These are my all-time favorite gluten-free sugar cookies! I think you’re going to fall in love with it too. They are soft and flavorful, but like classic sugar cookies, hold their shape while baking. They’re great for decorating with frosting and sprinkles.
This recipe also includes my all-time favorite sugar cookie frosting (hint it has sour cream) which takes these cookies to the next level.
Why You’ll LOVE this Recipe
- Soft sugar cookies with crispy edges
- Almond extract for amazing flavor
- Hold their shape while baking
- A little sour cream (secret ingredient!) for moist cookies
- Easily made dairy-free with vegan butter and dairy-free sour cream
- Freezes great!
Ingredients for Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies
Here are a few notes on the key ingredients to make these best gluten-free sugar cookies. If you have any additional questions leave me a comment/
- Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour: Also known as gluten-free measure-for-measure flour. I like to use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend that contains xanthan gum. King Arthur flour is my favorite brand.
- Cornstarch: A little cornstarch gives these cookies a lighter texture.
- Sour cream: Sour cream imparts a richness to the cookie dough and helps create a chewy texture in gluten-free baking. You can easily use dairy-free sour cream if you prefer.
- Vanilla extract/almond extract: The combination of these two extracts gives this the cookie dough amazing flavor!
Dairy-free? To make these cookies dairy-free I recommend using 1/2 cup shortening and 1/2 cup vegan butter in place of the 1 cup of butter. You can also use Forager dairy-free sour cream.
For an almond flour version, try these almond flour sugar cookies!
How to Make Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies
Make the Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a large bowl with a hand mixer) add the butter and white sugar. Cream together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the egg, almond extract, vanilla extract, salt and baking powder. Mix until well combined.
- With the mixer running on low, add half of the sour cream followed by the cornstarch. Add 1/2 of the gluten-free flour blend to the wet ingredients followed by the other 1/2 of the sour cream. Mix until combined then add the other 1/2 of the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
- Scrap down the sides and bottom of the bowl then mix again until totally combined.
Roll and Bake the Cookies
- Divide the dough into two flattened balls and wrap the dough balls tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
- Chilled dough creates cut-out cookies that hold their shape. The chilling time also gives the gluten-free flour time to hydrate for a non-gritty dough.
Tip: If you prefer drop cookies and don’t want to roll out the dough, try these gluten-free Christmas cookies.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Lightly sprinkle a clean counter or work surface with gluten-free flour. Roll out the chilled dough with a rolling pin to the desired thickness on the lightly floured surface. For a soft sugar cookie, roll the dough until it is about 1/4-inch thick. For crisper cookies you can roll the dough thinner to 1/8 inch. I prefer 1/4-inch thick cookies!
- Cut out the cookies with desired cookie cutters, then use a thin spatula to transfer the cookies to the cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes until set. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
You also might like these gluten-free funfetti sugar cookies!
Gluten-Free Sugar Cookie Frosting
These gluten-free sugar cookies are perfect for any holiday! We like making them as Christmas cookies during the holiday season. They also make great hearts for a Valentine’s cookie, pumpkins for a Halloween cookie and more.
You can use any frosting you like to decorate these cookies. They work well with royal icing or buttercream frosting.
I’ve included my favorite recipe for buttercream frosting (that has a secret ingredient) in the recipe below. Once you try sour cream in buttercream frosting you’ll never go back! It’s so delicious.
Storage/Freezing Instructions
To Store: Store the cookies in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days.
To Freeze: Plain gluten-free sugar cookies freeze well up to 3 months. To freeze, layer the cookies between sheets of parchment paper and place in a freezer-friendly container or Ziploc. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
More Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes
Making gluten-free sugar cookies is one of our favorite holiday traditions! I hope you like this recipe as much as we do! If you try it be sure to leave me a comment/rating below. I’d love to hear from you!
Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies (Tried & True!)
Video
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 1 cup butter softened, 227g
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200g
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 cup sour cream 60g (dairy-free sour cream works!)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 1/2 cups gluten-free 1:1 baking flour 380g
For the Frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter 113g
- 1/4 cup sour cream 60g (dairy-free sour cream works!)
- 3 cups powdered sugar 390g
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 tablespoons milk or almond milk
- food coloring optional
Instructions
Make the Dough:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a large bowl with a hand mixer) add the butter and granulated sugar. Cream together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the egg, almond extract, vanilla extract, salt and baking powder. Mix until well combined.
- With the mixer running on low, add half of the sour cream followed by the cornstarch. Add 1/2 of the flour followed by the other 1/2 of the sour cream. Mix until combined then add the other 1/2 of the flour and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl then mix again until totally combined.
