Healthy Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies

Yields: 24 thumbprint cookies

These fun cookies are perfect for the holidays—or anytime you’re craving gingerbread but don’t want too many leftovers! They’re soft, chewy, and full of rich warm spice flavors that pair really well with the sweet jam centers. The cookies will keep for at least two days if stored in an airtight container on the counter or at least one week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator (if not longer!).

1 cup + 6 tbsp (165g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
1 ½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
⅛ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg white, room temperature
2 tsp nonfat milk, room temperature
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp liquid stevia
¼ cup (60mL) molasses
¼ cup (80g) raspberry jam (see Notes)

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg white, milk, and vanilla. Stir in the stevia and molasses. Add in the flour mixture, stirring until incorporated.
To prepare the filling, add the jam to a small bowl, and stir with a spoon until it’s smooth. (It should take a couple minutes!) Once smooth, transfer the jam into a zip-topped bag, and cut off the corner of the bag.
Roll the cookie dough into 24 small spheres, and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Using your index finger or thumb, make an indentation in the center of each, and fill with the jam. (If the dough cracks, gently pinch it back together with your fingers.) Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack. (If the cookies stick to the baking sheet, slide a knife underneath each cookie first!)

Notes: Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.

Use store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) for the gluten-free option.

Remember to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much flour will make your cookies dry and crumbly, instead of soft and chewy.

Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.

The molasses is essential to create the gingerbread flavor. It’s inexpensive, shelf-stable, and keeps for ages. I do not recommend substituting for it! In a pinch, you can substitute pure maple syrup, honey, or agave, but the cookies will no longer have that classic gingerbread taste.

I highly recommend using the liquid stevia! It's one of my favorite ingredients, and you'll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too. I buy mine online here because that's the best price I've found. You cannot substitute additional molasses, pure maple syrup, honey, or agave for the liquid stevia because cookies require a precise balance of wet and dry ingredients. However, you may substitute ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (120g) coconut sugar (or granulated sugar, if you aren’t concerned about keeping these cookies clean eating friendly) for both the molasses and stevia, but the cookies will appear “speckled” if using coconut sugar because it doesn’t dissolve as well. They won’t have quite the same classic “gingerbread” flavor either.

Regular and sugar-free raspberry jam will both work. You can also use my homemade 10-minute raspberry jam recipe.

Any jam flavors may be substituted for the raspberry jam.

This recipe is easily doubled!

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, lower sugar}

Recipe by Amy's Healthy Baking at https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2018/12/13/healthy-gingerbread-thumbprint-cookies/