Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies (Cut-Out Cookies)
42
Published Dec 04, 2024
This post may include affiliate links. Thank you for your support.
These gluten-free sugar cookies are made with coconut flour and super easy to make. They have a delicious, buttery flavor and the perfect texture for making cut-out cookies!
How have I not shared a recipe for sugar cookies yet?! I’m honestly not sure, because sugar cookies are a staple in my kitchen every year around the holidays. I love finding new cookie cutters and thinking of new frosting designs. This year, I used these adorable star and snowflake cookie cutters. I like these cookie cutters because they can be used for Christmas or Hanukkah.
For this particular recipe we’re making gluten-free cut-out cookies using one of my favorite healthy alternative flours, coconut flour! I already have a basic coconut flour cookie recipe, but I thought it would be fun to try making coconut flour sugar cookies as well. Turns out, coconut flour lends itself well to cut-out cookies and worked like a charm.
Don’t be intimidated by gluten-free baking, I’m here to hold your hand through this process and it’s really quite easy! However, if you don’t need a gluten-free recipe, try my healthy sugar cookie recipe instead!
Why You’ll Love These Cookies
- Gluten-free (but you’d never know it) – These cookies are soft, sweet, and so good that no one will guess they’re made with coconut flour! They’re the perfect treat for anyone avoiding gluten, but trust me, everyone will love them.
- Fun to make – Rolling out dough and using cookie cutters is just plain fun. Plus, decorating with icing and sprinkles? It’s basically edible art!
- Simple and versatile – The base recipe is classic and easy, but you can make it your own with fun shapes, colorful sprinkles, or even a drizzle of melted chocolate.
- Perfect for all occasions – Whether it’s a holiday party, birthday celebration, or just a day you feel like baking, these cookies fit the bill.
Ingredients Needed
- butter – you can also use ghee!
- cane sugar – using coconut or brown sugar will give these a darker, more carmely color so I definitely recommend using white cane sugar.
- egg – a binding ingredient.
- baking powder – a levening agent.
- vanilla extract – gives the perfect hint of vanilla flavoring to these cookies.
- sea salt – brings out the vanilla flavor.
- coconut flour – the base of our cookies! Coconut flour is naturally gluten free and works wonderfully in these cookies. I often use Bob’s Red Mill coconut flour brand.
- arrowroot powder – this helps with the consistency of the cookie. You can also use tapioca flour in its place.
Vanilla Icing
- powdered sugar – when making icing, make sure you are using powdered sugar. Regular sugar will not provide the right consistency that powdered sugar does.
- vanilla extract – you don’t need much to make this vanilla icing.
- almond milk – the base of your icing. You can use store bought or homemade almond milk. You can also use whatever non-dairy milk you prefer.
- sprinkles – these won’t be mixed into the icing, but sprinkled on top. Look for ones that are naturally colored.
Substitutions
- Butter or ghee: Need a dairy-free option? Vegan butter or coconut oil will do the trick!
- Organic cane sugar: Swap in coconut sugar or maple sugar for a more natural option, though your cookies might have a slightly darker hue.
- Arrowroot powder: Don’t have arrowroot? Tapioca flour or cornstarch will work just as well for firming up the dough and dusting your surface.
- Egg: I haven’t tried this recipe without an egg, but a flax egg (1 Tablespoon flaxseed meal + 3 Tablespoons water), could be a solid vegan alternative.
How to Make Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies
Step 1: Combine the butter, sugar, egg, baking powder, vanilla extract, and sea salt in a large bowl. Slowly add the coconut flour and let the dough rest for about five minutes to absorb the liquid.
Step 2: Sprinkle the arrowroot powder over the dough and knead until fully incorporated. If the dough feels sticky, add more arrowroot as needed.
Step 3: Roll the dough out on parchment paper to about 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes and place them on a baking sheet.
Step 4: Bake at 350ºF for 8-10 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
Step 5: Mix powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and almond milk until smooth. Adjust the thickness as needed for your decorating style.
Step 6: Let cookies cool completely before decorating. Make some hot chocolate to sip on while you’re waiting!
Brittany’s Tips
- Give it a rest: The dough needs a 5-minute break after mixing to let the coconut flour work its magic. Don’t skip this step—it’s the secret to getting a dough that’s easy to work with.
- Be generous with arrowroot powder: Coconut flour dough can be a little sticky, so don’t be shy about dusting your rolling surface and pin. A little extra powder makes rolling and cutting a breeze.
- Customize the icing: Start with just a teaspoon of almond milk when making the icing and adjust as needed. You want it thick enough to stay on the cookies but thin enough to spread easily.
