I made these gluten-free vegan cranberry thumbprint cookies to use up the Thanksgiving cranberry sauce.  They’re naturally sweetened with dates so they are free of refined sugar.  A blend of almond flour and oat flour makes them gluten-free.  The perfect way to use Thanksgiving leftovers! Joining Sarah and Deborah for Meatless Monday today.

Thanksgiving and I have had an interesting relationship.  As a kid, I loved going to my grandma’s house for an all-day affair.  We would leave with tons of leftovers and for the next few days I would be reminded of the fun. But then, for basically all of my 20s, I suffered from an eating disorder, which made the holiday extremely uncomfortable.  The holiday I enjoyed as a kid scared me. I would spend the week leading up to it dreading the end of the evening when my mom or aunt would say, “Take home these leftovers!” They’d try to send me home with (what felt like) bags of food I didn’t want.  Luckily, now that I’m in a better place, I can once again enjoy the time with my family, enjoy the food, and enjoy taking home leftovers at the end of the evening.

My favorite Thanksgiving dish is my aunt’s cranberry sauce. It is the BEST.  Tart, sweet and fresh.  The perfect complement to the savory stuffed acorn squash I eat as a vegan main dish.  This year, I brought an empty container to her house in anticipation of leftovers.  As I was cleaning up, I looked at the sauce and thought, “This would be GREAT in a cookie!”  I basically did the same thing last year with the leftover sweet potatoes from Christmas.  Cranberry thumbprint cookies, sweet potato cookies, I think I’m seeing a theme develop.  Sorry not sorry.

Cranberries contain disease-fighting antioxidants and are rich in Vitamin C to support the immune system.  The phytochemicals in cranberries can also help prevent UTIs and gum disease (source).  Immune strength and antioxidants are essential to keep us runners going.

Knowing that my aunt’s cranberry sauce contains sugar, I wanted to limit the amount of sugar and stay away from refined sugars. I’ve used dates as a natural sweetener in many recipes before, including the chocolate pecan pie I’ve made for holiday desserts.   Dates are rich in potassium, and also have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties.  More runner benefits!

Almond flour and oat flour combine to create a crispy, buttery cookie.  I also added cornstarch, my favorite secret cookie weapon. The result? Gluten-free vegan cranberry thumbprint cookies that puff up nicely and have a good crunch.  I also rolled some of the dough in crushed walnuts before baking for a little extra somethin’ somethin’. Feel free to omit or just fold into the batter completely.

Dress up your Thanksgiving leftovers with these gluten-free vegan cranberry thumbprint cookies.  They are tart, crispy, naturally sweetened, and fun to make.  Guaranteed the best way to finish leftover cranberry sauce!

If you try this recipe, let me know!  Rate it, leave a comment, take a picture and tag @Rabbitfoodruns on Instagram.  I’d love to see how you enjoy your vegan thumbprint cookies!  

Buen provecho,

Becca

What I used for this recipe…

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Vegan Cranberry Thumbprint Cookies

Cranberry thumbprint cookies are the perfect way to use leftovers cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving or Christmas. The cookies are naturally-sweetened with dates and use gluten-free almond and oat flour. I bet leftovers have never looked so cute!

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

20-22 minutes

Servings

cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 c pitted and chopped Medjool dates *about 8-10 dates
• 1 c walnuts
• 1 c rolled oats
• 1 c almond flour
• 1/4 c cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 c melted coconut oil
• 3 tbsp almond milk
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp maple extract
• 1/2 c cranberry sauce *NOT canned

Prep Time 20 minutes Cook Time 20-22 minutes Servings cookies Ingredients 1/2 c pitted and chopped Medjool dates *about 8-10 dates 1 c walnuts 1 c rolled oats 1 c almond flour 1/4 c cornstarch 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp sea salt 1/4 c melted coconut oil 3 tbsp almond milk 1 tbsp ground flaxseed 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 tsp maple extract 1/2 c cranberry sauce *NOT canned

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Place pitted and chopped dates in a shallow dish or tupperware. Pour in boiling water, cover, and let soak for 10 minutes. Set aside.
3. While the dates are soaking, add the walnuts to the food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Transfer to a shallow dish.
4. Add the rolled oats to a food processor. Grind until a fine flour forms. Transfer to a medium bowl and sift in the almond flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Mix well to thoroughly combine.
5. Drain the chopped dates. Add to the bowl of the empty food processor, and process until slightly smoothed out. Add the coconut oil, almond milk, flaxseed, vanilla extract and maple extract. Process until a paste forms, scraping down the sides as needed. Transfer paste to a large bowl.
6. Sift in the flour mixture and stir well until sticky dough forms. If you would like to coat the cookies with crushed nuts, fold in half the chopped walnuts (if you will not be coating the cookies, fold in all the nuts). Chill the dough for 10 minutes in the freezer.
7. Roll the dough into 15 balls, about 1 tablespoon size each. Roll in the remaining crushed walnuts to coat (optional) and place on parchment paper. Use your thumb to make an indent in the center of the cookie. Fill with cranberry sauce.
8. Bake cookies at 350F for 20-24 minutes until the smell nutty and slightly browned on the edges. Depending on the moisture in your cranberry sauce, they may need to bake longer or shorter. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the pan before transferring to a wire cookie rack to complete cooling.

Recipe Notes

• If you do not have homemade sauce, this recipe works best with cranberry jam or preserves, NOT with the jelled sauce from a can.
• You can also substitute other jams or preserves.

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