No-Bake Pumpkin Butter Thumbprint Cookies with Macadamia Nuts (Gluten Free, Vegan) — Will Frolic for Food

In a medium sauce pot set over low heat, whisk together the pumpkin puree, coconut sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and allspice. Cook for 5-8 minutes or so, whisking relatively constantly until the pumpkin butter thickens up and turns a burnt-caramel color (dark honey-brown). It should thickly coat the back of a spoon when done. Remove from the heat and set aside.Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.In the bowl of a high powered blender, combine the almond meal and 1/4 cup macadamia nuts. Pulse a couple of times to grind the macadamia nuts into the almond meal.Add the coconut oil, dates, sea salt, and cinnamon to the bowl of the blender. Blend until the mix comes together into a pliable dough (don't over blend or it will start to become more like nut-butter). Turn the dough out into a medium mixing bowl.Chop a handful of macadamia nuts roughly into small pieces. Knead the nut pieces into the dough.Pinch of golf-ball sized amounts of dough and roll the dough between your hands to form little balls. Set each ball on your parchment lined baking sheet. You'll have about 1 dozen balls, all in all.To shape the cookies, press your thumb into the center of each dough ball. Shaping the edges of the cookies back together with your fingers, as the cookies will crack and spread from the thumb impression.Set the tray in the freezer for 10 minutes.Remove the tray of cookies and dollop about 1/4-1/2 a teaspoon of pumpkin butter in each thumbprint impression.Eat immediately OR if you'd like your cookies to be firmer you can freeze the tray of cookies again for 10 minutes before digging in.Best eaten immediately. Although you can store frozen cookies in a sealed container in the freezer for up to a week. Thaw for 5-10 minutes before consuming hard-frozen cookies.