Holiday baking just isn’t complete without making sugar cookies! One of my favorite Christmas traditions is making Christmas cookies in all different holiday shapes and decorating them with colored icing and sprinkles. My toddler is also a big fan of this tradition!
I don’t use the term “the best” lightly. These sugar cookies really are amazing! I have tried several sugar cookie recipes since going gluten-free and this one is my favorite.
These are made with almond flour, which gives the cookies a delicious taste and keeps them soft. Soft is definitely a requirement when it comes to sugar cookies.
Almond flour cookies are awesome because they are soft, without being doughy. (The most popular recipe on this site is my Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies – always with great reviews!)
I added coconut flour so the cookies would roll out easily and crisp up on the edges. These cookies roll out like a dream and hold their shape really well during baking. They are crispy and buttery on the outside, and soft on the inside.
Sugar cookies are wonderful for lots of holidays throughout the year. I love making heart cookies on Valentine’s day and pumpkins on Halloween. These sugar cookies would also make a great base for fruit pizzas during the summer.
These cookies are lightly sweet and delicious by themselves. I have to stop myself from eating them all plain right out of the oven! You can dust them with sprinkles before baking, or top them with jam, chocolate-hazelnut spread, or frosting afterwards. Really the sky is the limit.
I plan on making these cookies again next week and decorating them for Santa! Enjoy!
Note: I highly recommend using Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour Super Fine Grind or Wellbee’s Super Fine Blanched Almond Flour for this recipe. While I love Bob’s Red Mill for other flours, their almond flour is grainy and doesn’t work as well here.
To make sure these cookies turn out, scoop and almost pack the almond flour down when measuring it. Additionally when rolling and cutting the dough, work quickly so the dough stays cold.
I like rolling it out in-between sheets of parchment paper dusted with coconut flour.If you have trouble cutting them out, try rolling out the dough then placing it in the freezer for 10 minutes before cutting the shapes out.
Finally – DO NOT substitute the coconut flour for more almond flour. The dough really needs to coconut flour to hold together!
Make sure to use tight almost packed scoops when measuring the almond flour for this recipe.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, ghee, or palm shortening, softened
- 1/4 cup softened coconut oil
- 3/4 cup sugar*
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 1/4 cups blanched almond flour
(scoop and slightly pack it down when you measure it)
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, coconut oil, and brown sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla and almond extract, mix until incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, combine the baking soda, salt, almond flour, and coconut flour. With the mixer running on low, add the flour mixture to the creamed ingredients 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Form the dough into a ball with your hands and place on a piece of plastic wrap. Form the dough into a disc and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle a clean, flat surface with coconut flour and roll the dough out until it is 1/4 thick. I like laying it on a piece for parchment paper and placing another sheet on top to roll it out. Or you may have to rub the rolling pin with coconut flour to do this. Cut out the cookies using your choice of cutters. Work somewhat quickly so the dough stays cold. Using a spatula, transfer the cut cookies to the baking sheets.
- Gather the remaining scraps back up into a ball and roll out again. Repeat rolling and cutting out cookies until you use all the dough. If the dough gets too warm while you work with it you may need to chill it again.
- Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes, until lightly golden. These cookies need to bake longer than typical sugar cookies. They will stay soft and just get a little crispy, which is just what you want! Cool on a baking sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting. Enjoy!
Notes
I've consistently gotten the best results with these cookies using 3/4 cup white sugar (I use evaporated cane juice). You can substitute 3/4 cup coconut sugar, but the dough will be slightly softer.
Update 11/15 - I highly recommend using Honeyville or Digestive Wellness blanched almond flour for this recipe. While I love Bob's Red Mill for other flours, their almond flour is grainy and doesn't work as well here. To make sure these cookies turn out, scoop and almost pack the almond flour down when measuring it. Additionally when rolling and cutting the dough, work quickly so the dough stays cold. I like rolling it out in-between sheets of parchment paper dusted with coconut flour.If you have trouble cutting them out, try rolling out the dough then placing it in the freezer for 10 minutes before cutting the shapes out.
