SCD Blueberry Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

Who said thumbprint cookies were just for the holidays?! This zesty “summer edition” of one of my favorite cookies has been my go-to healthier sweet treat on these warm August nights…

I’ve been bringing these cookies to every picnic, backyard get-together, and family event these past few weeks! These healthy paleo cookies seem to be a hit every time with their subtle lemon flavor, buttery texture, and sweet blueberry filling.

The BEST Paleo Thumbprint Cookies

To make it even sweeter (pun intended), these cookies are also:

• Grain-free
• Gluten-free
• Refined-sugar-free
• Dairy-free
• Specific carbohydrate diet friendly

With that said, these healthier cookies are still full of buttery lemon and blueberry flavors. They also have the classic soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture that traditional thumbprints have!

These blueberry lemon thumbprint cookies are made with finely ground blanched almond flour. Almond flour is my favorite grain-free, low-carb substitute for regular flour since it can often replace it in a 1:1 ratio.

Math is not my forte, so keeping it to a minimum in recipes is a MUST for me!

I also used coconut oil in place of butter for this recipe, although butter is considered “legal” on the specific carbohydrate diet! Both are well-used and well loved in my recipes, but I decided to use coconut oil for these cookies because of the slightly sweet, tropical flavor it would bring to the table. In my opinion, coconut compliments both the lemon and blueberry flavors so well!

However, if you don’t happen to have coconut oil on hand, melted butter or ghee (aka clarified butter) works just as well! Some of the other recipes that I often interchange coconut oil & butter/ghee include:

• SCD Cherry Pecan Crumb Bars
• SCD No-bake Lemon Coconut Cookies
• SCD vanilla cake donuts
• SCD caramel sauce

How to Make 2-Minute Blueberry “Jam”

I’m not going to lie: I didn’t have the time or patience to spend in the kitchen boiling down berries. Nor did I want to add 4+ cups of added sugar in order to make a healthy blueberry jam for these cookies.

Sooo this 2-minute, microwave jam was born… if this doesn’t sound like a college dorm room invention, I’m not sure what does! lol.

This jam can also be made on the stovetop in case you don’t have access to a microwave! It takes longer than the microwave version, but it’s still so much quicker than making a more traditional homemade, sugar-filled jam…

It was also really important to me to develop an easy, specific carbohydrate diet friendly blueberry jam recipe since I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC) in February. When I first started the specific carbohydrate diet to help manage my UC symptoms, I was absolutely devastated that I thought that I had to give up all of my favorite sweet treats. For reference: I have the BIGGEST sweet tooth ever!!

But that’s not the case at all!

Over the past several months, experimenting with minimally processed ingredients and natural sugar sources (such as fruit and honey) has become one of my biggest passions.

This “jam” recipe especially gets bonus points for being so quick and easy!

Step 1: Combine the blueberries, honey, lemon juice, and sea salt in a microwave-safe bowl.

Step 2: Place the bowl in the microwave and microwave on high for about 2 minutes. Lightly mash the berries with a fork. Stir in the coconut flour and set the mixture aside to thicken for about 5 minutes before using.

How to Make Healthier, Grain-free Thumbprint Cookies

These cookies are so incredibly easy to make that it’ll be hard to resist whipping up another batch every week (definitely guilty of this lol).

I always like to have a stash of healthy desserts prepped to grab out of my freezer, especially for busy work weeks. Without fail, I always find that I NEED to end my meals with something sweet!

Bonus points if dessert is also made with nourishing, non-inflammatory ingredients! The dreaded afternoon crash or early evening slump never really seems to come after eating these grain-free, paleo cookies.

Step 1: Combine all of the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

Step 2: Mix until a thick cookie dough forms and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, covered.

Step 3: Scoop out the cookie dough with a cookie dough scooper on to a greased cookie sheet. Lightly press your thumb in the center of each ball of cookie dough.

Step 4: Fill each “thumbprint” with the homemade blueberry jam with a small spoon.

Step 5: Bake! (optional) Garnish each cookie with dried lemon zest.

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