Healthy Sugar Cookies
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These healthy sugar cookies are soft and lightly sweet with a classic cut out texture. The dough rolls out easily and bakes up with clean edges that are perfect for decorating.
Sugar cookies always bring me right back to the holidays. I grew up making them every year and decorating a whole tray felt like the best part of the season. Now I get to share that same tradition at home and it has become one of my favorite baking days of the year.
This recipe keeps things simple with wholesome ingredients and a soft dough that rolls out really well. The maple syrup adds a gentle sweetness and the cookies hold their shape so you can use any cookie cutters you like. I cannot wait to make these with Tucker and Liv. They always love getting involved in the kitchen and decorating cookies around this time!
Table of Contents
“These are some of the best sugar cookies I have ever made! They came out perfectly soft, with delicious flavor, and naturally sweetened. I will be using this recipe her on out for sugar cookies!”
Why I Love These Sugar Cookies
- Soft and tender – These cookies bake up with the best soft texture and clean edges which makes them great for cut outs.
- Naturally sweetened – The maple syrup gives the cookies a gentle sweetness without being too sugary.
- Easy to roll – The dough handles really well and rolls out smoothly which makes decorating even more fun.
- Perfect for the holidays – These cookies hold their shape and look so cute with icing. They are always a hit for gifting or decorating with kids.
Ingredients Needed
- whole wheat pastry flour – this is my go to flour for soft cookies with a little whole grain goodness. It gives you that classic sugar cookie texture without feeling heavy. My go-to brand is Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour.
- baking powder – helps the cookies puff slightly and keeps them light as they bake.
- sea salt – a tiny bit is all you need to balance the sweetness and bring the vanilla flavor forward.
- unsalted butter – butter helps create light and fluffy cookies. Make sure you let the butter soften to room temperature before using in this recipe.
- maple syrup – again, make sure this is at room temperature before using in this recipe.
- egg – helps structure the cookies by holding the fat and liquid components together.
- vanilla extract – a flavor enhancer.
- icing – a simple mixture of powdered sugar, vanilla extract and almond milk.
Substitutions
- Vegan: I haven’t tested these with vegan substitutes but you could try swapping the butter for vegan butter and the egg for a flaxseed egg.
- Grain-free or gluten-free: Looking for a grain-free or gluten-free sugar cookie recipe? Try my coconut flour sugar cookies instead! It’s so delicious but made with coconut flour instead of whole wheat flour.
How to Make Healthy Sugar Cookies
These homemade sugar cookies are easy to make and perfect for holiday baking! Follow these simple steps to whip up a batch of soft, buttery cookies ready for decorating.
Step 1: In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Step 2: Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the softened butter and maple syrup in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and mix until combined.
Step 3: Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined. Avoid over-mixing to keep the cookies tender. The dough should be soft but not sticky. Add a little more flour if needed.
Step 4: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or cover the bowl and chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours, or overnight. This step helps firm up the dough for easier rolling.
Step 5: Once chilled, roll the dough out on a floured surface or parchment paper to about 1/4-1/3 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and place them 1 inch apart on a prepared baking sheet. Re-roll scraps and repeat until all the dough is used.
Step 6: Bake at 350ºF for 8-10 minutes until the edges are lightly golden. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Once completely cool, frost and decorate as desired!
Brittany’s Tip
- If you like soft cookies, roll the dough a little thicker (about 1/3 inch thick) and bake them closer to 8 minutes. If you like harder, crunchier cookies roll the dough 1/4 inch thick and bake them closer to 10 minutes. The thicker the dough is and less time the cookies bake, the softer they will be.
How to Store Leftovers
These cookies stay fresh at room temperature for about 3 to 4 days. You can store them frosted or unfrosted. If they are decorated, place them in an airtight container and use parchment between layers so the icing does not smudge. Unfrosted cookies can be stacked right in the container.
For longer storage, keep them in the fridge for up to one week or freeze them for up to three months. I like freezing them unfrosted so they taste freshly made. Let them thaw at room temp and decorate when you are ready to serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
If the dough feels too sticky to roll, sprinkle in a little extra flour (about a teaspoon at a time) until it’s manageable. Chilling the dough longer can also help make it easier to work with.