I was wondering how many cookies this recipe makes. I don’t see a quantity anywhere in it.
Thanks for pointing that out! It should make 2-3 dozen depending on how big you cut the cookies. I’ve add that to the recipe!
Can you please provide the calories/nutrition ie: sugars carbs etc
[…] Almond Flour Sugar Cookies Meaningful Eats […]
this sounds like a great recipe!
Hi! I’m new to gluten-free baking, look forward to trying this with the kids today. Would you mind sharing the frosting recipe? Maybe it’s already on the site and I overlooked it?
Yes! I used 1/2 cup ghee or butter (at room temperature), 1 1/2 cups organic powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1-2 tablespoons of almond milk. Just whip everything together with a hand mixer until it is light and fluffy. I hope the cookies turn out for you!
I want to make the cookies for my Type 1 Diabetic grandson. Is there a way to substitute the powdered sugar for a low glycemic sugar?
You can buy Swerve sugar substitute in both granulated and powdered forms. Works great for baking.
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I was wondering how well the dough stores? Could I make this today and keep it in the freezer for a few days?
You can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours (let it come to room temperature slightly for 10-15 minutes before rolling out). Or you can freezer it in log form and cut circle cookies to bake them up. I haven’t tried freezing the dough then rolling it out to bake it so I couldn’t say how that would work for sure!
I am new to GF baking. Shouldn’t there be some xanthan gum in this recipe to hold them together?
Hi Jill! These cookies hold together without adding xanthan gum. Many grain-free recipes (ones made with almond and coconut flour) do not use xanthan gum. Good luck!
I just made a batch of pumpkin shaped sugar cookies with this recipe. It was really difficult to roll out and cut because of how sticky and soft it was but I am really not a baker and assumed I’d have that issue. The cookies turned out delicious! The best part is they’re only a little sweet. Thanks for the recipe!
Pumpkin shaped cookies are a great idea! I might do that myself;) Did you chill the dough? That is super important with these. You can also roll it out on a piece of parchment if it feels soft next time. I’m glad they turned out delicious!
Do you think I could add cocao powder to make them chocolate? How much would you recommend?
What a great idea Shelby! I would probably add 1/3 cup of raw cacao or cocoa powder and reduce the amount of almond flour to 1 3/4 cup to start. I am going to try that myself will share the results!
hi! I’m just curious if these are soft/chewy cookies or if they are crunchy? I’m just starting some holiday baking research! Thanks! 🙂
I would say these cookies are more soft/chewy!
Do you have a frosting recipe that will go with this 🙂 thank u
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How do you get the cookies so “sugar cookie white” like your pictures? I have made this recipe twice now and it tastes great but it definitely has more of a gingerbread color
Hi Paige! What kind of sugar are you using? If you would like cookies that are lighter in color I would try 1/2 cup white sugar (I use organic evaporated cane juice) and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Coconut sugar will definitely make darker cookies.
Have you ever made these using an egg replacement? I am wondering about using applesauce or another egg replacement. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Girlfrannd.. you know what up! These cookies look great and it looks like you have lots of other yummy cookie recipes for me to pin next! 😉
[…] Almond Flour Sugar Cookies: […]
Is it ok to skip the almond extract and use just vanilla ? and I only have almond flour with skin. It will only turn out darker right?
Yes you can just use vanilla! Almond meal (with the skins) will make these cookies have a more grainy/gritty texture, but they should still be delicious!
I’ve just made these, but the dough is super soft and can’t be roll into a ball. I just lumped into the plastic wrap and put it in the fridge. Hopes it turned out ok
Hi there how did they turn out after setting in the fridge? 🙂
[…] 48. The Best Almond Flour Sugar Cookies from Meaningful Eats […]
If I don’t want to use any butter because of dairy intolerance, can I just avoid it and use just the coconut oil?
Thank You,
Arianna
These cookies might spread too much if you use all coconut oil. I would try using palm shortening or vegan butter in place of the butter if possible!
