Gluten and Dairy-Free Sugar Cookies (Grain-Free/Dairy-Free)

Tis’ the season for sugar cookies! These gluten and dairy free sugar cutout cookies are easy to work with, are slightly chewy right out of the oven, have amazing flavor and hold their shape well! You have to, have to try them out!

The Story:

If you’re anything like me, making sugar cookies and decorating them is such a nostalgic Christmas time memory. It’s a messy, magical, and sugary filled quintessential Christmas tradition. I am so happy to be able to still take part in this tradition and pass it along to my boys. I hope with this recipe, you can too! Now, a cookie decorator I am not and I will never claim it. However, if you stick to some simple piping techniques, you can make them look pretty darn good! I think simple is better, and if you keep it to one color palette, they look uniform and intentional. I used a simple almond flavored buttercream and it was perfect.

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• The Story:
• 🧾 The Ingredients:
• Step By Step Preparation Instructions:
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• 📖 The Recipe:
• Gluten and Dairy-Free Sugar Cookies
• The Finished Product:

🧾 The Ingredients:

Here is the list of ingredients you will need to make these gluten and dairy free sugar cookies.

• Almond Flour: This grain free flour gives structure to the cookies and helps them retain some of their moisture and chewy texture.
• Tapioca Flour: This grain free flour is a starch flour that aids in a great crumb and helps absorb the liquid ingredients.
• Granulated Sugar: Of course, sugar cookies need sugar.
• Dairy-Free Butter: I used Earth Balance butter for sugar cookies, in both the cookie dough and frosting, and it worked beautifully. I would not use Country Crock plant based butter for this recipe. I love its flavor, but it tends to melt quicker which would cause these cookies to spread, and retaining shape is super important for this recipe.
• Egg Yolk: I used an egg yolk and it adds the perfect amount of structure and binding properties for these cookies.
• Baking Powder: Just a bit of baking powder so the cookies rise and cook properly, but not enough that they over-inflate.
• Xanthan Gum: This helps the cookies retain their texture and helps bind the ingredients together so that the cookies are not too crumbly.
• Almond Extract: In my opinion, the star ingredient! I love almond extract. It’s such a unique flavor and helps round out the flavor profile to these cookies.
• Buttercream: I made my own buttercream frosting, using just 3 ingredients: dairy free butter, grain free powdered sugar and almond extract. Again, the more almond the better, IMO! You can use buttercream, a glaze frosting or store bought frosting. Whatever you prefer!

Step By Step Preparation Instructions:

Sometimes sugar cookies get a bad rap for being tricky to work with, but I’ve tried to simplify the process. I didn’t even pull out the mixer for these!

• Top Tips: I find it best to prepare your buttercream the night before so that it sets up firmly before you’re wanting to use it. Dairy free buttercream becomes loose more quickly than regular buttercream because of the difference in properties, and I find it tends to become loose during preparation. Frosting Instructions: 1) In a mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream your butter until smooth. 2) Add in the almond extract and sift in your powdered sugar and cream again until smooth, fluffy and creamy. 3) Store in the fridge overnight before using and keep in the fridge until just ready to use.
• Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350. Using a fork (my fav) or whisk, cream together your butter and sugar until nice and creamy (not lumpy). Then add in the egg yolk and almond extract and mix again until creamy and well incorporated. Next, add in your dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together and is holding its shape.
• Step 2: Line a freezer safe cookie sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle on some tapioca powder to the center. Turn out the dough onto the parchment paper and sprinkle on a tad more tapioca flour to the top. Press down slightly into a disk shape. Place in the freezer for about 6 minutes, then remove. Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough and gently roll it until you have about an 8-9 inch circle, with the thickness being ½ to ¾ cm thick. When in doubt, err on the side of being thicker than not. Thin sugar cookies are sad and difficult to maneuver-enter the tricky part that people talk about. Their sugar cookies are probably too thin.
• Step 3: Cut out your desired shape of cookies and place them on a separate parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Roll up the scraps, pat into a disk again, place back on your freezer cookies sheet, and place back in the freezer for a few minutes. Repeat as necessary until all the dough is used.
• Step 4: Place your cutout cookies in the oven and bake for 9-10min (if using a small cookie cutter, bake for 8 minutes) until JUST slightly starting to lightly brown. Light sugar cookies= the best sugar cookies. You do not want your sugar cookies to “brown”. Allow to cool completely before frosting. Store in the fridge in an airtight container.

More Winter Recipes:

📖 The Recipe:

The Finished Product:

A beautiful and simple sugar cutout cookie. I hope you share these with the special people in your life and that they become a part of your traditions! If you have children in your life that hold a special place in your heart, let them use their little hands to press the cutter into the dough in a haphazard pattern, spread the icing wildly and pour on way more sprinkles than should be allowed. Soak up the magic of the season!