CHOCOLATE SESAME THUMBPRINTS W/ MAPLE-TAHINI CARAMEL /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

no doubt this holiday season will look and feel quite different. we’re all making sacrifices in order to keep our loved ones and even complete strangers healthy. but that doesn’t mean we are forgoing cookie season. as strange as this season will likely feel, i’m determined to make the most of it with my kids. the other week we made sufganiyot for this upcoming weekend’s hanukkah celebration. but i’m already thinking ahead to christmas cookies, because even as much as ames loves a doughnut, he loves a cookie even more.

last year he was still a bit too young to really bake with. but this year i’m putting him to work, starting with these chocolate sesame thumbprints with maple-tahini caramel 😊. they’re quite an easy cookie to make, and only call for a handful of ingredients. they also happen to be gluten-free, grain-free, vegan, and refined sugar free. basically a cookie free of lots of things - but one that doesn’t lack one bit in over-the-top, christmas cookie decadence!

we start by making the maple-tahini caramel, our 4-ingredient (and oh so easy) star of the show. we cook the maple syrup down slightly, remove it from the heat; whisk in the tahini, vanilla, and salt. we let it cool, and then move on to the cookies!

we sift together our dry ingredients, and then separately our wet ones. everything gets folded together to make our dough. like with any thumbprint cookie, we pinch off small pieces of dough, roll them between our palms, and roll them in our toasted sesame seeds (we toast them ahead of time for optimal flavor). we flatten them slightly, make indentations with our thumb, and then bake them off for roughly 12 minutes. they cool, get filled with our maple-tahini caramel, and then topped with a healthy pinch of flaky salt.

while they may not be the typical jammy thumbprint, you will be quite the happy camper with these. they’re full of chocolatey, toasted sesame flavor, with even more sweet, toasty notes from our caramel. truly delicious, i can’t wait for you to make them!

xo

chocolate sesame thumbprint cookies w/ maple-tahini caramel | gf & v

PRINT THE RECIPE!

| makes 18 cookies |

cookie ingredients

  • 2 cups almond flour

  • 1/2 cup cacao powder (or cocoa powder)

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled

  • 1/4 cup maple syrup

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • 1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds

  • maple-tahini caramel sauce

  • flaky salt, for topping

maple-tahini caramel (makes extra)

  • 1/2 cup maple syrup

  • 3 tablespoons tahini

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

method

  1. preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

  2. in a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cacao, and salt - break up any bit of almond flour with your fingers.

  3. in another large bowl whisk together the maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla. add the wet ingredients to the dry until combined.

  4. place your toasted sesame seeds in a large shallow bowl. pinch off a tablespoon amount of dough and roll between your palms to form a smooth ball. roll the cookie in the sesame seeds until its covered in seeds. place on your cookie sheet, and repeat with remaining dough, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie.

  5. use the bottom of a jar or glass, and gently press the cookies down to form little disks (don’t press down too much, you’re looking to have roughly 1/2-inch thickness). gently make an indentation in the center of each cookie.

  6. bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until fragrant, and edges are toasted. remove and let cool completely.

  7. once cookies are cool, plop roughly 1/4 teaspoon of the tahini caramel into your indentations. top with flaky salt, and eat!

  8. cookies can be stored in a sealed container for up to 3 days.

tahini caramel:

  1. in a small heavy bottomed pot, heat the maple syrup over medium heat until it starts boiling. adjust the heat to maintain a steady boil, but not so much that the maple syrup boils over, medium-low should be sufficient. continue to cook the maple syrup until it’s reduced by about half, roughly 4-5 minutes.

  2. remove from heat and whisk in the tahini, vanilla, and salt. pour the caramel into a jar and let cool. once cool, fasten the lid on and store at room temp for up to 3 days.

more festive cookie recipes:

double chocolate gingersnaps

double chocolate gingersnaps

(inside out) chocolate chunk cookie bars

(inside out) chocolate chunk cookie bars

pecan butter chocolate chip cookies

pecan butter chocolate chip cookies

GLUTEN-FREE CARDAMOM SUFGANIYOT (JELLY DOUGHNUTS) /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

we’re going big for hanukkah this year! i rarely fry anything, but when there’s a pandemic and all i want is for my kids to have fun memories of this time, i drag out the oil, and fry up some doughnuts! aside from the scorching hot oil part, this is a pretty fun recipe to make with kids (i don’t advise you to fry the doughnuts with your littles, and i would recommend this for ages 4 and up). it’s actually kind of easy since there are quite a few breaks to let the dough rise a couple of times, it works out pretty nicely for having time to set up for the next phase of the recipe (in case you have impatient little ones like i do 😅).