If anyone cannot have butter try Kerrygold
Non dairy butter an organic sugar instead of white sugar their both GREAT !! Your just getting better items with those two things
Do you think that honey or maple syrup could be used in place of coconut sugar? I need to make paleo sugar cookies tomorrow and we do not have any coconut sugar in the house.
I don’t think a liquid sweetener will work here. The granulated sugar provides the dough stability. Sorry about that!
I made these last week and they are fantastic! Our friend’s have a son who is egg free because of a serious allergy and I wanted to know if you had any suggestions on making this recipe egg free for him. Thank you!
[…] The Best Almond Flour Sugar Cookies […]
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We just made these cookies and they are the best sugar cookies I have ever made! My whole family loves them! Question though– how do you store them? Do you put them in the fridge or leave them out?
I’m so glad to hear this! I keep them covered at room temperature.
Hi, I just want to say that I made these sugar cookies for “Santa” tomorrow, and it is delicious! The dought gets soft easily making us to work fast, but I don’t mind – taste is divine and mist important – my 3 boys loved it! – the only thing I’m not do dure is the icing , I made your recipe with ghee and it first look shine as usual, and mixing color was impossible – the green and red looks marble w the white ( I add a bit more sugar, worry it would not dry ) – hope the icing gets dry. – I save some for me without icing once I’m limited to eat sugar, but it was a success! Thnx for the great recipe! – HAPPY HOLIDAYS ! –
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Do you HAVE to use the coconut oil & coconut flour? I really cannot abide the flavor of coconut.
You can use all butter in place of the coconut oil. But unfortunately there is no substitute for the coconut flour! Even with the flour these cookies don’t taste overly coconut to me if that helps!
Hello. These look great and I’d like to try them for my daughter who has sine food allergies. Do you think they would still work if I replaced the eggs with applesauce? Thanks so much!
Please give nutritional information for your almond flour sugar cookies.
Thank you
hi, im making these for my daughters 5th birthday and wondering how far in advance I can make these?
Thanks
You can make the dough 2 days in advance! I would roll and cut the cookies the same day if possible.
Sorry that I am commenting on an older post. Just wondering how well they hold their cut shapes when baking. I assume that as long as I keep the dough cold, they shouldn’t spread. With my usual non-gf cut-out sugar cookies, I pop them in the freezer for a few minutes after cutting, before putting them in the oven.
[…] 6. Best Almond Flour Sugar Cookies […]
I was wondering if i can add coconut sugar or honey instead or normal sugar?? i cant have white or brown sugar
Just wondering if you can bake and freeze these cookies? or can you cut out shapes and freeze and bake later? Thanks for the recipe! Looking forward to trying these.
Hi Anne! I would cut out the shapes and freeze, then bake later. You won’t need to defrost before baking, just add 2 minutes or so to the bake time. I hope you like them!
Thanks so much for this great recipe! Do you think I could freeze the dough?
Hi Andrea! I would cut out the shapes, then freeze the dough. Freeze the cut-outs on a baking sheet. Once they are frozen you can transfer the cookies to a ziploc bag for longer storage. You could also freeze the dough in a log and use it like slice-and-bake cookies! I hope this helps!
[…] The Best Almond Flour Sugar Cookies […]
Hello – you mentioned using Honeyville or Digestive Wellness (and not Bob’s Redmill)… will Bob’s not work? I have it in the house and a couple bags of it, so hate to buy another brand, but also don’t want to use up a bunch of ingredients if it’s not going to work out. Please let me know what you think. Thanks!
Hi Angela! Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour doesn’t work as well in these cookies. I love other Bob’s Red Mill products, but I never use their almond flour. It has a coarser grind and makes baked goods grainy. You could certainly try it, but I recommend the other brands for best results.
Understand that… what if I put it in the food processor and grind it further? I just don’t have the access to other almond flours right now and want to make them 🙂
Have you tried these with stevia or xylitol in place of sugar?
Do you have a dairy free frosting recipe i could use for these?
Hi, Can I freeze either the dough prior to cutting and baking (or after cutting into shapes for that matter)? Alternatively, can I freeze a batch of the baked cookies? Any experience with either scenario? Thanks!
