VeganMoFo Day 19: Earl Grey Guava Jam Thumbprints

My brother just came back from Hawaii and got me tons of Honomu guava jam!  Their jams are free of preservatives, artificial food coloring, and high fructose corn syrup.  Awesome.  I love guava jam on toast, but I’m also always looking for ways to incorporate it into baking because the flavor is so unique. Earl grey tea is another flavor that I love seeing in baked goods. So why not combine the two in the form of lovely little cookies? 

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

1/3 cup canola oil

2/3 cup sugar

¼ cup almond milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon earl grey tea leaves (from 2 tea bags)

Some guava jam (or your favorite jam)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the oil, sugar, almond milk, and vanilla extract.
3. Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt, and tea leaves. Stir until just combined.
4. Using your hands, roll pieces of dough into teaspoon sized balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (the dough will feel oily)
5. Make an indentation in the center of each ball. (the end of a wooden spoon is great for this; remember to dip the handle in flour so that it doesn’t stick to the dough)
6. Fill each indentation with jam.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned.

Some notes:

• These spread a bit while baking, so I found that rolling small teaspoon (vs. tablespoon) sized balls results in nicely shaped cookies.
• I also made a small batch using quince jam, but I didn’t think it was as flavorful as the guava version.  Try it out and let me know how it works for you!
• If you use loose leaf tea, you may have to grind the leaves first...unless you like chewing on big pieces of tea leaves. 

The holidays are fast approaching and these will definitely be on my cookie giveaway list. What's on yours?  :)