- Cool before decorating: This is the hardest part, but don’t rush it. Frosting warm cookies will lead to a sticky, melty mess (been there, done that).
How to Store Sugar Cookies
If you won’t be eating the cookies right after making them, you want to make sure you store them properly so they don’t get stale! Let them cool completely and then you have two options: frost them or store them unfrosted! You really can’t go wrong either way. If you choose to frost them first, let the icing set/solidify before storing. Lay parchment paper underneath the layers of cookies in an airtight container. If you want to frost right before eating, simply store the sugar cookies in an airtight container.
Frequently Asked Questions
You better believe it! I remember going to my grandparent’s house for Christmas and there were SO MANY Christmas cookies. I always wondered how she baked that many but now I’m wondering if she prepped in advance and froze her cookies?! For sugar cookies or cut-out cookies, I recommend freezing them unfrosted. Let them thaw and frost the cookies right before serving.
More Healthy Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles
- Almond Flour Crescent Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Almond Butter Espresso Cookies
- Chocolate Avocado Truffles
- Gluten-Free Gingersnap Cookies
- Healthy No Bake Cookies
- Almond Cookies
- Lemon Ricotta Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Oatmeal Scotchies
Be sure to check out all my dessert recipes on EBF!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies (Cut-Out Cookies)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup softened butter or ghee
- ½ cup organic cane sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup coconut flour
- 1–2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder or tapioca flour
Vanilla Icing
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 teaspoons almond milk
- Sprinkles, look for ones that are naturally colored
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- In a medium mixing bowl stir together butter or ghee, sugar, egg, baking powder, vanilla extract and sea salt. Add coconut flour and mix until combined. Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes at room temperature.
- After 5 minutes, sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of arrowroot powder over dough and knead, using your hands until firm. If it is sticky or too wet, add another Tablespoon of arrowroot.
- Dust a clean rolling surface (or a parchment lined surface) with arrowroot and roll out dough, using a rolling pin, until it's about 1/4-1/3″ thick.
- Use cookie cutters to cut dough into desired shapes and place on cookie sheet.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies are golden. Let cool for a few minutes on the sheet before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cookies are cool you can frost and decorate them. To make homemade icing, combine powdered sugar, vanilla and almond milk (start with 1 teaspoon) in a small bowl. Whisk until all lumps of sugar have dissolved and icing is the thickness you desire. You don't want it to be super thick, but also don't want it to be too runny where it melts off the cookies. Frost cookies with icing and add sprinkles right away, before the icing has a chance to set.
Video
Notes
- Adapted from my coconut flour cookies.
- Storage: Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or in the fridge for up to a week.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I used this recipe to make Christmas cookies with my four year old and they were easy and delicious! I was a little worried about how crumbly the dough was at first, but adding a tablespoon of arrowroot really did help and I thought the texture ended up perfect. We will definitely try these again in the near future!
Oh yay! So glad these cookies turned out for you. Thanks for making this recipe and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
Can I use non dairy butter? I can’t have dairy. So happy to see these made with coconut flour. I can’t have other gluten free flours because I can’t have rice and rice flour is in them.
Non-dairy butter should work fine for this recipe, but I haven’t tried it, so definitely come back and let me know how it turns out if you do try it!
I would love to make cookies but ALWAYS have troubles with the shape. Noticed your recipe doesn’t mention any tips about it. So after cutting is it safe to just put them directly into the over?
Yes, you can put the cookies directly onto your baking sheet to bake after cutting them out. Let me know if you end up trying these and how they turn out for you.
Very easy and delicious recipe!! It had a great texture too- crispy edges with a nice chew in the center. I ran out of vanilla extract so subbed with vanilla powder instead. Made with my 4 year old daughter for Valentine’s day themed heart cookies. Coconut flour has recently become one of my fav flours to use. Thanks for this recipe!
Yay! I’m so glad this recipe worked out for you, Catia. Heart-shaped cookies are perfect for Valentine’s Day. Thanks for making this recipe and coming back to leave a review and star rating, it means so much to me.
My new favorite cookie!! Oh my goodness I cannot rave enough about these cookies! They are the perfect texture! Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Everyone loves them and will be my forever go to Christmas sugar cookie 🙂
Yay!! Happy to hear everyone enjoyed these cookies, Emily! Thanks for the review. I really appreciate it!!
These are delicious and stayed together pretty dang well for being gluten free! We used the tapioca starch option instead of arrowroot. They turned out great for us! Thanks for the recipe!
