Gluten-free Peanut Butter Thumbprints
PIN IT!Tis the season to be SKINNY, fa la la la la la la la la la! 🙂 Happy Monday and welcome to day one of my 12 Days of Skinny Snacks and Sips for Santa, kicking off with a delicious sin-less recipe for gluten-free peanut butter thumbprints.
Now, the reason behind this is simple; Santa is a little obese. He’s got some extra jiggle around that midsection. He’s always been a big boned man, but with all the high fat treats he eats around this time of the year, I’m actually quite shocked he hasn’t keeled over with a massive coronary. To help him slim up a bit, I’ve whipped up 12 guilt-free, low-fat and vegan treats and drinks that I’m going to feature every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday leading up to Christmas! Plus, I’m giving away something fabulous right smack dab in the middle, so stay tuned! Now, let’s talk cookies.
I love thumbprints. They aren’t innovative or unique or super special in anyway. But you know what? They are good. They are simple, nostalgic and super easy to make. When you are like me, the holidays are STRESSFUL so anytime I can make a cookie in less than 30 minutes, I’m a happy camper.
These aren’t ordinary thumbprints either. Each adorable little cookie tastes exactly like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You get smooth, peanut butter flavor in the cookie and the perfect finish of tart, sweet jam. I’m a big supporter of taking Pb&j out of the sammie and putting it into desserts, like these pb&j bars or these perfect thumbprints. The reasoning behind this is simple; I love the flavors. Plus, this means I can now eat cookies for lunch, judgement free.
Another amazing thing about this recipe is that it’s completely gluten-free! To give the cookies even more of a nutty flavor, I used 1/4 cup of almond flour and 1 cup gluten-free flour (Bob’s Red Mill – ALL THE WAY). The cookies come out just a little grittier than normal but still super fluffy and full of flavor. I’m so addicted to almond flour because it has absolutely no wheat and it gives such an earthy flavor to whatever it’s in.
So, dear Santa, since I’ve made you these gluten-free goodies that are low-fat and full of protein, I’m expecting you to reward me with something a little extra special under my tree. I mean, I’m helping you stay in shape and live longer, so that means I deserve a  new Nikon d7000 with an AF 18-200 mm lens, right? I thought so. Thanks big–er—hearty man! (He gets offended when you call him fat).
Gluten-free Peanut Butter Thumbprints
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Yields about 24 cookies. Recipe inspired by Martha Stewart.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 16 minutes
Ingredients:Â
- 1 cup gluten-free AP flour
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Dash of salt
- 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons white sugar for dusting
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup jam (I used my homemade strawberry)
Directions:Â
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. In another bowl, beat peanut butter, applesauce, butter and brown sugar together until smooth and creamy. Add egg and almond extract and mix until smooth. Gradually add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture, beating after each addition until a dough forms.
- Roll dough into balls and then roll into white sugar. Place each ball onto the cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 10 minutes. Pull cookies out and make an indent using the back of a spoon or your thumb (cookies will be hot). After each cookie has a print, push back into the oven and bake another 6 minutes, or until golden brown.
- While cookies are warm, place about 1/2 teaspoon of jam into the indent of each cookie. Let cool completely and enjoy!
Nutritional information per cookie:Â
Calories: 80
Fat: 4.2 grams
Carbohydrates: 5.43 grams
Fiber: 2.5 grams
Protein: 5.1 grams
Weight Watchers Points: Â 2
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