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Cherry Coconut Thumbprint Cookies

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Cherry Coconut Thumbprint Cookies
mouthwatering raw, gluten-free Cherry Coconut Thumbprints displayed on parchment paper
~ raw, gluten-free ~
Today, I got the newsletter from Vivapura a raw food ingredient supplier located in Patagonia, AZ. About a year ago, we took a tour of their facility. They sell some amazing raw ingredients which can often be found at Whole Foods.
You can also order from their online store,  I encourage you to check them out. In today’s newsletter, they highlighted the cashew!  Here is what they had to say…
Despite their creamy, indulgent taste, cashews are actually lower in fat than most nuts!  And the fact that they do contain is considered “good fat” (oleic acid, the heart-healthy monounsaturated fat olive oil is most known for).
The fat in cashews has also been shown to lower triglyceride levels in diabetics. Cashews are extremely high in copper (1/4 cup contains 37.5% RDA of copper).  Copper is an essential mineral for maintaining healthy collagen (beneficial for our skin and joints), fighting anemia (assists in the utilization of iron), and building up the immune system.
They are also high in tryptophan and magnesium. Tryptophan produces feelings of well-being and mellowness and is broken down into anxiety-reducing niacin.  Magnesium has a calming effect and is essential in regulating nerve and muscle tone.
So for the love of cashews… let’s get busy with this wonderful recipe!  P.S. I think these gorgeous little cookies would be perfect to serve around the holidays.  They surely have that festive look to them.  Oh, before I forget… I used the candy and peanut-butter-cup mold.   It isn’t necessary to have but it sure is sweet. :)

mouthwatering raw, gluten-free Cherry Coconut Thumbprints displayed on parchment paperIngredients:

Yields 47 cookies

Jam:
  • 1 cup dried cherries
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 Tbsp raw honey
Cookie:
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
  • 1 1/2 cups raw cashews
  • 1/4 cup fine coconut flour
  • 1/4 cup raw mesquite powder
  • 1/4 cup raw honey
  • 2 Tbsp cold-pressed coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 8 drops liquid NuNaturals stevia
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt
  • 1/2 tsp ginger powder

Preparation:

Jam:

  1. Make the jam first so the chia seeds have time to set up.
    • Soak the dried cherries in 1 cup of water for 15 minutes.
    • Then place the cherries, half of the soak water, chia seeds, and honey into the food processor, fitted with the “S” blade, and process until the cherries are broken down.
    • I tried doing this step in my blender, I don’t recommend that there isn’t enough volume to spin it around.
  2. Pour the jam into a zip-lock bag and set aside.   Rinse the food processor out and dry thoroughly for making the cookies.

Cookies:

  1. Place coconut in the food processor, fitted with the “S” blade,  and grind to a powder.  Remove ground coconut to a bowl and set aside.
  2. Place cashews to the food processor and grind to flour (wait until there is no more rattling sounds with the processor on).
    • It should sound like pebbles spinning around in there and then to a sound of sand.
  3. Add the ground coconut, coconut flour, mesquite powder, honey, coconut oil, water, stevia, vanilla, salt, and ginger to the food processor and process until the batter balls up as it is spinning.
  4. If using the mold listed above, pack the cavities with batter and level off the tops so they are flat.
    • If you don’t have a mold you can roll them into a ball and press a dent in the center for the jam to nestle in.
  5. Flip the mold over onto the mesh screen that comes with the dehydrator and pop them all out.  They come out very easily.
  6. Take the bag of jam and snip the lower corner of the bag so you can use it as a piping bag.
  7. With gentle but firm pressure,  squeeze the jam onto each cookie.
    • Because there will be some small chunks of cherries in the jam, you will have to use a little pressure to squeeze it out but be careful that you don’t bear down too hard and have a huge glob pop out.
  8. Dehydrate at 145 degrees (F) for 1 hour, then reduce to 115 degrees (F) for 6-8 hours (you can do more or less depending on your desired cookie texture).
  9. Serve with a glass of your favorite milk and enjoy!

Culinary Explanations:

  • Why do I start the dehydrator at 145 degrees (F)?  Click (here) to learn the reason behind this.
  • When working with fresh ingredients it is important to taste test as you build a recipe.  Learn why (here).
  • Don’t own a dehydrator? Learn how to use your oven (here). I do however truly believe that it is a worthwhile investment. Click (here) to learn what I use.
I used this silicon mold to make myraw, gluten-free Cherry Coconut Thumprints.

I used this silicone mold to pack the cookie dough into.  They hold about
1 tsp of batter.  Mold is not required but sure makes for pretty shapes.

piping jam on top of the raw, gluten-free Cherry Coconut Thumprints.

I placed the cherry jam in a zip-lock baggie and cut the bottom corner off. With a gentle but firm pressure,  squeeze the jam onto each cookie. Because there will be some small chunks of cherries in the jam, you will have to use a little pressure to squeeze it out. but be careful that you don’t bear down to hard and have a huge glob pop out.

A beautiful display of raw, gluten-free Cherry Coconut Thumprints.

This morning I woke up at 4:00 A.M. and sprung out of bed to check on these sweet little things.  When I slide the tray out, half of them were all toppled over.  Hmmm, we didn’t have an earthquake…. I know they were all upright when I went shut the kitchen light off.  Hmmm, it appears that my husband had a SNACK ATTACK close to bedtime and with his manly brute force, he must have shaken them up. haha  Regardless, they all came out gorgeous.

