These easy vegan cranberry thumbprint cookies are perfect way to add something sweet and tangy to holiday. They are also a deliciously practical way use up all of your leftover cranberry sauce.
What kind of cranberry sauce should you use?
This is the time to use fresh cranberry sauce. Canned cranberry sauce wont work in this recipe. You will want to use a sauce that is smooth in consistency and free from large chunks or whole berries. I actually purchased fresh cranberry sauce from my local Whole Foods. You can also use my home made Cranberry Sauce recipe. Just make sure to strain it so that it is smooth or remove any large cranberry chunks.
Can I use this recipe with other jams/jellies?
Absolutely, You can use whatever jam or jelly you like. Just make sure it doesn't have any large pieces of fruit and is smooth in consistency.
Vegan Butter, which one to use!
I used the Country Crock Plant-Butter Stick made with Olive Oil. In my opinion they give the best results when baking. You can find them at most groceries stores.
Ingredients
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of cane sugar - plus an additional 1/2 cup more for rolling your cookies
3/4 cup of vegan butter slightly softened (I use Country Crock Plant-Butter Sticks
3 tbs of non dairy milk
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 tsp of almond extract
About 1/2 cup of fresh cranberry sauce
pinch of salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F
Place 1/2 cup of sugar into a bowl and set aside (this will be the sugar you use to roll your cookies in later.
Line an extra large baking sheet (or 2 medium) with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and salt together and set aside
Add the softened vegan butter to a bowl and use a hand or standing mixer and beat on medium speed until creamy (about 30 seconds).
Add the sugar and continue to mix for about 1 minute until the butter and sugar are combined.
Now scrape down sides of the bowl add the vanilla and almond extract and mix on medium speed for an additional 30 seconds.
Now reduce the speed of your mixer to low and gradually add the flour and mix until just combined and dough starts to form (about 30-60 seconds) *Don't over mix.
Scrape down sides of the bowl and add the 2 tablespoons of almond milk and mix on low to combine.
Using a half-tablespoon measuring spoon or scoop, scoop the dough and use your hands to gently roll into smooth balls.
Immediately roll each ball into the small bowl of sugar making sure they are completely coated.
Then place them on your baking sheet about 1 ½ inches apart.
Now, you can make the indentations by using the back of a 1/2 teaspoon or use your thumb to gently press down about ½ way in. Make sure not to go all the way to the bottom. *Some cracks are normal and you can gently smooth them with your fingers or leave them.
Using a small spoon to fill each cookie with jam make sure not to overfill the cookies. Overfilling will cause the filling to spill over the cookies.
I like to chill my cookies in the fridge or freezer for 20 minutes. This keeps them from spreading too much.
Bake in the oven until slightly golden brown about 13-14 minutes (baking them too long will make them crispy and we want nice soft cookies). The cookies should still be fairly pale. Remove them from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack for another 10 minutes.
