by 
6 Ingredient Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies made healthier with vegan caramel, dark chocolate & a gluten-free paleo shortbread cookie base! Perfect for the holidays or whenever you have a cookie craving!
Okay, can we talk about these salted caramel thumbprint cookies for a minute? I mean WOW I can’t think of a better combination. Dark chocolate, salted caramel, shortbread cookies, flaky sea salt…yes, please!
This is probably the best addition to your holiday cookie tray or would even make a great DIY gift! I also enjoy them year-round because they are too good to only have one month out of the year 🙂
Not to mention they’re gluten-free, paleo, refined sugar-free, and filled with the easiest vegan caramel. I could honestly talk about these cute thumbprint cookies all day and guarantee you’re going to love them as much as me :)
Ingredients for salted caramel thumbprint cookies
While these cookies contain three main parts: the base, caramel filling, and chocolate drizzles, there are only 6 total ingredients required! You’re going to love how easy these are to whip up 🙂 Here’s the breakdown:
- Blanched Almond Flour: You need finely ground almond flour for the shortbread cookie base! Make sure you get flour and not almond meal, as this will affect the texture.
- Melted Coconut Oil: To help bind the cookie dough! You’ll also use coconut oil for the vegan caramel sauce.
- Maple Syrup: I love using maple syrup to sweeten to keep these refined sugar-free! Maple also adds a cozy flavor to the caramel sauce.
- Creamy Almond Butter: a little almond butter for the caramel sauce to create a rich texture. Feel free to sub peanut butter if needed like we did for my homemade twix bars!
- Dark Chocolate: for the drizzle on top!
- Sea Salt: the best pairing to homemade caramel sauce 🙂 I like using flaky sea salt, like Maldon.
Tips for the best homemade vegan thumbprint cookies
- Chill the dough: when preparing the cookie dough you’ll first shape the batter into a large ball, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge. It’s important to chill for 30 minutes to get a soft, tender shortbread cookie texture.
- Use refined coconut oil: if you want to avoid a slight coconut flavor, make sure your coconut oil is refined vs. unrefined.
- Set in the refrigerator: Once the cookies are done baking and you’ve filled them with caramel + dark chocolate, it’s important to place them in the fridge to firm up! You’ll keep any leftovers stored in the fridge as well to maintain shape and quality.
What makes these cookies healthy?
Besides being full of simple, nourishing ingredients, these salted caramel thumbprint cookies are so flavorful and tender! My good friend Monica could not get enough of the buttery shortbread base and rich caramel combination… So what makes them healthier than the typical thumbprint cookie?
- Refined sugar-free
- Grain-Free + Paleo
- Gluten-Free
- Full of healthy fats
- Lightly maple sweetened
- Melt in your mouth DELICIOUS!!
More cookies you’ll love to bake!
- Chocolate Almond Butter Thumbprint Cookies (paleo + vegan)
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie
- Paleo Vegan Jam Thumbprint Cookies
- Vegan Chai Sugar Cookies
Gluten-Free Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup (120g) blanched almond flour
- ¼ cup 50g coconut oil, melted
- 2 tablespoons 42g maple syrup
For the caramel
- 3 tablespoons 42g creamy almond butter
- 2 tablespoons 25g coconut oil, melted
- 2 tablespoons 42g pure maple syrup
- Pinch of sea salt, to taste
For the drizzle
- 2 oz. dark chocolate, chopped or chips
- Flaky sea salt
Equipment
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together the almond flour, melted coconut oil, and maple syrup and shape into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat baking sheet.
- Form 15 balls with the dough, about 1 tablespoon each. Make an imprint in the center of each cookie with your thumb.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes for until light golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and use a small teaspoon to press down lightly on the thumb imprints again, to make sure theres room for the filling in case they puffed or spread in the oven at all. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the almond butter, melted coconut oil, and maple syrup until smooth. Fill each thumbprint with the caramel.
- Place chocolate in a microwavable bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir until smooth. Put the melted chocolate in a small zip bag, snip the corner, and drizzle over the cookies. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, to taste.
- Place cookies in the refrigerator to set. Keep stored in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Use refined coconut oil if you don’t want any coconut flavor.
- Recipe adapted from my Jam Thumbprint Cookies.
I started assembling ingredients about an hour ago, and cookies are out of the oven and decorated, including the 30-minute rest in the refrigerator. It was easy to assemble, and I hope my non-vegan guests will like them as much as I do.
So glad they were so easy and delicious for you, Linda!!
Had the same problem that a couple other people had where it seemed like the dough was lacking a binder and just fell apart on me the whole time, I wonder if it can be an altitude thing? Besides that it is absolutely delicious.
Hi Fern! Honestly, it may be an altitude thing because I’ve never had that issue, but I’ve always lived at sea level so I don’t know much about baking at altitude, unfortunately!
i feel like i always get this backwards – is the coconut oil in this recipe measured before or after melting?
Hi Heather, measuring when it’s melted is generally more accurate. I always measure by weight for the most accurate measure, if you have a kitchen scale! Just updated the recipe to include those measures.
If I use oat flour would it be the 1 1/4 cup also thanks
Hi Nadine, oat flour is a lot more absorbent so you’d want to start with less – I’d start with 3/4 cup and see how the dough feels, and add more as needed to get to a dough consistency. Enjoy!
Thank you
Excellent recipe! I made this for my friend who has a ton of allergies and this recipe fits right in with what is on her “ok” list of ingredients. I didn’t have creamy almond butter so I subbed sunflower seed butter. The cookie dough is a little dry to work with but bakes up perfectly! I cracked a few in the thumb printing process but they reshape just fine. There was plenty of “caramel” leftover though. Any suggestions on what else it could be repurposed for?
I’ll be baking my way through your 25+ vegan cookie recipes. Thank you for your recipes!
So glad to hear they were a hit, Joyce! I love using this caramel as an ice cream topping – it firms up in a delicious, magic shell kind of way! Also so good to dip apple slices in :)
Substitute for cicinut oil?? I am highly sensitive to all things coconut.
Hi there! Vegan or regular butter works well as a coconut oil substitute.
I’ve made these so many times and they are perfect. But curious…
Could I roll these out and make cut out cookies for Valentine’s Day? Or do you have a cut out cookie recipe (that is also gluten free, refined sugar free, and vegan)?
Hi Megan, you likely could but they might puff a bit and not hold a perfect shape.
I did it and they were absolutely fantastic. Just in case anyone else wants to try!
Oh so glad to hear that, thanks for the feedback!!
I have been asked to make these for my daughter’s wedding.
But I will need to make them in advance.
Can they be frozen?
Can they be out of the refrigerator for the 6 hours or so to the wedding destination?
Hi Kathy, I’d recommend making the cookies in advance and doing the filling the day of or day before if you can – you don’t want them to get freezer burned or soggy or anything! I’d recommend making sure the cookies are well packed too, I’d do double layered in plastic wrap/bag and in an airtight container to give them the freshest taste. Enjoy!!
These cookies are super simple and super yummy!! The sea salt at the end is perfect!!
So glad you’re loving them, Val!