• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Pinch Me Good

  • Home
  • Recipe Index
    • Air Fryer Recipes
    • Instant Pot Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Main Dishes
    • Quick and Easy Salads
    • Healthy Side Dishes
    • Healthy Snacks and Appetizers
    • Dressings And Sauces
    • Healthy Desserts
  • Meal Planning and Prep
  • How To’s
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • Meal Planning and Prep
  • How To’s
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Pinch Me Good! » Healthy Desserts » Easy Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies

    Easy Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies

    December 14, 2021 by Amy Estes 4 Comments

    68 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet
    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe
    Sugar cookies in circle and star shapes iced with white icing with rainbow sprinkles spread out in a diagonal line

    Please note that some of the links are affiliate links and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links.

    These gluten-free sugar cookies are wonderfully sweet and delicious. They are chewy and soft but still have that great sugar cookie flavor we all love! You only need 7 simple ingredients to make them and they are perfect for decorating. They work great for birthdays, Christmas, or any time really. Gluten-Free and KETO-friendly!

    Round plate filled with circle and star shaped gluten free sugar cookies covered in white icing and multi-coloured sprinkles with more cookies and sprinkles behind it.

    Why you’ll love this recipe

    • These gluten-free sugar cookies taste and store great!
    • They only require 7 ingredients.
    • The cookie dough only needs to chill for 30 minutes.
    • Perfect for icing and decorating.
    • Great for birthdays, Christmas, Valentine’s, or any time!
    • This recipe, as written is gluten-free, sugar-free, and KETO-friendly!
    • Check out these amazing Fruit Pizza Cookies that are also gluten-free and made with a similar base recipe.
    • The frosting is so delicious and also easy to make.

    I made these cookies sugar-free by using “Monkfruit” my favorite sugar-free sweetener to use in my baking recipes in place of white sugar. Almond flour replaces regular white flour which also makes them totally gluten-free.

    These sugar cookies would be so delicious dipped into some hot chocolate as a fun holiday treat! Better yet, pair them with some reindeer brownies for a complete holiday spread!

    Round white bowl filled with almond flour with another white bowl filled with brown munkfruit sweetener nest to it and a bowl with a stick of butter, bowl with 1 egg, bowl if vanilla, bowl of salt and a small wooden spoon with baking powder on it in front of it.

    Ingredients you will need

    • Almond flour – fine-blanched almond flour.
    • Monkfruit – this is the sugar-free sweetener that replaces the sugar in this recipe. You could also use Stevia.
    • Butter – unsalted butter
    • Egg – 1 large egg – at room temperature.
    • Vanilla – pure vanilla extract
    • Baking powder
    • Salt – used to enhance all of the flavors.

    How to make gluten-free sugar cookies

    1. Mix up the dry ingredients – Almond flour, baking powder, and salt.
    2. Mix up the wet ingredients – Monk fruit, butter, egg, vanilla.
    3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients into a thick dough.
    4. Roll the dough onto a floured surface and knead it for about 30 seconds and form it into a nice, smooth ball of dough. Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill it for at least 30 minutes.
    5. After 30 minutes, remove and unwrap the cookie dough. Roll it out onto a very well-floured surface (I used almond flour). Grab your favorite cookie cutter shapes and dip the cookie cutter in more almond flour then press the cookie cutter into the dough. Carefully transfer the cut-out cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
    6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 9-11 minutes, until the edges start to get nice and golden brown. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack.
    7. Mix up the icing (that is not sugar-free) by combining powdered sugar with milk or water.
    8. Let the cookies cool for at least 30 minutes and ice and decorate them as you like.
    Two round bowls, one filled with light brown wet ingredients and one filled with dry ingredients
    Mix the wet and dry ingredients
    Bowl of almond flour cookie dough in a round glass bowl with a wooden spoon in it.
    Combine
    Light brown sugar cookie dough rolled in a ball and wrapped in clear plastic wrap
    Chill the dough
    Gluten free cookie dough rolled out on a marble surface with stars and circle shapes imprinted in the dough with a circle cookie cutter on the right side of the dough and a star cookie cutter behind it
    Roll the dough and cut out the cookies
    Star and circle cutout cookie dough on a sheet pan lined with white parchment paper
    Place the cutout cookies onto a baking sheet
    Baked sugar cookies in star and circle shapes on a parchment paper lined baking sheet
    Bake
    Hand mixing white icing with a metal whisk in  mixing bowl
    Make the icing
    Sugar cookies in circle and star shapes iced with white icing with rainbow sprinkles spread out in a diagonal line
    Decorate the cookies

    Making the icing

    Making this icing is so easy that even my kids could do it, and they have. All you need is two simple ingredients:

    • Powdered Sugar – Now I used regular powdered sugar but to keep this entire recipe totally sugar-free, you could use Monkfruit Powdered Sugar, which totally works.
    • Milk of choice or water – I have made this icing with coconut milk. Almond milk, whole milk, OR water would also work.

