Thank you to my friends at American Greetings for partnering with me on this post.
These gluten-free frosted flourless thumbprint cookies are only 140 calories per cookie and made with almond flour for a healthier treat! Gluten Free, Vegetarian (Vegan and Paleo without frosting.) 
Hi, friends! I’ve been holding out on you, saving this recipe since December! I know, I’m terrible, but there is some kind of healthy food blog law out there that states “thou shall not post cookie recipes in January.”
Back in December, I asked one of my best friends and one of the only people who has read Hungry Hobby since the beginning, what kind of dessert recipes I should post. She mentioned her Grandma used to make thumbprint cookies with FROSTING in the middle.
The woman must have been an amazing woman. For some reason, frosting screams Valentine’s Day to me. Maybe it’s because the few times I was single on Valentine’s Day I celebrated with a jar of frosting and Teddy Grahams. Who knows.
I decided to make cream cheese frosting because Mr. Hungry LOVES cream cheese in any form including but not limited to, on bagels, in cheesecake, and in cookie frosting. At our rehearsal dinner, we made sure to surprise Mr. Hungry with a cheesecake, it was hard keeping it a surprise but totally worth it.
(Side note, turns out making your own frosting is SUPER easy and helps with portion control, when you make a tiny amount you only have a tiny amount to eat. When it comes to frosting I could eat that by the spoonful for every meal, there is no such thing as too sweet for me.)
He also LOVES cookies, we jokingly refer to him as the cookie monster because he LOVES cookies. So making these cookies were the perfect little homemade treat and they are super easy to make! Since Valentine’s Day is on a Tuesday this year, I think it might be kind of easy to skip over in the hustle of the week.
That’s why American Greetings is providing free printables that help you show you care in simple easy ways. Since I go to the store umpteen times a week, I love the shopping list, so much cuter than the ruled line notebook paper I normally use! I also printed off the little quote and hung it on our fridge!
You can get the shopping list, the quote, mobile/desktop wallpaper, and a super cute calendar printables all for free on American Greetings! Visit their website here!
Sometimes adulting means doing the things you need to do all day and going through the motions. It is so easy to get caught up in just living with someone, becoming roommates instead of lovers.
We’ve been married three years now and we only have children of the furry variety so it can be super easy to get caught up in our own wants, needs, and schedules. We’ve definitely found times in our marriage where we felt like we were living separate lives, especially when I was working 70 hours a week.
But it’s okay because I don’t believe that marriage is about balance. I believe it is about sacrifice and unbalances, sometimes you give more than you take and sometimes you take more than you give. In the hectic week, we just try to create little moments to savor to keep us connected.
Sometimes that’s getting away for the weekends, sometimes it’s date night, and sometimes it’s doing things to show each other we care. Mr. Hungry loves getting cards, but, if you have been following Hungry Hobby you may remember that I HATE writing in cards.
I never know what to say, it makes me feel super awkward. For someone that writes as part of their job, I’m terrible with words. I even sent a Christmas present to my friend without a card, note, or anything. That’s why I was super excited to find this post by American Greetings, which gave me great ideas on what to write inside the card!
I found these little treat jars at Target when I went to pick up the Mr. Hungry’s Valentine’s Day card and thought they would be adorable filled with cookies! (PS if you refrigerate your cookies for a couple hours the frosting will solidify so you can put them in treat bags or jars!)
Then I saw the coffee cup and I just couldn’t leave it, what’s better than a treat jar? A coffee mug filled with cookies, because coffee and cookies are the way to this girls heart. No, wait, coffee, cookies filled with frosting, and a card telling me how I awesome I am is the way to my heart, clearly I’m a bit high maintenance.
A few little notes about the most amazing cookies I’ve every made, no seriously, they are so light and airy they taste like shortbread! First of all, I used almond flour as the base so, without the frosting, they are paleo friendly.
The cookie itself, even without the frosting is amazing, so you could, if you aren’t a frosting person skip that. Then you would have a 100 calorie healthy cookie for any time you want it packed with healthy fats and a little natural sweetener. Of course, my love is with the frosting so I would never do that, but you do you.
Flourless Cream Cheese Frosted Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 3 cups blanched almond flour fine
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup whipped cream cheese
- 1/3 cup softened butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine almond flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well then add coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Mix until combined well.
- Measure out cookies using a cookie scoop, placing 2 inches apart from one another.
- Roll each cookie into a ball, flatten in the palm of your hand, if edges of cookie crack push them back together. Using the side of your thumb making two diagonal imprints in the shape of a heart. (Or just use one thumbprint in the center if you don't want hearts.)
- Bake for 12 minutes until edges are golden brown, then let rest for 15 minutes. (I refrigerated mine and made the frosting the next day.)
For frosting:
- To make frosting combine 1 cup powdered sugar, whipped cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract and mix using an electric hand mixer. When combined add second cup of powdered sugar and mix until frosting forms.
- Add frosting to piping bag or ziplock bag (cut of the corner of the ziplock bag) to fill hearts with frosting.
- You will likely have leftover frosting, the recipe is enough for two batches of cookies.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Laughter is also the way to a girls heart, which is why I love the musical cards I found for friends! I’m going to post one on IG I found later today, so be on the lookout for that! To find an American Greetings retailer near you, use their store locator.
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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MyTuesdayValentine #
I just had a crazy idea–put beet juice in the frosting for red hearts!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I love shortbread cookies made with almond flour. I have all these ingredients at home, so I may have to whip up a batch. #client
enjoy!
These are so adorable!
Thank you!
These cookies are so cute! Love that heart mug
Totally worth the $10 bucks I paid for it, I’m a sucker for coffee mugs!
Not sure what’s more adorable – the cookies or those red mini pots you have them in?! Love it all!
thanks for nice sharing 🙂