removing to the cooling racks or they’re likely to fall apart.
The recipe makes about 30 delicious low carb cookies!
I would love to go and live in the mountains… and make jam.
– Eve Best
Favorite low carb holiday cookies
What are your favorite low carb cookies around the holidays? My kids especially like to make spritz cookies and cut-out cookies in holiday shapes so we’re sure to include those. What’s your favorite cookie recipe for the holidays or a daily household staple?
What do you think? Could you add some strawberry caves to your list of favorites? Our family definitely loves these fruity keto thumbprint cookies.
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What about low carb peanut butter brownies?
Trust me, you want this recipe!
🍪 More low carb cookies
- Coconut Macaroons
- Butter Spritz Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Thumbprint Peanut Butter Cookies
- Low Carb Lemon Cookies
- Chocolate Truffles
- Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
- Pumpkin Cookies
- Cut Out Sugar Cookies
- Low Carb Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies
Butter and Jam Keto Thumbprint Cookies
Butter and jam keto thumbprint cookies are a sweet low carb, kid-friendly treat! Perfect for tea, picnics, or holidays! Easter, Christmas, Fourth of July, or afternoon tea, they're the perfect delicious gluten-free snack.
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp softened butter
- 2/3 cup powdered sweetener, (such as Swerve Confectioner's)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 2 cups finely ground blanched almond flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp finely ground sea salt
- 1/3 cup sugar-free jam
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare two baking pans lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a large bowl, mix together the softened butter, sweetener, and vanilla extract. Once completely combined with no lumps, continue to mix and add in the egg.
- Measure in the almond flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until it forms the cookie dough.
- Roll the dough into 1 tablespoon-sized balls and place on the baking tray. Get your thumb slightly wet and push it in the center of each ball to make a well for the jam.
- Put about half a teaspoon of jam in the well of each cookie. Bake for 12-14 minutes at 325 degrees. Let cool for 10 minutes on the tray before removing to the cooling racks. Makes about 30 cookies.
Notes
Nutrition Facts
Servings 15.0 Amount Per Serving: 2 cookies Calories 78 Total Fat 7 g Saturated Fat 3 g Monounsaturated Fat 1 g Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g Trans Fat 0 g Cholesterol 25 mg Sodium 86 mg Potassium 29 mg Total Carbohydrate 2 g Dietary Fiber 1 g Sugars 1 g Protein 2 g
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 30Amount Per Serving: Calories: 78Unsaturated Fat: 0g
**Nutrition Facts per MyFitnessPal.com. For the most accurate facts, calculate your own with the exact ingredients you use in the recipe.
Belle
Tuesday 24th of March 2020
Is the oven temperature fan forced or no? I normally use celcius so I can't even guess this time. Thanks
Lauren
Wednesday 25th of March 2020
I did a search as I don't ever use C or C fan, but it looks like it would be 150 fan, or if no fan, 160 C. Again, I've not tried it this way, but I believe it's the equivalent. Just remember to let the cookies cool well before trying to move them. I hope you like them!