Raspberry thumbprint cookies are easy gluten free and low carb cookies with a fruity raspberry jam filling. They are perfect for low carb, Keto and sugar free diets.
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Are you a cookie monster?
It’s easy to be one. In my opinion, cookies – and in my case, low carb cookies – are just irresistible. Firstly, they are easy to make. They’re a lot less daunting than a cake, for example. Secondly, they are portable and keep well. Then, they look all cute and petite. And last but not least, they go well with coffee!
I am a serial cookie baker. A couple of highlights I have shared recently include my low carb peanut butter cookies and these low carb coconut shortbread cookies. This recipe for raspberry thumbprint cookies is a new arrival in the low carb cookies hall of fame. Seriously, someone should roll out a red carpet!
I am always amazed at how you can achieve a new taste and texture by changing just a small detail in a recipe. To make basic low carb cookies, you need nut flour, butter, egg and a natural sweetener such as stevia or erythritol. This time, I decided to add cream cheese for a “fresher” taste.
I baked one batch with no filling at all. For the purists among you, this is a great pared-down version. When the cookies are flat and relatively thin, they become deliciously crunchy. Just be patient and wait until they have cooled down. Low carb cookies contain grain free flours such as almond and coconut flour and these tend to be crumbly when hot due to their lack of gluten.
Next, I decided to mix things up a bit and added two different fillings: a mix of melted butter, cinnamon and sweetener for one half of the batch and a cream cheese filling with cream cheese, cinnamon and sweetener for the other.
Also, both delicious!
Then I had a brainwave. Jammie Dodgers! I needed to make a low carb, sugar free version asap.
In the UK, Jammie Dodgers are one of the most popular cookie brands and they’ve been around for DECADES. They’re (super-sweet) shortbread cookies with a jam filling. Jam in cookies is surely not a thang invented in the UK, but you’ve got to admit, the name Jammie Dodgers is pretty genius. It makes me think of pyjamas, fun and, well, Play-Doh.
For my third cookie batch, I dropped a dollop of easy no-cook sugar free raspberry jam into each thumbprint (lots of fun, making those thumbprints, by the way). This jam is, as the name suggests, raw. It’s basically mashed fresh raspberries with chia seeds with touch of sweetener and delicious on grain free bread or in sugar free granola.
I’d think if you don’t happen to have a jar with raspberry jam in the fridge as I did, you could simply mash a handful of raspberries with a touch of sweetener and a sprinkle of chia of xanthan gum and use that instead.
Alternatively, any shop-bought sugar free jam would work. Just make sure it is sweetened with stevia or erythritol and not with concentrated grape juice – brands tend to conveniently label products as “sugar free” even though they still contain sugar from other sources. Always check the ingredients and the nutrition label! The sugars in a truly sugar free jam should only be derived from the fruit itself.
I really hope you’ll love these raspberry thumbprint cookies as much as we did.
As you can see in the picture where I’ve taken a bite, the outside of the cookie is browned and crunchy, but the inside below the raspberry filling remains soft and tastes a bit like marzipan. The tartness of the raspberries is the perfect counterpart for the subtle sweetness of the base.
And in case you wonder what I did with three batches of cookies? A small selection went into a cookie tin for immediate consumption and the rest is in the freezer, ready for small moments of pleasure in the future 🙂
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Low Carb Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
Raspberry thumbprint cookies are easy gluten free and low carb cookies with a fruity raspberry jam filling. They are perfect for low carb, Keto and sugar free diets.
Ingredients
- 2 oz / 55g full fat cream cheese
- 2 oz / 55g unsalted butter softened
- 5 tbsp granulated erythritol
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg medium
- 1 1/2 cup / 150g almond flour
- 1 oz / 30g sugar free raspberry jam
Instructions
Heat your oven to 180 Celsius / 356 Fahrenheit.
Mix the cream cheese, softened butter, vanilla extract and erythritol in a food processor or with a hand blender until smooth.
