This gluten-free sugar cookie recipe is made with almond flour, is light, fluffy, and perfectly sweet. Enjoy these sugar cookies on a dairy-free or vegan diet too!
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I don’t know about you, but I think every kitchen needs a standby sugar cookie recipe. Sugar cookies were some of my favorites growing up, and I loved it when my mom or grandma used to bake them to share with my sister and I.
I almost always preferred the homemade versions over any store bought cookies my mom would bring home.
Even though they were obviously more work, they always had that something extra that you couldn’t replicate in a manufacturing facility.
I’ve noticed there are two main camps of sugar cookie lovers – those who like them frosted or iced and those who like them plain.
I’m most familiar with drop cookies that aren’t iced, but I’ve had many iced cookies that are equally delicious.
In fact, one of my closest friends has opened a cookie business locally and it’s been incredible to watch her talent get better and better over the past year.
She even tried her hand at making vegan and gluten-free sugar cookies for my birthday this year and they were so delicious!
While I truly appreciate the talent that’s involved in baking and icing, I am not nearly as skilled at making fancy cookies. I much prefer to eat them than to decorate them.
Which is why I wanted to share with you my gluten-free sugar cookie recipe that’s also dairy-free, egg-free, and vegan.
These cookies are light, fluffy, super simple to make, and are perfect for a weekend treat or even as a gift for someone you love.
While they aren’t the most gorgeous cookies you’ll find, they tick all the marks for me and my family:
- Sweet but not overly so
- Light and fluffy
- Require minimal prep and cleanup
- Can be customized for special occasions
While these aren’t the cut-out decorate yourself type of cookies, they are simple and delicious nonetheless. These sugar cookies taste like home and look the kind of cookies you won’t feel too bad eating because they’re too pretty.
Let’s talk about how to make these gluten-free sugar cookies come together, how I made them dairy-free and vegan, and the step-by-step instructions for how to to make your own batch.
Ingredients for gluten-free sugar cookies
You only need a few ingredients to make these gluten-free sugar cookies. With just six ingredients, you can whip up a batch in under 20 minutes!
Almond flour
Almonds are naturally gluten-free, meaning almond flour is as well. I chose almond flour for this recipe, because it’s easy to find at many grocery stores and at Costco.
I also love almond flour for this recipe, because it’s full of protein, fiber, and healthy fats. It also lends a nutty flavor to this recipe that I really enjoy.
Read on: Is almond flour gluten-free?
Vegan butter
While I tend to use coconut oil in a lot of my baking, I opt for vegan butter in this recipe. The taste is similar to real butter and gives the fat you need to make these feel like comfort food.
I use Earth Balance vegan butter that already has salt in the ingredients, so I find that these cookies don’t need any additional salt. If your vegan butter is unsalted, you may want to add a pinch of salt to your cookie dough.
Read on: Dairy-free Butter and Butter Substitutes
Maple syrup
Even though these cookies are called sugar cookies, I wanted to keep the amount of refined white sugar lower than a traditional cookie.
By replacing some of the sweetness with maple syrup, these cookies have a rich sweetness, but some of that sweetness comes from a more natural source.
This ingredient also helps bind the cookies more since we’ve omitted an egg to keep them egg-free.
Sugar
I don’t feel like it’s right to call these cookies sugar cookies without adding any real sugar at all.
If you don’t love the idea of refined sugar, you can omit this ingredient entirely, but I find that it feels like more of an authentic sugar cookie with the real thing.
Baking soda
This ingredient is added to give the cookies a little bit of lift while baking.
Read on: Is baking soda gluten-free?
Vanilla extract
Vanilla extract gives any cookie it’s homemade flavor, and it gives a ton of flavor to the sugar cookie dough in this recipe. Plus I love how delicious the house smells whenever I use this ingredient!
Read on: Is vanilla extract gluten-free?
Looking for an edible cookie dough? Try my gluten-free cookie dough that’s also dairy-free, egg-free, and vegan!
How to make sugar cookies gluten-free
To make sugar cookies gluten-free, I’ve opted to use almond flour. Like some of my other cookie recipes, I feel good about giving my family treats that have *some* form of nutrition.
We get enough sugar and carbs in our diets, I’d rather try to find some small ways to bump up the nutritional value in every area I can.
Almond flour is full of healthy fats, fiber, and protein, so even when my son wants a second cookie, I can feel good that he is filling up on more than just sugar that’s going to make him crash after 30 minutes.
Read on: 25 gluten-free sugar cookies
How to make gluten-free sugar cookies dairy-free
To make gluten-free sugar cookies dairy-free, you can use vegan butter in place of butter. In some of my other cookie recipes, I also use coconut oil for my baking.
In this recipe, every ingredient seems to come through in the taste. The vegan butter tastes closer to a ‘real’ sugar cookie that is made with butter.
How to make gluten-free sugar cookies vegan
To make gluten-free sugar cookies vegan, I simply omitted the egg and any dairy from my recipe. Many recipes online call for dairy and eggs in most cookie recipes.