16 thoughts on “Cherry Coconut Thumbprint Cookies

  1. Joyce Barron says:

    Hi Amie Sue,
    Just a quick note to thank you for your newsletter. I absolutly LOVE getting it and trying out your beautiful recipes…..you make this so easy, and I just love that you put the pictures in for us newbes like showing above how the ground coconut, cashews and coconut flour should look…..this is something I always wonder when I read a raw recipe, “am I doing this right?” I am like I said new at all this and it is not your momma’s cooking as they say ;-0 so I just love the way you do it!
    I wish we were neighbors, I’d love to be friends!
    Thanks again
    Joyce

    • amie-sue says:

      Thank you Joyce. I am such a visual person and love cookbooks that offer photos of how things ought to look so that I know I am on track… so with that in mind, I try to keep that in mind as I create these recipes to help you. Well we may not be neighbors but we can still be friends. :) Have a great day, amie sue

  2. Jesse Gabriel says:

    Hallo Amie-Sue.
    Oh wow da haben sie aber wieder gezaubert! Danke das sie dieses tolle Rezept wieder mit uns teilen.
    Ich werde es sicher versuchen, denken sie ich kann sie auch ohne Mesquite Pulver machen?

    Wenn ich anderen Menschen erzähle das ich 90% roh esse und vegan leben sagen sie immer wir sind alle krank wir haben kein Eiweiß und so weiter, dass sind die Menschen, die sich nicht mit den Lebensmitteln beschäftigen, leider, sie sollen sich nur mal z.B. die Cashewnüsse ansehen sie sind so gut für da haben sie recht Amie-Sue, super das sie es sagen!
    Cashewkerne haben auf 100g zwischen 18 g und 20 g Eiweiß klasse nicht war!
    Hoffe es ist okay das ich das geschrieben habe?

    Ganz viele Grüße,
    Jesse Gabriel

    • amie-sue says:

      Translated to…

      Hi Amie-Sue.
      Oh wow they have conjured up but again! Thanks for the sharing this great recipe with us again.
      I’ll try, sure, they think I can do without Mesquite powder?

      When I tell other people that I eat 90% raw vegan and they always say we are all sick, we have no protein, and so on that are the people who do not deal with the food, unfortunately, they are only as times Add the cashews, they are so good for you’re right-Amie Sue, super tell it!
      Cashews have no class at 100g between 18 g and 20 g protein was!
      Hope it’s okay that I have written it?

      Very best regards,
      Jesse Gabrie
      ___________________________________________

      I love that you share your passion here Jesse. :) I am sure you can get by without the mesquite but I am going to encourage you to try it. :) There are great nutrient benefits and it adds to the flavor. Good to hear from you and have a great day!

  3. susan bland says:

    these look fantastic i have some dried blueberries do you think these would work?

    • amie-sue says:

      Good morning Susan,

      Oh of course! You could really use any dried fruit for the “jam”. Dried blueberries are such a treat. I hope you try the recipe with them. Keep me posted. HAve a happy day, amie sue

  4. Marlys Wilson says:

    I’m allergic to mesquite is there another flour I could use? This is a high allergen in the region I live in.

    • amie-sue says:

      Hi Marlys…. use lucuma powder or increase the ground coconut and cashews by 2 Tbsp each. Could even try almond meal. I wouldn’t increase the coconut flour because it tends to absorb a lot of moisture. Good luck and let me know how it goes.

    • Marlys Wilson says:

      Thank you I’ll try it and will let you know. I know you are correct about the coconut flour, I made a coconut bread once and later decided to use it as a door stop. Way too dense. I think I’ll go with the increasing ground coconut and cashews. Thank you again.

  5. constance says:

    these look amazing
    you normally say something about storage on your items but i dont see that here-LOL is that because you havent had the chance to test that theory yet?
    I need to make these at least 3 days ahead what do you think?
    constance

    • amie-sue says:

      Hello Constance…You should be just fine making them 3 days in advance. Keep covered in the fridge if you do. These were such a hit that they didn’t physically last long. haha Have a blessed day, amie sue

  6. constance says:

    this last summer i bought a cherry pitter (not the little thing you break your thumb on)
    I had wanted a nice one for years so finally made the plunge
    I put 3 flats of black cherries in the freezer in 2 cup packages
    I dont have dried cherries on hand right now so used the frozen-anyone who has frozen cherries before will know they get a little wet when they freeze so anyway about this cookie lol
    I used the frozen cherries to make the jam and just made a double batch-had to tweek the chia seeds just a bit to compensate for the extra liquid-used this jam for the cookies and what an amazing cookie it is and so simple to make
    now remember i doubled the jam amount so i have extra jam on hand
    i had just made the caraway dill flatbread and the mascarpone cheese a couple days ago so I thought what the hec lol
    i spread the mascarpone on the flatbread and topped that off with the cherry jam and OMG you wouldnt think that rye flavor would work but it is absolutely outstanding together
    thankyou so much for all the recipes
    i have to laugh sometimes when i am fixing something to eat around here and almost all my components have been aquired from your sight
    I think I would starve to death if you werent here
    thanks again kiddo
    constance

    • amie-sue says:

      So wonderful to hear from you Constance :) I loved reading through your comment here. I have a freezer full of cherries too! Your making me hungry for them ;)

      Mascarpone with cherry jam…. ooooh man, move over and hand me a spoon. hehe I can see that tasting amazing. Glad to hear that you aren’t starving to death. I want you to stay healthy and satiated. Have a glorious afternoon, amie sue

  7. yvette says:

    hi there,

    I love your recipes and i can tell from your pic your are such a meticulous and neat person. :)

    i wanted to try this out but i do not have stevia.what can i replace and do i need to adjust rest of flour ingredients then?

    thanks heaps
    yvette

    • amie-sue says:

      Good morning Yvette,

      Due to the very small volume of stevia, you won’t need to adjust the other ingredients if you don’t add other sweeteners. If you due,that will bring more liquid in depend on the measurement you use… from there you might have to adjust things. Good luck and enjoy, amie sue

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