I apologize! I see that my question was already asked and answered!
No problem! Let me know if you have any more questions!
Made these yesterday and they are absolutely delicious. I technically eat small amounts of gluten nowadays, but I spent two years not eating any gluten so I am well-versed in both gluten-containing and gluten-free foods! And these were truly tasty. In fact, if I had to serve them to gluten-eating people, honestly I wouldn’t even mention that these are gf and they’d just think they are some delicious variety of cookies. Seriously good.
t have just a few (hopefully helpful) recipe comments: 1) I definitely had to use the freezer a lot to get the dough firm enough to hold the cut cookies’ shapes so I could pop them out of the cutters without breaking, 2) when rolling them out, I’d personally recommend erring on the side of thicker rather than thinner, as my batch had some very thinly rolled (maybe 3/16″) and some more thickly rolled (probably 3/8″) — I had a preschooler helping me! — and the thicker ones have a better overall satisfaction when biting into them, and they also hold together better, and 3) after overnight storage on the counter in an airtight container they were no longer crisp on the edges but were soft and delicately chewy throughout, which I thought was lovely as I prefer soft cookies over crispy ones in general.
Also, for the sake of noting, I didn’t have almond extract so I left that out, but I added a little lemon zest which I happened to have leftover in the freezer, and the flavor was very nice.
Thanks for a great gf cookie recipe!
This is so helpful! Thanks for the tips! I’m glad they worked out for you.
Omg these are amazing! I don’t know if it’s because I havent had white sugar in forever but I can’t stop eating these. Mine are slightly different because when I packed all the almond flour that I had, it was down to two cups so I filled in with cocoa. They are soooo yummy!! The texture is great too. For the icing I did the basic powdered sugar plus milk and since I used candy cane cutouts I added peppermint extract. Thank you for the recipe!
My dough came out like THCIK PUDDING! Def far too oily, buttery. Wouln’t hold a shape even after being in the fridge for HOURS. Far too sticky. Ended up adding a cup of GF flour to get them to be workable.
Tasty, but this recipie did NOT work for cookie cutter sugar cookies without modification.
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[…] Almond Flour Sugar Cookies Meaningful Eats […]
These look so yummy! I’m wondering if I can only use coconut flour and a different extract? My son has celiac and the dreaded nut allergies. Any suggestions would be great! Thank you!!
These won’t work with only coconut flour. Coconut flour absorbs so much moisture and they would turn out dry/crumbly. Sorry about that!
Do you have the recipe for the frosting??
I want to make the cookies for my Type 1 Diabetic grandson. Is there a way to substitute the powdered sugar for a low glycemic sugar?
So I didn’t have the best luck when trying to cut them out. Big bummer-But I’m not very patient with any kind of cut out cookies! The next choice was to just make a log and do slice and bake. Then I thought hmmm… I wonder how they’d do if I used my spritz cookie press. Well it worked like a dream! I know these can’t be frosted and decorated like traditional cutouts but I went ahead and did a white chocolate dip (I know-Not super healthy!) You can then give them a little decorative sprinkle if you’d like. So pretty! My boys loved them! 🙂
The coconut oil in this dough can make it soft if your kitchen is warm. What I like to do when it feels too soft is roll the dough out on parchment paper then slide it onto a baking sheet and place in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Then the dough firms up and you can easily cut out the shapes! It sounds like you found a delicious solution though! Yum!
Could I use gluten free pat flour with the almond flour for cookies? Would it help hold it together? I have the oat flour and almond flour.
I haven’t tried it that way so I can’t say for sure.
[…] i want to try these almond flour sugar cookies […]
Erin, can I just roll them into balls after chilling? I dont have a roller 🙁
Yes that would work fine! You might have to flatten them out a little before baking. But they will still be delicious!
These look great! Where can I find the frosting recipe?
Hi Erin,
This is the second time I baked coz the taste is soo yummy. But after I decorated, the cookies turned to soft even though I keep in air tight container. Take so many hours to wait til the icing frosting got dried. Do you have any tips to keep the cookies still crispy in general after the icing frost dry.