    To make the icing: Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar of choice to a mixing bowl and then add 2-3 tablespoons of milk or water. Whisk until it forms a nice, smooth icing as pictured above.

    Expert tip: If you prefer a thicker icing then just add more powdered sugar. For thinner icing add more liquid. To add more flavor to the icing you can substitute one of the tablespoons of liquid with vanilla, maple syrup, or even lemon juice. Feel free to add a drop or two of food coloring to mix it up as well.

    Taste and Texture

    These gluten-free sugar cookies have a perfectly balanced sweet vanilla flavor. They are wonderfully chewy but firm enough to decorate with icing and sprinkles.

    They taste very similar to regular sugar cookies, which is a bonus since they are also KETO sugar cookies.

    Round gluten free cookies bread with white frosting and sprinkles on top with more iced cookies around it.

    Expert Tips

    • Make sure to chill the dough before you roll and cut out the cookies. The dough may not hold together if you skip this step.
    • Cut the cookies in even sizes so they cook evenly.
    • Allow the cookies to cool for at least 30 minutes before you ice and decorate them.
    • Make sure the icing is not too runny. It should coat the back of a spoon and not drip right off of it.
    • To ice, the cookies, simply spoon some icing onto the cookie and spread it out with the spoon or you can use a toothpick as well to spread it out. Top the cookies with desired sprinkles immediately while the icing is still wet so it sticks to the icing.
    • You could also fill a piping bag fitted with a tip with the icing and ice the cookies that way.
    • Let the cookies rest for 30 minutes after you ice them before you store them to allow the icing to harden.

    Tips for making sugar cookies with gluten-free flour

    • Choose the right flour for the recipe you are following. What I learned while testing this recipe was that almond flour is very finicky and this recipe really only worked with fine-blanched almond flour. I tried it with gluten-free all-purpose flour and it didn’t work at all. Coconut flour also did not work out well.
    • Mix the flour with the other dry ingredients before you combine it with the wet ingredients to ensure it gets mixed well with the baking powder or baking soda, depending on the recipe. This will ensure that the cookies rise perfectly and have amazing flavor.
    • Use a hand mixer to mix the wet ingredients to get some air into them before you mix in the flour. Mix the flour in slowly to ensure everything gets mixed well. This will help add some lift to the dough since it doesn’t contain any gluten.
    • Chill the dough before you roll it out so the dough will roll more easily and the cookies will not spread while they bake.
    • Let the cookies rest for at least 30 minutes after baking. This will help them stay together better and not become crumbly.
    Circle sugar cookie topped with white icing and sprinkles with a bite taken out of it with more cookies behind it and in front of it.

    Variations and Add-Ins

    • Add some almond extract in place of the vanilla to change up the flavors.
    • Squeeze a bit of lemon juice into the wet ingredients to give these cookies a nice hint of lemon flavoring.
    • Add some food dye to make colored sugar cookies.
    • Top them with some icing and sprinkles.
    • Dip them in some melted chocolate.
    • Fold in some mini chocolate chips or sprinkles into the batter before you bake them.

    FAQs

    Does any type of gluten-free flour work for making sugar cookies?

    This recipe was designed using almond flour for almond flour sugar cookies. So other gluten-free flours will not work as well.

    Do I have to chill the cookie dough?

    Yes! If you skip this step then the dough will not hold together as well since there is no gluten in it.

    Do sugar cookies contain gluten?

    Typically, sugar cookies do contain gluten since they are made with all-purpose flour. This recipe, as written, is 100% gluten-free since we are using gluten-free almond flour in place of white flour.

    How to store gluten-free sugar cookies

    These cookies store great after they have cooled. Make sure to let them sit for a while after you ice them so that the icing has time to harden before you store them.

    To store these cookies, place them into an airtight container and keep them on the counter for up to 3 days.

    You can also freeze these gluten-free cookies. To freeze these cookies: Layer the cooked and cooled cookies in between parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container for up to 2 months. Defrost them in the refrigerator overnight. These cookies store best without the icing but can also be stored after you ice them as well.

    More Healthy Cookie Recipes To Try:

    • Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal cookies
    • The Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Double Chocolate Air Fryer Cookies
    • Gluten-Free Easter Cookies
    Round, rimmed plate with star and circle white iced cookies on it with rainbow sprinkle on the cookies and more star shaped cookies behind them.

    I hope you love this Healthy Gluten Free Sugar Cookie recipe as much as my family and I did! Please leave a comment and rating below and let me know how they turned out!

