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These buttery sweet cookies have a soft vanilla flavor, a crisp exterior and a soft and chewy middle, just like any good Gluten Free Sugar Cookie should have. Better yet, they are simple to prepare using only a handful of ingredients and needing just a bowl and spoon to make the batter.

Everyone needs a good sugar cookie recipe, and this one should be your new one. These chewy little cookies are insanely delicious, easy-to-prepare and perfect for the holidays, or year round. You can either bake the cookie as is, for a perfectly sweet cookie, or you can roll it in raw sugar to get for an extra sweet crunch to it.

But what’s more is that we really simplified the steps needed to make this cookie by using just 1 bowl and a sturdy spoon to mix the dough all together. Which means you can have fresh, hot cookies on your table quickly. This is also a great recipe to make with the kids for the holiday baking season.

Looking for cut out sugar cookies for decorating? Check this recipe.

Gluten free sugar cookie dough on a baking sheetIngredients Needed

  • Almond Flour
  • Tapioca Flour
  • Baking Soda
  • Baking Powder
  • Sea Salt
  • Maple Syrup
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Butter
  • Raw sugar (optional)

How to Make it Dairy-Free

You asked, we tested! Many of you wanted to make this dairy-free, so we set out to testing if it could work with coconut oil. And yes, it does, but with some mild difference.

The coconut oil must be at room temperature (which is just the same as the butter). You might find it a bit tricky to blend in all the pieces of coconut oil, but do your best, using your fingers to blend in the small pieces of coconut oil, if necessary. In addition, the cookies don’t spread as much as the butter version, so they need a slightly longer baking time since they’re thicker. We recommend baking them for 11-12 minutes. But the cookie still turned out delicious, so we do think it’s worth it.

Tips for Making Gluten Free Sugar Cookies

  1. Make sure your butter is fully softened. This recipe requires the butter to be room temperature because it is mixed in with the dough as is, as opposed to creaming it or melting it. Room temperature butter will easily be mixed into this almond flour dough, with no chunks of butter remaining.
  2. Use a study spoon and a bit of muscle. We use a bit of an unusual method of making this dough: all the ingredients are simply mixed together in a bowl until the dough has come together. It’s easiest to achieve smooth dough if you use a sturdy spoon, such as metal or wooden one, and really mix up the dough well. At some point while you are making the dough you are going to feel like it won’t ever come together–but keep mixing: it will.
  3. Chill the dough, if you have time. We tested making this dough baked right after mixing as well as baking after a chill in the refrigerator. Truth be told, we preferred the chilled cookies, because the dough has chance to rest and the flavors play better together when this happens. However, this recipe works just fine when the cookies are baked immediately after the dough is made. 
  4. Roll the dough in sugar, if you want. These cookies are great on their own, but rolling them in sugar creates another flavor and textural component that is nice.

Baked gluten free sugar cookiesStoring Gluten Free Sugar Cookies

As with any sugar cookie recipe, these are best eaten on the day they are made. On day 1, the outside is crisp in the middle is soft and chewy. The cookies can be stored in a bag or container at room temperature for up to 3 days, but they soften as time goes on.

The cookie dough can be rolled into balls and frozen for up to 3 months. To freeze, place the portioned cookie dough balls on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Move cookie dough in a freezer bag.

When ready to bake, follow the baking instructions but add an extra minute or two to the cooking time.

Best gluten free sugar cookie recipe Icing Sugar Cookies

These cookies are not the type of cookies that should be used to make cut out shapes, and decorated. If you are looking for those cookies, check out this recipe.

However, these are the type of sugar cookies that taste insanely delicious with a buttercream icing on top. We tested this with some buttercream we had lying around after making a cake, and they were SO GOOD. You could make a half sized batch of buttercream from this chocolate recipe or this vanilla recipe.

If you like this gluten free cookie recipe, check out these others:

If you like this gluten-free recipe, check out these others:

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EASY GLUTEN FREE SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE

5 from 9 votes
These buttery sweet cookies have a soft vanilla flavor, a crisp exterior and a soft and chewy middle, just like any good Gluten Free Sugar Cookie should have. Better yet, they're also simple to prepare using handful of ingredients and 1 bowl and spoon.
Servings 16 cookies
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 2-1/2 cups 245 grams almond flour
  • 1 cup 120 grams tapioca flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • Pinch sea salt
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened (see note)
  • Raw sugar optional

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350º and line two baking sheets with parchment parchment paper.
  • Add almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt to a bowl. Whisk together until combined.
  • Add in maple syrup, vanilla and softened butter. Using a heavy spoon, mix the dough all together until fully combined with no visible butter remaining.
  • Roll dough into balls (about 2 tablespoons in size, or a #30 scoop), dip in raw sugar if desired, and place on baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
  • Bake for 10 minutes.

Notes

  1. This dough could also be made in an electric stand mixer, following the same process as mixing it by hand.
  2. If you find the dough difficult to work with, place in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes before rolling cookie dough balls.
  3. Let cool before picking up, as they are quite delicate when hot.
  4. Cookie dough can be made up to 2 days ahead.
  5. Want to make it dairy-free? Swap out room temperature coconut oil for the butter. The cookie won't spread as much, so you'll have to tack on 1-2 minutes to bake it to account for a thicker cookie. Make sure to mix in as much of the coconut oil to the batter as possible.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 117kcalCarbohydrates: 14gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 57mgSugar: 6g
Course: Dessert
Author: Lexi


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Comments

  1. These are delicious! My partner had no idea these were gluten free, and they were incredibly simple to prepare! Lexi, congratulations!

  2. I am on a fodmap diet and cannot eat rice or gluten. I know. A mess. But these are perfect! I have been looking for plain sugar cookies that I can eat right now, and these sound great! Thank you.

  3. Oh man! I made these last night for a family dinner. Needless to say, there were no leftovers! I’ve been dreaming about them all day. So good!

  4. 5 stars
    These were amazing! I under baked mine a touch but they were doughy and delicious. My husband said they are the best cookies he has ever had, and this coming from a man who does not need to be gluten and dairy free (I do) and who usually shuns anything that doesn’t have chocolate. Great job, Lexi! And to note I cannot have dairy and we used the Miyokos dairy free cultured vegan butter, worked great.

    1. Hi! These are cookies, so I’m pretty sure apple sauce won’t have the same result. But if you give it a try, let us know how it goes!

  5. 5 stars
    Amazing!!!!!! Wow, Lexi these are incredible!!! I made them for my family and no one knew they were gluten free and made of almond flour!!! I put them in the fridge for 24 hours and they were incredible!!!!!

  6. These are THE BEST GF sugar cookies ever! My kids love them and usually they won’t eat any desserts that are GF.

  7. 5 stars
    These are so good! My boyfriend didn’t realize they were gluten free and they were so easy to make! Well done Lexi!

  8. 5 stars
    These are soo good and easy!! I used a plant butter I randomly grabbed at the store. My guests didnt even know they were gf and df. They were still perfectly sweet and tasted so similar to a regular sugar cookie (not the typical cut out one).

  9. I accidentally made this with 1/2 stick of butter instead of a 1/2 cup (distracted!) and they still turned out great! So delicious!

  10. 5 stars
    I haven’t even baked these yet, but the dough is marvelous! Tastes better then other sugar cookie dough. My first batch is in the oven