- Divide the dough into two flattened balls and wrap each ball tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
Bake the Cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Lightly sprinkle a clean counter with gluten-free flour. Roll out the chilled dough to the desired thickness on the lightly floured surface. (Tip: For a soft sugar cookie, roll the dough until it is about ¼-inch thick. For crisper cookies you can roll the dough thinner to ⅛ inch. I prefer ¼-inch thick cookies!)
- Cut out the cookies with desired cookie cutters, then use a thin spatula to transfer the cookies to the prepared pan.
- Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes until set. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Make the Frosting:
- In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Using a hand mixer, whip until light and fluffy. Add a little more milk if the frosting is too thick, or more powdered sugar if it’s too thin.
- Frost the cookies as desired. Enjoy!
Been struggling to find a gluten free sugar cookie recipe that worked forever; this was fantastic!
Yay! We love to hear that Chloe. Thanks for the review!
Hi! Would it be possible to leave out the almond extract? Our family doesn’t care for almond extract. Would I need to increase the vanilla extract? Thanks! I’m looking forward to trying these before starting Christmas baking!
Hi Emma, yes you can definitely leave the almond extract out. You can replace it with more vanilla to ensure plenty of flavor or you can just leave it out. Happy baking!
Can you substitute honey, only natural sugars here.
Hi Diane, we haven’t tried sugar substitutes with these sugar cookies. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
I just made these and they look great! But I just realized I forgot to add in the baking powder ♀️ Will this impact the taste?
Hi Liz, leaving out the baking powder will usually impact texture more than taste. You may have found them to be denser/tougher than they should be. They are definitely worth trying again with the baking powder so you can have the full experience. Thank you for your question!
I made these cookies for my family. My husband raved about them and he doesn’t even like gluten free anything!
My son in law who is the expert in gluten free..,said they were the best.
The almond and vanilla flavors are a prefect blend and the sour cream adds the depth needed to ensure you have a strong structure to these cookies.
I think everyone on my baking list will be getting these for Christmas.
“The Cheerful Baker”
Thank you for your positive feedback and tips! We’re so happy to hear you and your family enjoyed the sugar cookies so much!
Can I freeze the dough? (Before it’s baked into cookies?)
Hi Clare, yes you can freeze the dough cutouts and bake at a later time. We hope you enjoy the cookies!
These cookies are amazing! Followed the recipe just as written. You would never guess they are gluten free
Made a double batch today, delivering Valentine cookies tomorrow to my family ❤️
These are delicious! I found a single batch of icing was enough for a double batch of cookies. I added red sugar sprinkles for Valentine’s Day.
Wish I could paste a photo!
We are just pulling the cookies out of the oven and are super excited! The dough is a yummy prelude of what’s to come.
I am curious to know what size cookie cutter you used for this recipe. Thanks!
Love this recipe! I accidentally halved the butter in the cookie dough and they still turned out fantastic. I might just keep doing that!
Can I sub in Almond Flour? I’m unable to tolerate Rice Flour and some of the other ingredients in the flour you used?
Hi Leigh Anne, for an almond flour version, we recommend trying these almond flour sugar cookies. We hope you enjoy!
These are very good cookies, have great flavor. The only question I have is why do the cookies break so easily when trying to frost them?
Hi Donald, the cookies may have been too thin and therefore crispier and easier to break. We like rolling the dough until it is about 1/4-inch thick for a soft sugar cookie that is easy to frost. We hope this helps!
Might be a silly question, but is one cookie, one serving?
Yes, one cookie = one serving. We hope you enjoyed the sugar cookies, Cindy!
Is there something I can use instead of cornstarch? Without adding more 1:1 flower.
Hi there, you can use arrowroot in place of cornstarch, if wanting to avoid more flour. We hope you enjoy the cookies!
These are amazing. I have been nervous to try cutout cookies since being gluten and dairy free and I just needed the right recipe. These are so good we made them twice this month. We didn’t even frost them and they were still delicious. Thank you!!! These will be a tradition in our house from now on.
Absolutely delicious! Made as written except I did not use almond extract due to family preferences. I used Bob’s Red Mill GF flour. The dough was great to work with and baked up beautifully! The texture and flavor reminded me of Ethel’s sugar cookies from the old Betty Crocker cookbook. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Will arrowroot sub ok for corn starch?
Yes that should work!
I have both arrowroot and corn starch…. Is one preferable over the other? I’m making the dough later today and baking in the morning. I’ll be taking them to my friends 60th birthday party. When I asked what I could bring, she said gluten free cookies, homemade!
Hi Charlotte, we prefer to use cornstarch for this recipe. Some readers have needed to opt out of cornstarch and asked about arrowroot which should work well too. We hope you and your friend enjoyed the cookies!