No worries! Any milk will work for the icing—dairy or non-dairy. Use whatever you have on hand.
If your cookies are spreading or losing their shape, it could be because the dough wasn’t chilled enough or too much flour wasn’t used. Make sure to chill the dough and measure your flour correctly.
More Holiday Treats to Try
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Healthy Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour, plus more for rolling
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup maple syrup, at room temperature
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Icing
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract, or almond extract
- 2-3 teaspoons almond milk, plus more to thin
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together butter and maple syrup on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla extract, mixing on medium speed until combined.
- Slowly add flour mixture to wet ingredients and mix on low speed, until just combined. Dough should be soft, but not sticky. Add a little more flour if it seems too sticky, 1 teaspoon at a time.
- Wrap dough in plastic wrap or place the entire bowl in the fridge and let dough chill in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours, or overnight.
- When dough is chilled and you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350ºF, line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Remove dough from fridge and let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften slightly. On a clean rolling surface (or a parchment lined surface) sprinkle 1-2 Tablespoons of flour on surface and rolling pin. Roll out dough, using a rolling pin, until it's about 1/4-1/3″ thick. The thicker your cookies are the softer they’ll be.
- Use your favorite cookie cutter shapes to cut out the dough and place them about 1 inch apart on your cookie sheet. Gather and re-roll the dough scraps as many times as needed until all the dough is used. Add additional flour to the surface and rolling pin as needed to prevent the dough from sticking.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges and bottoms are lightly golden.
- Allow cookies to cool a few minutes before 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 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.
Notes
- Storage: Store sugar cookies in an airtight container, frosted or unfrosted, with parchment paper between layers if frosted. For longer storage, freeze them unfrosted, thaw when needed, and frost before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This Recipe? Rate & Comment Below!
this might be the worst thing I ever made it tasted all right
I’m so sorry this one missed the mark for you. Thanks for giving it a try, and I appreciate you coming back to share your feedback.
So upon starting I read th two comments saying it was awful recipe … I didn’t have trouble with this recipe. From experience, making sure your syrup and butter are room temp are crucial. If they are cold they will clump. I just microwaved my butter and maple syrup to achieve room or a little more room temp. I got fluffy batter within a minute or two. I also used AP bc I only had regular WW flour. I give 4 stars only because they aren’t “buttery” as my husband would like but I think they are great cutout cookies. So I wonder if I up the butter level will he like the “traditional sugar cookie” taste. I will try again today with more butter to achieve a buttery sugar cookie that can still uphold the cutout. Also, maybe I could’ve used too much flour when rolling out? That could be an option. But otherwise it was a great recipe. I also did two ways: chilled the ball and chilled the rolled dough (I’m about to roll out the chilled ball as she suggested) but cutting the chilled rolled dough worked great. Move fast bc as the dough warms up in your house it’ll be harder to cutout. Or I chilled them on a cookie sheet so that helped keep cold as I cut.
Hi Asisa! Thanks for sharing your feedback with me. I so appreciate it! I’m glad you liked this recipe overall. Definitely come back and let me know how they turn out with more butter. I’m curious!
Not good. Not good at all lol
Taste like whole wheat flour
So sticky I couldn’t work with it even after adding more flour and trying a few tricks
Oh no!! I’m so sorry to hear this, Ashley. Did you change anything about this recipe? And did you chill the dough before rolling it?
We just tried this recipe. Yes, the dough is very sticky, so we just add a lot more flour, like another cup! And yes, when it cooked, it has a strong taste of whole wheat flour, but we didn’t mind it. Overall the kids loved it and we will most likely use this recipe again (with adjustments).
Thanks for sharing, Vera. I’ll have to test this one again myself to see if the dough turns out sticky. I’m glad the cookies were a hit overall. Thanks for making my recipe and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
ok this recipe sucks… the dough is so sticky and hard to work with… i just wanna throw it in the trash
Hi Sonia – I am so sorry to hear this recipe did not turn out for you. Did you change anything about the recipe?
The butter and maple syrup don’t cream … the butter just clumps into a million little clumps …
Hi Kelsey – I recommend continuing to blend the two together, they will eventually cream.