Thumb Print Cookies Dairy Free & Vegan

I have accepted a life without dairy since finding out I am dairy intolerant, but during this season especially, I miss some of the holiday sweets.  I was searching the web last week and found a surprise:  Whole Foods has recipes online, including 3 pages of dairy free desserts.  I tried their Thumb Print Cookies and loved them.  I did alter the recipe significantly, so here is my version:

Thumb Print Cookies
1 cup walnuts
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1/4 tsp. salt
juice sweetened all fruit jam (I used strawberry/banana jam.  It was good, but I think pure strawberry would have been better.)

-Preheat oven to 350°F.
-Put almonds and oats into a food processor and pulse until coarsley ground.
-Transfer to a large bowl and add flour, oil, syrup and salt. Stir to combine well.
-Roll walnut-sized balls of the dough in the palm of your hand to form each cookie, then arrange on 2 large baking sheets, spacing cookies 2 inches apart.
-Press your thumb gently down into the center of each cookie to make an indentation.  (My son had fun doing this!)
-Spoon a scant teaspoon of jam into each indentation.
-Bake cookies until golden brown and just firm around the edges, 6 to 8 minutes.
-Transfer to a rack to let cool completely, then serve immediately or store between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container.

If you are interested, you can find the original recipe here.  Even if you aren’t vegan or dairy free, I think you will like these cookies.  Plus, they aren’t as sweet as many of the cookies people make during the holidays.