These Vegan Strawberry Coconut Thumbprint Cookies are so easy to make and taste amazing! Toasted coconut tops strawberry jam and a “buttery”, cookie to make one bitesize delicious treat!
Hiya everyone, I hope you had a good weekend. I’m sharing another delicious recipe with you today; Vegan Strawberry Coconut Thumbprint Cookies. They’re actually unintentionally vegan! I thought why not continue experimenting with my vegan butter and not using eggs after the success of my vegan cupcakes!
I had one of those days where my body is just drained and I can’t do anything on Sunday. I’m learning to listen to my body and understand that it’s not me being lazy. There’s actually something wrong with me. It’s really hard as I love being busy, but some days I just can’t do anything other than curl up on the sofa!
I’m seeing a specialist this Friday, so I feel hopeful for the first time in ages. We are going private as I’ve spent the last 12 years getting all kind of disjointed diagnoses. Half the time it’s “you’ve got this”. Then the other half is it’s “just growing pains” or “some young ladies just get dizzy” or the best one? After looking at an MRI that three other people had agreed showed something wrong with my back, that it was “all in my head.”
I deal with so many other symptoms that I don’t talk about. However, I’ve been thinking for the last year or so that there could be a link. So I’m going to start trying to find answers through my own avenues.
Anyway, shall we talk about these Vegan Strawberry Coconut Thumbprint Cookies?
I’ve made thumbprint cookies a few times before and I’ve always added an egg for some extra richness. However, I have also made many doughs like thumbprint cookie dough without eggs. So, I decided to experiment with not adding the egg.
I was going to get the butter out and spotted the Vitalite that I used to make my Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes the other week. It made gorgeous cupcakes and delicious frosting, so I thought why not try it in cookies.
The jam I used is also vegan and the topping for these cookies is toasted desiccated coconut.
I also added a little something extra that is totally optional as I don’t think it’s something everyone would have readily in their kitchens.
That little extra something? Coconut milk powder. My husband bought some in the first lockdown as we couldn’t get to Costco to get coconut milk. We love curries made with coconut milk, so I had to substitute coconut milk powder.
It isn’t quite the same, I find it a bit richer than tinned coconut milk. But, it is delicious and another way to enjoy coconut. I used it in lieu of cornflour. However, I usually make these cookies with cornflour, so it’s totally fine if you want to use that instead of the coconut milk powder.
It adds just a hint of something extra to these cookies. A slight coconut taste and because I find it quite rich, it was the perfect substitute to an egg yolk.
These Strawberry Coconut Thumbprint Cookies are really simple to make. It’s a simple dough with vegan butter and sugar being beaten together with vanilla and then the dry ingredients being added.
I like to line my baking trays, shape the dough and use the end of a rolling pin to make the “thumbprint”. I then chill the trays in the fridge for 20 minutes. This just helps with spreading.
I also made slightly larger thumbprint cookies than I usually do. I normally use a 1tbsp scoop, but I did 1.5tbsp today. It’s totally up to you what size you make.
Once I baked the cookies and let them cool, I toasted some desiccated coconut in a pan, dropped 1tsp of strawberry jam into the centre of each cookie and sprinkled each cookie with the toasted coconut.
That’s all there is to these Strawberry Coconut Thumbprint Cookies. So easy and SO delicious! I didn’t miss the egg or the butter. These taste exactly the same as my thumbprint cookies normally do!
Enjoy this recipe? Here are some other cookie recipes:
Vegan Strawberry Coconut Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- FOR THE COOKIES:
- 1 1/2 sticks (170g) unsalted butter or vegan butter/spread, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup (132g) caster sugar, make sure your brand is vegan, I used Tate and Lyle.
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (210g) plain/all purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp coconut milk powder OR cornflour
- FOR THE TOPPING
- 15 tsp strawberry jam/conserves, make sure it's vegan. It should say on the label
- 1/4 cup (22.5g) desiccated coconut
Instructions
- No need to preheat the oven yet, the dough needs to chill for a bit. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper/a silicone mat and leave to one side.
- Place the vegan butter/butter, sugar and vanilla extract into a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy. This will take around 2 minutes on medium-high speed.
- Measure out the flour, salt and coconut milk power/cornflour and stir to combine.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary, then tip the flour into the butter mixture. Turn the mixer onto low until the dough starts to come together, then turn it up to medium. It will go through a few stages, crumbly, starting to come together and then it will become one lump of dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. This is what you want.
- Take a 1tbsp or 1.5tbsp cookie scoop and place rounds of dough 1 inch apart on your baking sheets. Gently smooth the top with your palm, but try not to flatten them. Either take your thumb or a small rolling pin and press gently into the centre of each cookie. I spray the end of a rolling pin with cooking spray and use that. Don't push all the way through to the mat, you're not creating a hole, more a well for jam.
- Place the trays of cookies into the fridge for 15-20 minutes to chill. During this time, preheat your oven to 180C/350F. Once the cookies are chilled place them in the oven. For 1tbsp cookies it will take 11-14 minutes. For 1.5tbsp cookies it will take 14-17 minutes. You may need to stick your rolling pin back into the warm cookies to make sure there's enough of a well to hold jam.
- Cookies should be golden around the edges and spring back when you touch them. Leave to cool completely on the trays before doing the next step.
- Place your coconut into a dry pan over a low heat. Stir frequently and toast for 2-3 minutes until your coconut is golden brown. Leave to cool while you fill each cookie with 1tsp of strawberry jam. Once each cookie is filled, sprinkle with some toasted coconut.
- Vegan Strawberry Coconut Thumbprint Cookies will keep in an airtight container, at room temperature, for 5 days.
Annie is a self-taught baker, recipe developer and food photographer, who has an obsession with dessert and beauty! 
