Honey-Sweetened Thumbprint Cookies

One night last week I was really in the mood for a little sweet treat but couldn't find anything around the house to nibble on so I decided to try and find a cookie recipe that called for ingredients I already had around the house....voila...Honey-Sweetened Thumbprint Cookies!

These cookies are another brainchild of Heidi Swanson and are extra special because they use clover honey in place of sugar and coconut oil or clarified butter in place of a regular stick of butter. Not to mention they are cute little polka dots that match a theme in my kitchen (if you haven't noticed). I, so typically, made this cookies a little too big. The balls that you start with should probably be about 3/4 the size of the ones I rolled but hey a big cookie isn't the worst thing in the world (just not quite as cute as its petite cousin).

Honey-Sweetened Thumbprint Cookies:
from Heidi Swanson
2/3 cup honey (I use a clover honey)
1/3 cup warm coconut oil or clarified butter (I used clarified butter which means you just melt the butter then skim off the white fat that floats to the surface...takes about 5 minutes)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon all natural cornstarch (or arrowroot)
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
zest of one lemon
your favorite jam or preserves (preferably fruit sweetened) - berry goes nicely (I used mostly raspberry but had a tablespoon of blackberry left in a sad lonely jar so I mixed that in)

Preheat the oven to 350F, rack in the top 1/3. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl pour the warm, melted coconut oil over the honey and whisk in the vanilla extract. In a separate medium bowl combine the flour, oats, cornstarch/arrowroot, sea salt, baking soda, and lemon zest. Add the flour mixture to the honey and stir until just combined. Let the dough sit for 2-3 minutes. Stir once or twice again - the dough should be quite stiff.
Roll the dough into balls, one level teaspoonful at a time (*ummm yeah I did about a tablespoon at a time..oops), and place an inch or so apart on the prepared baking sheets. These will spread. Use a (damp) pinky finger or the back of a very tiny spoon to make a well in the top of each ball of dough. Fill each "well" to the top with 1/8 teaspoon of jam. If you chill the dough at this point for an hour, the cookies won't spread as much, but I'm usually too impatient.

Bake for 7 - 9 minutes or until the bottom and edges of the cookies are just golden. Resist the urge to over-bake, these tiny guys dry right out.
Makes a few dozen cookies.