Thank you in advance,
Enjoy the festive month
Lina Schmidt – Denmark
I can’t wait to try it
These cookies were amazing! The taste and the texture were on point. Like some of the others, I did have trouble with the dough becoming too soft when I rolled the dough out after refrigerating for 30 minutes. To remedy that, I rolled it out between two pieces of parchment paper and refrigerated the flattened dough for about 15 minutes so the dough became nice and firm. I was able to use cookie cutters with no problem. Then continued to refrigerate after each round . These cookies were a hit!
They aren’t too sweet like some sugar cookies can be. They were the perfect amount of cookie crunch, chewiness, and sweetness. I highly recommend.
So glad you were able to roll these out successfully! I often have to do that as well when I roll out this dough. I’m glad they turned out for you! 🙂
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I made these last night and was so happy with how they came out! The dough was easier to work with than the traditional batch I made (b/c of lack of gluten) and as long as I kept it cold, it rolled and cut wonderfully! I increased the almond extract slightly b/c I love it, and I only baked 12-13 minutes.
5 stars. I recommended this recipe to my friends on FB. Will be using again!
Thanks so much Marie! Glad you liked the cookies!
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Hello! Would using all coconut flour work for this? I’m baking for people who are allergic to almost everything it feels like (especially during Christmas Cookie time, AHH!) and almond flour doesn’t agree with them, but coconut flour does. Would it work without the almond flour you think? Thank you!
Unfortunately this wouldn’t work at all with all coconut flour. I wish I had a cookie that was all coconut flour for you! Sorry about that!
Do you have a recipe for the frosting that you used for the sugar cookies?? Possibly one that is paleo 🙂
I usually just make a buttercream frosting with powdered sugar so that isn’t paleo! Sorry about that!
I just wanted to share that we made these this week. I was a little leery because of all the GF flours I don’t like coconut flour much as it’s super absorbent & can be easy to dry things out with, but.. it worked wonderfully in these.
It’s been years since I’ve indulged in making cut-out cookies with my kids at this time of year due to dairy, gluten, & egg allergies. We made these egg free by merely subbing the called for eggs with boxed egg replacer. We also subbed the butter with Nutalex, a dairy free margarine. I also subbed the almond extract for anise seed oil. Growing up we always made our cut-outs with anise seed at this time of year!
True confession time, I was so nervous about rolling these things out, & then life happened that the dough sat in the fridge for 3 days & there were {thankfully} no ill effects on it. Phew!
I have a slab of marble in my kitchen for rolling pies & things out on that I rarely every use, but thought it would be perfect for this to help keep the dough colder longer. I still used baking paper to roll out on, but just laid that atop my marble. Instead of coconut flour for dusting, however, I used Arrowroot flour.
It’s a smoother flour & can be easier to brush off if you use excess, & is often my go-to GF choice for things like that. Anyway, they worked beautifully & I had to squirrel away what the kids didn’t eat to have a few left to ice later this week for Christmas! 🙂
Thanks for the tips! Arrowroot flour is a great idea!
[…] Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies recipe came from Meaningfuleats.com – the only thing I did differently is she suggested using white sugar. Since I do not have […]
I made these last Christmas and they were DELISH!
Everyone loved the, kids adults, even Santa LOL
I’ve made them three or four times since and they always come out great!
My usual sugar cookies always harden, but these stay super soft!
Will be making again today! THbaks for sharing this great recipe!
Happy Holidays!
I love that they stay soft too! So glad you like them!
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I made this dough ahead of time and froze the dough till I planned to make them. I didnt roll them out, I just sliced them, and I didnt cook them more than 10 minutes. I was really surprised how great they came out. They tasted fantastic for a grain free cookie. I plan to make them again for sure. Hope I can find a great sugar free icing that will compliment them. Thanks for the recipe!
I love that these are as you say soft but I’m looking for a cookie that will hold up to a bunch of 4 year olds decorating them during a tea party. Are they stiff enough to hold up you think?
Yes! I would definitely say these should hold up for kids frosting. They are soft, but not crumbly.