Vegan thumbprint cookies

Prep: 1 hour Bake: 15 minutes Makes: 4 dozen (2-inch) cookies

I like to use a variety of jams for taste and color on my cookie plate. My favorites are red raspberry, apricot and quince. If you make the dough ahead of time, it keeps well in the refrigerator for about two days if covered.

2 cups whole almonds or other nuts such as walnuts, pecans or pistachios

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1⁄4 teaspoon salt

1 1⁄2 cups flour, divided

1 cup melted coconut oil

1 cup maple syrup

Jam(s) of your choice

1. Arrange two racks to divide the oven into thirds; heat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.

2. Place the nuts in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse until they are chopped into small pieces. It’s OK if you have a variety of sizes, just don’t grind them to a flour. I tend to leave them chunkier than most people, because I like to bite into a decent piece of nut when eating these cookies. But you can grind them finer, if you like. Transfer the chopped nuts to a large bowl.

3. Place the oats and salt in the food processor (no need to wash first); process into a coarse meal. Again, I like to leave a little texture in the oats. Transfer the oats to the bowl with the nuts.

4. Add 1 1⁄4 cups of the flour, oil and maple syrup. (Doing it in this order, and using the same measuring cup, means that all the maple syrup will glide out effortlessly.) Mix with a wooden spoon until combined. If the dough seems runny, add the additional flour; but don’t worry if it is too soft, as it will stiffen up a bit as it sits. Set aside for 15 minutes. 5. Form the dough into rough balls about the size of a whole walnut. The dough will be slightly wet but surprisingly not too sticky. Place on the baking sheets, spacing them evenly apart. They can be fairly close together, since they don’t spread much (you may need to bake in batches).

6. Make an indentation in the top of each cookie with the bottom of a round 1⁄2 teaspoon measure. Wipe the spoon clean and use it to fill the indentation with your jam of choice.

7. Bake until the cookies begin to brown slightly, about 15 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Let the baking sheets cool completely before baking the remaining batches.

Nutrition information per cookie: 122 calories, 7 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 13 g carbohydrates, 4 g sugar, 2 g protein, 13 mg sodium, 1 g fiber