Cherry Bakewell Cookies (Vegan Gluten-Free)

These delicious Cherry Bakewell Cookies are rich, fudgy and tender with an almondy thumbprint cookie filled with cherry jam topped with a thick icing sugar top and a glace cherry. Plus these cookies are vegan, gluten-free and wholesome.

Cherry Bakewell is such a classic flavour and beyond the obvious dessert, I wanted to turn these cherry and sweet almond flavours into a cookie. It works really well as the cookie is fudgy, sweet and almondy like marzipan while the cherry jam middle is juicy and fruity before being topped with a thick and delicious white icing sugar and a glace cherry on top.

Why will I love these Cherry Bakewell Cookies?

These cookies are really special, they are:

• Fruity, nutty and sweet
• Chewy, tender and slightly crisp round the edges
• Filled with a cherry jam for a gooey middle
• Topped with thick white icing
• Made with wholesome ingredients
• Naturally vegan and gluten-free
• Easy to make
• No chill time required for the cookie dough

If you already love these Cherry Bakewell Cookies then skip ahead to the recipe card below. First let’s discuss the recipe in more detail.

What ingredients do I need?

The ingredient list is fairly simple for these luscious cookies:

• Smooth almond butter: this is best for a nutty, sweet texture. You could also use cashew butter but almond is best for the true Cherry Bakewell experience.
• Thick coconut yoghurt: for moisture and binding-power. The yoghurt needs to be thick like Cocos Organic, which is my favourite to use. Other dairy-free Greek-style yoghurts will also work.
• Ground chia seeds: or you can use ground flaxseeds. These help to bind the cookies and keep them deliciously tender. You don’t tend to buy chia seeds pre-ground so simply grind up your own chia seeds in a blender to a fine powder and keep in a sealed container for 2 months.
• Maple syrup: for stickiness and sweetness. Check that your maple syrup is pure maple syrup which means it’s not a syrup made with a small amount of maple and the rest is cane sugar, for the best flavour and quality. You can swap this for agave syrup, too.
• Coconut sugar: this is my favourite for the aroma, colour and taste but caster or golden caster sugar is also great.
• Almond essence: to add that typical almond flavour.
• Oat flour: ground your own oats to a fine flour to act as a gluten-free and wholesome flour. It also adds a heartier texture.
• Buckwheat flour: also naturally gluten-free, this is great for baking with. You can swap this with plain flour, if you prefer, making sure it’s gluten-free, where needed.
• Vegan vanilla protein powder: this adds lots of vanilla sweet flavour which is great for cookies and also thickens the mix. The protein powder also creates the perfec texture once baked, so I don’t suggest skipping this. My favourite right now is the vanilla buttercream from Macromike (use code MM-AMY-10 for 10% off everything).
• Baking powder and salt: for rise and flavour.

As for the filling and frosting:

• Cherry berry jam: most cherry jams are darker in colour but I wanted to keep the jam light and bright so I found the most delicious cherry berry jam from Bonne Maman and it’s a new favourite! You can use any berry or cherry jam, here, or use homemade jam.
• Thick coconut yoghurt: as above, the thicker the better for the frosting otherwise it will be far too runny.
• Icing sugar: I like making this with regular or a sugar-free alternative to icing sugar, both work well to create a thick white top.
• Glace cherries: for the cherry on top of the cookie!
• Desiccated coconut: for a little extra texture.

How do I make these cookies?

These are so easy to make in a few steps:

• Stir together all the wet ingredients for the cookies: until smooth.
• Add in the dry ingredients: and stir to a smooth cookie dough.
• Scoop the cookies onto a tray: to make 10 cookies. shape into rounds.
• Bake for 10 minutes: until golden and still a little soft.
• Make an indent into each cookie with a spoon: straight away while warm from the oven. Then cool fully.
• Fill each indent with the jam: to the top.
• Stir together the yoghurt and icing sugar: and pipe or spread over the jam.
• Top with a glace cherry: and sprinkle over some desiccated coconut.

Are these gluten-free and nut-free?

Yes these are naturally gluten-free, please check that your oats or oat flour are gluten-free. These are not nut-free as Cherry Bakewell relies on almond but to make similar cookies you can swap the almond butter for sunflower seed butter, swap the ground almonds for more oat flour and/or buckwheat flour, and swap the almond essence for vanilla essence.

How long will they last?

These will keep for 5-7 days in the fridge and best enjoyed either cold from the fridge for a firmer cookie or at room temperature for a softer cookie.

I love these cookies, what else can I make?

I hope you are going to love these Cherry Bakewell Cookies and for more cookie ideas, how about my:

• Soft Baked Snickers Cookies
• No Bake Cinnamon Roll Cookies
• Chocolate Filled Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches
• Vegan Monster Cookies
• Dark Chocolate Vegan Brownie Cookies

I look forward to hearing what you think of these Cherry Bakewell Cookies so please let me know in the comments below. If you do make these Cherry Bakewell Cookies please tag me, I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With cherry bakewell cookie love x