like any doughnut recipe, these require some planning ahead, and some kitchen equipment that will make everything pretty seamless. i wanted to make this recipe extra easy, so we’re using a gluten-free baking mix. the most frequent messages i get are having to do with not wanting to purchase multiple gluten-free flours for a single recipe (which i completely understand!).

like any other sufganiyot recipe, we make the dough, let it rise, punch out the doughnuts - let them rise/puff again. then we’re off to fry them, give them a sugar bath, and fill them with some jam! super easy ; ) but there is some equipment i find quite necessary that i outlined below. a digital food scale, a candy thermometer, a slotted spoon, and a pastry bag or squeeze bottle are my top picks. and of course we need some fancy serveware to make hanukkah feel extra special this year. a cake stand, dainty dessert plates (or a festive platter) all seemed pretty crucial to making this a memorable hanukkah at home. i love that everything i need to make this hanukkah special can be purchased under one roof (or website) at bed bath & beyond, it’s the perfect place to get everything you need for the holidays.

much love to you this holiday season, xo.

this post was created in partnership with bed bath & beyond. all thoughts and opinions are my own.

COOKING EQUIPMENT & SERVEWARE

cardamom sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) | gf & df

print the recipe

| makes 18 doughnuts |

ingredients

  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, warmed to 105-110°F

  • 2 tablespoons honey

  • 4 teaspoons instant yeast

  • 500 grams (3 cups) bob’s red mill 1 to 1 baking flour, plus more for dusting

  • 1/3 cup cane sugar

  • 2 teaspoons cardamom

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt

  • 4 ounces (60 grams) miyoko’s plant-based butter, melted and cooled, plus more for greasing the bowl

  • 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • sunflower oil, for frying

filling & topping

  • 1 cup cane sugar

  • 1 cup raspberry jam

method

  1. make the dough. turn your oven to its lowest temperature (preferably 170°F or lower), have it come to temp, then turn it off. (we’re going to use it let our dough proof.)

  2. whisk together the warmed milk and honey in a large bowl. sprinkle the yeast over top and allow it to rest and bloom for a few minutes.

  3. in another large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cardamom, and salt.

  4. to the yeast mixture, whisk in the cooled butter, egg and egg yolk, and vanilla until combined. 1/3 at a time, add the dry ingredients to the wet, until completely combined, the dough will be slightly sticky, but workable. knead it in the bowl a couple times until it’s smooth.

  5. grease a large bowl, and scrape the dough into it. cover the bowl with a clean dishtowel (or plastic wrap), and place in your oven (at this point your oven should be slightly warm, not hot. if it’s too hot, open the door to vent it for a few minutes. we don’t want to dry out the dough). let dough rest for about 1 1/2 hours, until it’s puffed and doubled in size.

  6. prep a baking sheet with parchment, and set it aside.

  7. roll and cut the dough. dust a work surface with flour, turn dough out onto it, and dust with a bit more flour. roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness. use a 3-inch round cookie cutter and punch out as many doughnuts as you can. place them on your parchment lined baking sheet. re-roll dough and punch out doughnuts once again. scrap the remaining dough (or you could also use a 1-inch round cookie cutter to make doughnut holes with the scraps).

  8. cover the doughnuts with your dishtowel and place back in the oven. let them rise once more until puffy, about 1 hour.

  9. *prep a few things ahead of time to make your life easier: 1. line a baking sheet with paper towels and place a cooling rack inside of it. 2. place sugar in a bowl for rolling the doughnuts. fill a piping bag with your jam (i like to whisk the jam first, especially if it’s a bit firm), and attach a small tip.

  10. fry your doughnuts. when there’s about 20 minutes left in your rise time, fill a heavy bottomed pot with 3-inches of oil and attach a candy thermometer to the side. turn heat to medium-high and heat the oil until it reaches 350°F.

  11. a few at a time, drop the doughnuts gently into the oil. cook 1 minute, then flip, and cook another 1 1/2 minutes on the other side. use a slotted spoon to transfer the doughnuts to your cooling rack. repeat with remaining doughnuts (if making doughnut holes, cook for 45 seconds, then 1 minute). roll in sugar while still warm, and return to the rack.

  12. fill your doughnuts. when doughnuts are cool enough to handle pierce the side of your doughnuts (i like using a chopstick, but you could use a knife, too) and fill with about 2 teaspoons worth of jam. if you can, stack them upright so the jam fills the cavity and doesn’t pour out. serve warm. like most doughnuts, they are best served the day of, but will last for up to 2-3 days. however, they will get dry.