The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap! [Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies]

This year, I was a proud participant in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap! In signing up, I was matched with 3 other food bloggers to whom I would send cookies, while my information was given to 3 other food bloggers to receive cookies from. It's basically a giant web of sugary blogger love!

Being a slight overachiever / kitchen-adventurer, I sent my matches a half dozen of two types of cookies, rather than a dozen of one. Sadly, I was thoughtless and sent my boxes out before snapping a picture of how I packaged them. Imagine plastic shopping bags (for cushioning) hiding behind layers of red tissue paper, a blue handled box covered in snowflakes, and a frosted pastry bag covered in similar flakes of snow. And there was a card in there too. Red and blue are definitely my 2013 holiday theme!

My cookies of choice were: Cinnamon French Toast Sugar Cookies & Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies. As I wrote in each of the cards, they were both slightly breakfast-inspired, but one was definitely slightly healthier than the other. [You can read about the Cinnamon French Toast Cookies here.]

I'd been wanting to make thumbprints like this ever since I visited my friend Heidi in Chapel Hill, NC this past spring. She took us to this sweet community co-op where I bought a variety of baked goods, including a raspberry almond thumbprint. It's list of ingredients was modest and wholesome: almonds, oats, maple syrup / agave syrup, oil, and raspberry preserves. After a brief Google search, I found a similar recipe posted on another co-op's website. Much like the ones from Chapel Hill, these cookies taste as deliciously simple as the ingredients: crunchy sweet cookies, cradling a tart raspberry filling. If you have any guilt eating a toast-shaped sugar cookie for breakfast, this is definitely a great alternative without sacrificing much flavor.



Maybe one day I'll take it a step further an use homemade preserves...but for right now, I'm perfectly happy using preserves from a jar purchased at my local Fresh Market ;-)

From those food bloggers matched to me, I received a wonderful variety of cookies:

• Honey Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips & Raisins from Anne of Candy Crazed Run
• Molasses Crinkle Cookies from Amy of Fearless Homemaker
• Double Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies from Toni of Kitchen Savvy Mom

Thank you to the above bloggers for the wonderful treats! I've frozen some to share with my family during our upcoming Christmas party :) I'm also super excited to begin following these wonderful food blogs from all across the United States!

Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies

Slightly Adapted from the City Market Co-op website,
Originally from Butterfly Bakery

Servings: ~1 dozen cookies

1 1/4 cup dry roasted almonds
1 1/4 cup rolled or old fashioned oats
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 light agave nectar
1/3 cup coconut oil, or butter (plus more if needed)
Pinch of salt
1 jar raspberry preserves (or other preferred flavor!)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat. In a food processor, pulse almonds until the consistency is medium-fine (emphasis on medium). Pour into a large bowl; and next, pulse oats until a flour is formed. Add oats, followed by the flour and salt into the large bowl with almond meal. 

• In a heat-proof bowl, soften oil or butter along with sweeteners. Create a well in the dry ingredients and pour in oil and sweetener mixture. Stir until well combined and a dough is formed. Add more oil/butter if needed. (Dough will be slightly crumbly, use a firm hand when shaping it in the next step.)

• Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and line up rows on baking sheet. Using your thumb, or preferred method, make an indentation in the center of each ball. Add about 1 teaspoon of preserves into indentation.

• Bake cookies for 14-20 minutes or until edges are slightly brown (and cookies can be lifted from baking sheet without crumbling). Allow to cool on baking sheet for about 2 minutes, and then place of cooling rack to cool completely.