Last Updated on April 6, 2022 by Anne-Marie

This gluten-free thumbprint cookies recipe is divine – soft, moist, and buttery with a sugary crunch.

These peppermint Hershey kiss cookies make wonderful edible holiday gifts. Don't forget to save a few for Santa!

Why this recipe works

You'll love baking these gluten-free classic thumbprint cookies for cookie swaps and Christmas parties this holiday season.

This delicious thumbprint cookies recipe made with Hershey Kisses can be quickly assembled from ingredients you can quickly pick up at the store.

It's convenient, too, since a batch of these buttery cookies can be made in about 40 minutes, including cool downtime.

Cook up a batch of these delicious cookies after dinner. Or, if you don't mind waking up early, you can bake up some in the morning before going to school or work.

Ingredients

• vegan (dairy-free) buttery spread
• brown sugar
• an egg
• vanilla extract
• unsweetened coconut milk
• Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
• baking soda
• salt
• white decorative sparkling sugar
• Hershey's Candy Cane Holiday Kisses

How to make this recipe

Hershey thumbprint cookies are so much fun for the Christmas holidays.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Mix buttery spread, brown sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and coconut milk in a large bowl until well blended.

3. Stir together the dry ingredients in another bowl – gluten-free baking flour, baking soda, and salt.

4. Add flour mixture to butter mixture a little at a time. Mix until well blended.

5. Pour sparkling sugar onto a medium-sized plate. Using a small cookie scoop, measure out cookie dough into enough for a 1-inch ball. Roll the dough balls in sparkling sugar.

6. Then place the cookie on a baking mat or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.

7. Bake cookies for 8 minutes or until edges have browned slightly and the cookies have set.

8. While cookies are baking, unwrap candies.

9. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven. Cool cookies for 2 minutes. Gently press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. Using a spatula, carefully move cookies to cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

10 Store cookies in an airtight container until serving time.

FAQs

Baking up a gluten-free cookies recipe

These yummy cookies are so tasty that no one will notice that they are gluten-free cookies. That's because they're made with Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.

This gluten-free baking flour measures and bakes up just like regular flour. I always get great results with it.

Learn how to measure flour correctly for the best results in your everyday baking.

Check out my Best Gluten Free Products List to find more of my favorite gluten-free baking products!

Are these dairy-free cookies?

The DOUGH for the thumbprint cookies is dairy-free since the recipe uses a vegan buttery spread and unsweetened coconut milk.

You can use another type of dairy-free milk, such as unsweetened oatmeal or soy.

If you aren't a fan of vegan butter, try coconut oil.

KISSES AREN'T DAIRY-FREE!

Unfortunately, Hershey Candy Cane Holiday Kisses and all chocolate kisses (including the dark chocolate) contain either non-fat milk or lactose, a milk sugar.

So don't bake with Hershey's kisses if you can't tolerate dairy products.

Use these dairy-free cookie fillings instead:

● Spoon a dollop of your favorite jam. Any type of jam will do, and a variety would be pretty on a cookie platter.

IDEAS: raspberry jam, orange marmalade, apricot jam, blueberry jam, or lemon zest. (A teaspoon of jam should do the trick.)

● Do you make homemade jam? Check out my recipe for Easy Fig Ginger Jam.

● Or use some strawberry sauce in the center of the cookies. DELISH!

● Pipe in some dairy-free cake frosting or your favorite flavor of nut butter in the middle of the cookie.

● Add a few Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips (they're dairy-free).

Are these vegan cookies?

No, these aren't vegan thumbprint cookies since there is an egg in the recipe and Hersey's Kisses aren't vegan.

However, you could use a vegan egg substitute in the dough and a vegan filling.

If you do, let us know how that worked out in the comments.

More gluten-free cookie recipes

Check out The 60 Best Gluten Free Christmas Cookies Recipes for the ultimate cookie list.

Bake up these gluten-free cookies for your holiday cookie exchange:

● Fruit Filled Cookie Cups

● Oreo Balls

● Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies

● Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Pine Nut Cookies

● Lemon Flavored Meringue Cookies

● Homemade Granola Bars

Originally posted on December 10, 2015 and November 29, 2017. Updated with new pictures and information.