How to Make Vegan Blood Orange Thumbprint Cookies
What’s sexier than a citrusy cookie with your personal identification baked inside, filled with a juicy blood orange and strawberry sauce? I pretty much write recipes around blood oranges when they’re in season. These cookies were born for that reason. On top of being filled with a blood orange and strawberry sauce, the cookie crust has a blood orange zest. These cookies are the complete package of zesty, juicy, and buttery sweetness.
Ingredients
Cookie Dough:
1 cup vegan butter, room temperature
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp blood orange zest
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
Blood Orange Strawberry Filling
1 medium blood orange, peeled, de-seeded and chopped. (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup frozen or fresh strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.) In a large mixing bowl, blend the lemon and blood orange zests into the sugar until the sugar is moistened and fragrant from the zests, about two minutes.
2.) Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and zesty sugar for about three to four minutes or until sugar granules are blended and creamy. Add in the vanilla extract.
3.) Add the flour to the wet ingredients and blend until a soft dough forms. Switch over to using your hands or a rubber spatula to form dough if it needs extra help coming together.
4.) Form dough into 12-16 balls (about the size of a ping pong ball) placing on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Press your thumb into center of each cookie. If edges of cookie crack, pinch back together.
5.) Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
6.) Remove from oven. If center of cookie has bubbled up while baking, gently press thumb in center again. Transfer cookies to cooling rack after letting cookies sit for two minutes. Make filling while cookies are cooling.
7.) Using a small pot, stir together the orange, strawberries, sugar, and salt. Cook mixture for about 20 minutes, or until fruit has broken down and thickened into a more saucier jam consistency. Make sure to stir frequently, and break down strawberries with spatula if needed. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
8.) Fill each cookie with about a 1/2 tablespoon of the Blood Orange Strawberry Filling.
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