Since I have an egg intolerance in addition to both gluten and dairy intolerances, I tend to make gluten-free and vegan versions of baked goods, because it’s what a recipe becomes once you remove all the animal products.
In the case of this gluten-free sugar cookie recipe, I followed a similar approach to my gluten-free chocolate chip cookies and omitted the need for eggs and dairy products by using maple syrup and vegan butter to hold the cookies together.
Surprisingly, you don’t actually need eggs in all baked goods, and they still turn out delicious.
These cookies might crumble slightly more than a recipe that calls for an egg, but it isn’t a problem for me or my family.
Read on: 25 egg-free cookie recipes
How to make gluten-free sugar cookies
Making these gluten-free sugar cookies couldn’t be easier. In fact, if they were even remotely more difficult to make, I likely would never make them at all. I’m a simple baker at heart, so the steps in this recipe are as basic as they come.
Preheat the oven
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. While the oven is preheating, prepare your baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
Place white sugar on a plate and set aside.
Make the cookie dough
In a large bowl, combine almond flour, melted coconut oil or vegan butter, maple syrup, baking soda, and vanilla extract. Stir to combine the ingredients well, making sure everything is incorporated. Don’t over mix.
Scoop the sugar cookie dough
Using rounded tablespoons or a 1 ½-inch cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough out onto your prepared cookie sheet.
The smaller you scoop the cookies, the more cookies you’ll have and the faster they’ll bake.
You will have at least 12 cookies, maybe more depending on the size of your scoop. I get about 16 from my batch using a 1 1/2 -inch cookie scoop.
Roll the dough into cookie dough balls
Roll the dough between your palms to create a smooth surface for each cookie dough ball.
Then roll the dough in the prepared sugar, coating it on all sides, then place back on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with all other cookie dough balls.
Press the cookies
These cookies don’t rise much, so you’ll want to use your fingers to gently press the cookies into discs.
I like to put a plastic sandwich bag over my hand to do this task to make for easy cleanup, but it isn’t necessary if you don’t mind getting your hands a little sticky.
Transfer and bake
Transfer the cookie sheet to the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. If you choose to bake smaller cookies, check on the cookies at 10 minutes.
These cookies don’t brown up much from the lack of egg and butter, so even if they don’t look “done,” trust that they’ll harden up as they cool and still taste great.
Cool the cookies and enjoy
Remove from the oven and cool for at least 10 minutes before moving off the baking sheet, otherwise the cookies may fall apart. Enjoy with a glass of dairy-free milk or cup of coffee.
Do I need to chill the dough?
These cookies come together very quickly and don’t require chilling before forming the cookies or baking.
If you find it hard to scoop the dough because it’s too soft, you can chill the dough in the fridge for about 10 minutes before scooping.
How to store gluten-free sugar cookies
These cookies soften up after about a day at room temperature in an airtight container. If you want them to last longer (they never last very long in my house!), you can store them in the fridge to extend their life and texture.
Can I customize these gluten-free sugar cookies?
Sugar cookies are a blank canvas! While I prefer my sugar cookies to be plain (I can’t be bothered to ice or frost them before they are eaten), you can definitely decorate them however you wish! Here are a few ideas:
- Make a dairy-free glaze with powdered sugar and dairy-free milk to spread on top
- Frost with dairy-free frosting
- Ice using a dairy-free icing
- Swap out the white sugar for rolling for colored sugar for a holiday (red for Valentine’s day, orange for Halloween, etc)
- Decorate the dough with sprinkles before baking
- Make a cookie sandwich by spreading jam or melted dairy-free chocolate between two cookies
Read on: The best dairy-free icing brands
Read on: 25 Dairy-free frosting recipes
Read on: Are sprinkles gluten-free?
Gluten-free Sugar Cookies (Dairy-free, Egg-free, Vegan)
Try these gluten-free sugar cookies that are simple, easy, and come together in 15 minutes! They're dairy-free, egg-free, and vegan too!
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut oil or vegan butter, melted
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup white sugar, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- In a large bowl, combine almond flour, melted vegan butter, maple syrup, baking soda, vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup sugar. Stir to combine.
- Using rounded tablespoons or a 1 ½-inch cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough out onto your prepared cookie sheet.
- Roll the dough between your palms to create a smooth surface for each cookie dough ball, then roll in the prepared white sugar, coating it on all sides. Place each cookie back on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with all other cookie dough balls.
- Press the cookies into discs using your fingers, as these cookies don't rise much in the oven.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 11 to 14 minutes.
- Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before enjoying.
Notes
These cookies soften up after about a day at room temperature in an airtight container. If you want them to last longer (they never last very long in my house!), you can store them in the fridge to extend their life and texture.
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I hope if you’ve been looking for a gluten-free sugar cookie recipe that’s simple, delicious, and easy to make that you’ll give this recipe a try. Enjoy them plain or by customizing them to make them your own!
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