Add the egg and mix.
Add the almond flour and mix.
If your dough feels too soft to handle, simply form a ball, wrap it in clingfilm and cool it in the fridge for 20 minutes (or in the freezer for 10).
Form small balls in your hands and place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
Press your thumb into the middle of each ball to form an indentation.
Fill each indentation with sugar free raspberry jam
Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Recipe Notes
The cookies are VERY SOFT when they come out of the oven. Let them cool down completely and they will firm up.
You can use any sugar free jam in this recipe. For a super-quick version, you could even simply mash a handful of fresh raspberries with a sprinkle of chia seeds or xanthan gum.
I calculated the nutrition for 1 cookie. My batch made 20 in total. Depending on how big a treat you feel, I'd say 1-2 cookies should do the trick.
Cassie says
Hi. I don’t have any Erythritol, Can I use granulated stevia instead?? Thanks
Katrin says
Absolutely. If your stevia is granulated, it’s probably mainly erythritol anyway 🙂 Often, manufacturers use a mix of erythritol and steviol glycosides, and then call it whatever they want. Just make sure your granulated stevia has the sweetness of 1:1 compared to sugar. I once had a stevia-based granulated sweetener that was twice as sweet as sugar.
Cheryl Evans says
just made these and made my own Jam filling
Katrin says
Fantastic! Thank you for trying the recipe 🙂
Rhonda says
I do not have SF jam and i was wondering if i could use 1/4 of a piece of sugar free candy.. like the Russel Stover peanut butter cups?
Katrin says
That sounds like a great idea. You can fill these cookies with anything you like. I made a cream cheese filling for them once, which was yum, and I also tried them without filling at all. That time I made them flatter so they came out quite crunchy. Both nice. You could even try a dollop of peanut butter in them, or dark chocolate.
Nan says
What temperature should I set my oven to so I may bake some of these cookies? I live in the USA and our ovens don’t go by Celsius over here we go by degrees like set oven to 350 degrees and bake cookies for 8-9 minuets until toothpick comes out clean when using one to test for doneness.
Katrin says
Hi Nan, I always give the Fahrenheit option in my recipes – you must have missed it, it’s right at the top – Heat your oven to 180 Celsius / 356 Fahrenheit.
Cynthia Mathieu says
The sweetener you used looks like light brown sugar. I’ve never seen light brown erythritol before. Is it different in England than in the States? Would it change the flavor if I used white erythritol?
Katrin says
It’s the brown sugar alternative by Sukrin, called Sukrin Gold. You can order it on Amazon or over their website, in both the US and the UK. Using regular white erythritol would taste just as good though. The flavour of the cookies comes from the vanilla extract and the almonds.
Maryann says
Mine are in the oven now, to take to an about to be told t2 diabetic, tonight. U fortunately the bottom element in my oven has blown for the third time since the oven was two… grilled cookies they’ll have to be!
Katrin says
Grilled cookies, that has to be a first! 🙂 They should be fine though at the very bottom. Next time, if you have a microwave, you could also get them started in there and then transfer them for a bit of crunch?
Sarah says
Can I use liquid stevia in this recipe?
Katrin says
That should work, though you might have to add a couple of tbsp of almond flour to make up for the missing solids in the recipe. My liquid stevia has a sweetness ratio of 4 drops per tsp, but do check your bottle, they may not all be the same!
Belinda says
Loving this recipe. The cookies are perfect, crumbly on the outside and soft on the inside. I didn’t have any jam so filled them with a sugar free chocolate ganache. Thank you for the inspiration. I’ll try your jam version next.
Katrin says
What a great idea to fill them with chocolate! Sounds delicious.
Leah says
I was thinking about making cookies today and now I know exactly what I’m going to make. Can’t wait!!! Your recipes are always amazing – I’m looking forward to this one.
Katrin says
Thank you!! Let me know how you get on with this one 🙂
Leah says
They’re a sound success. The hardest thing is not eating them all at once 🙂