Made them today as they sounded very nice. I was absolutely not able to roll them out, the dough just crumbled, was not even able to roll and cut slices. Do I just hand patted the dough into rough round shapes and then cut stars with my cookie cutter. They look OK baked but bit thick and not as nice looking as yours. Now waiting for them to cool and taste test.
WOW. I am blown away at how delicious these cookies are!!! I am so happy I made these. Thank you 🙂 I will def try your other recipes soon.
Ah yay! This makes me so happy to hear, Alex. Thank you so much for trying them out and coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
I haven’t tried these cookies yet,and before I do I am wandering if you can substitute cane sugar with some different sugar.I am only 11 years
old and trying to get good at cooking. Thax:)
You could use regular sugar or coconut sugar, but the cookies will be darker in color.
I haven’t tried these cookies yet,and before I do I am wandering if you can substitute cane sugar with some different sugar
Hey Elaina – I haven’t tried a sub for the cane sugar. You could use coconut sugar, but the cookie will turn out darker. Monkfruit sugar might work, but again, I haven’t tried it. Let me know what you try and how the cookies turn out!
The dough tends to crumbliness, bakes very golden brown while the cookies remain tender.
I use a lot of ghee – need to reduce 20% compared to amount of butter due to less volume with dairy solids removed. This could be why crumbly, overly oily?
Mmm, that could have been the reason. I haven’t tried these with ghee, so I’m not sure! If the batter was dry I would think it would need more ghee, but you said it was oily?
So delicious! I refrigerated the dough for about 48 hours before cutting and baking. I was worried it would dry out, but they turned out perfectly. Very soft, cut well, and tastes just like the classic but more filling and nutrient-dense!
Ahh yay!! So glad these cookies turned out for you. Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it. 🙂
Can you make the dough ahead of time & chill it?
Definitely! 🙂
What flour can be subbed for coconut flour? Doesn’t have to be gf. Thx
Hey Mindy, This recipe was designed specifically for coconut flour and I haven’t tested it with a different flour, so I’m not sure. Coconut flour can’t be subbed 1:1 as it soaks up much more liquid than other flours so if you did want to try a sub you’d likely have to use much more flour. Let me know if you decide to experiment!
These look amazing. I was hoping I can make this Keto. Will it be okay replacing sugar to erythritol and stevia blend? How about arrowroot/tapoica? What can I replace it with?
I haven’t tried replacing the sugar, so I’m not entirely sure how the cookies will turn out, but let me know if you try it! I’m not sure what a keto-friendly sub for arrowroot would be. The only sub I can think of is cornstarch.
Do you think coconut sugar or maple sugar can replace the cane sugar? These look so yummy, the kids and I will be baking them this week. Thank you!
Hey Vanessa – I think coconut sugar will work just fine, they might just have a darker color to them. I wouldn’t do maple syrup.
I made these today but with flaxseed egg (I’m vegan) and coconut oil in place of butter. I’d sub a vegan butter next time but didn’t have any on hand.
The dough didn’t come together as easily and was very delicate to handle but once it got on the cookie sheet, it was fine. It baked up perfectly and is study now that it’s cooked. The taste and texture is great!
I’ll play around with the flax egg and oil/butter modifications a bit more next time. Wanted to share my vegan subs for anyone who wants to give it a go. Thank you for this great recipe! 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing, Anne!! It’s super helpful to know how those subs turned out for you. 🙂 Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad they turned out for you overall! 🙂
Hello how much oil did you use?
Thanks! (I dont have any Butter rn)
Hey Juli – You should just be able to sub 1/4 cup coconut oil instead of the 1/4 cup butter. 🙂
I’m planning on trying these as an Easter treat for the family… but I don’t have any Arrowroot powder or tapioca! Do you think cornstarch would work alright? Thanks!
Hey Ayn – Yes, cornstarch should work just fine! Can’t wait to hear what you think of these cookies. 🙂
Be honest–do you have to like coconut to like these?
Coconut flour has a subtle taste and smell of coconut, but it’s mild enough to blend with other flavors without overpowering them. I love that it adds a hint of natural sweetness to baked goods without a ton of coconut flavor.
My sister would love these! can’t wait to try them soon!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Yay! I can’t wait to hear what you and your sister think, Paige. 🙂
This recipe for sugar cookies looks great! My daughter has an egg allergy and I am wondering if this recipe could be adapted. Would the recipe work if you replaced the egg? Thanks!
Hey Christy – I haven’t tried it with a egg replacement like a flax or chia egg. I think it’d be okay, I’m just not 100% sure if the consistency will turn out the same since I haven’t tried it. Definitely let me know if you end up trying it and how the cookies turn out. 🙂