    Print
    clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

    Healthy Gluten Free Sugar Cookies


    ★★★★★

    5 from 1 reviews

    • Author: Amy
    • Total Time: 45 minutes
    • Yield: 10–12 cookies 1x
    • Diet: Gluten Free
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    Description

    These gluten-free sugar cookies are perfectly sweet and chewy. They make a wonderful sweet treat for birthdays and holidays. You only need 7 ingredients to make them and kids will love them too! Gluten-free, sugar-free, and low-carb. 


    Ingredients

    Scale

    For the sugar cookies

    • 2 cups blanched almond flour
    • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    • Pinch of kosher salt
    • 1/4 cup monk fruit sweetener
    • 1/4 cup melted butter
    • 1 large egg – at room temperature
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    For the icing

    • 2 cups powdered sugar or powdered monk fruit for sugar free icing
    • 2–3 tablespoons of milk of choice or water

    Instructions

    1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
    2. In a medium size mixing bowl, mix up the dry ingredients – Almond flour, baking powder, salt.
    3. In a separate medium-size mixing bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream together the sugar and butter, then add in the egg and vanilla and mix until a smooth batter forms.
    4. Slowly mix in the flour mixture until it forms a thick, smooth cookie dough. Roll the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead it for about 30 seconds and form it into a smooth ball of dough.
    5. Wrap the dough tightly with plastic wrap and chill it for at least 30 minutes.
    6. After 30 minutes, remove and unwrap the cookie dough. Roll it out onto a very well-floured surface (I used almond flour). Grab your favorite cookie cutter shapes and dip the cookie cutter in more almond flour then press the cookie cutter into the dough. Carefully transfer the cut-out cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
    7. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F for 9-11 minutes, until the edges start to get nice and golden brown. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack.
    8. Mix up the icing (that is not sugar-free) by combining powdered sugar with milk or water in a medium size mixing bowl and whisk well until it forms a nice smooth icing.
    9. Let the cookies cool for at least 30 minutes and ice and decorate them as you like. I spread the icing using a spoon and then topped them with colored sprinkles.

      Equipment

      Image of parchment paper

      parchment paper

      Buy Now →
      Image of baking sheet

      baking sheet

      Buy Now →
      Image of mixing bowls

      mixing bowls

      Buy Now →

      Notes

      • These cookies will not work with gluten free all purpose flour since the recipe was created using almond flour
      • Let the cookie rest for at least 30 minutes after baking since it can become crumbly.
      • Chill the dough before you roll it out so the dough will roll more easily and the cookies will not spread while they bake.
      • Store these cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
        • Prep Time: 35 minutes (includes chill time)
        • Cook Time: 10 minutes
        • Category: Healthy desserts
        • Method: Baked
        • Cuisine: American

        Keywords: gluten free sugar cookies, healthy sugar cookies, sugar cookies, KETO sugar cookies. Sugar Free, Gluten Free

        Did you make this recipe?

        Tag @pinchmegoodfood on Instagram and hashtag it #pinchmegoodfood

        « Healthy Spinach Artichoke Dip
        Healthy Chicken Soup »

        Filed Under: Gluten-Free, Healthy Desserts, Kid-Friendly

        Reader Interactions

        Comments

        1. Linda

          December 17, 2021 at 9:33 pm

          Hi
          If I don’t add mink fruit, how much sugar does the cookie require?

          ★★★★★

          Reply
          • Amy

            December 27, 2021 at 2:25 pm

            Hi Linda, the same amount of sugar will work in this recipe.

            Reply
        2. Angela

          December 18, 2021 at 7:46 pm

          These are great and so easy to make. I used swerve powdered sugar for the icing and found it had too much of a chemical flavour so I didn’t use it m. To keep the sugar low I melted a Lindt 90% dark chocolate bar and drizzled it over the cookies. They were perfection and I will be making again.

          Reply
          • Amy

            December 27, 2021 at 2:25 pm

            Hi Angela, I am so happy you liked them. They are my new favorite.

            Reply

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

        Primary Sidebar

        Hi there,
        I'm Amy and I'm so excited to share my best healthy recipes and tips with you. I hope I can inspire you to eat better, feel better, and get back in the kitchen. Read More…

        Amy Estes: View My Blog Posts

        Search recipes:

        Most Popular

        Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl – with black beans

        Mixe kale salad in a white salad bowl with wooden serving spoons in the bowl.

        Easy Kale Salad With Lemon Dressing

        Eggplant Meatballs with mushrooms and garlic

        The Best Healthy Turkey Meatloaf – Gluten Free

        two grey plates filled with arugula salad topped with crispy breaded chicken breast

        Air Fryer Breaded Chicken Breast – 15 minutes

        Cut cooked dark chocolate brownies on top of white parchment paper with a wooden bowl of sea salt behind it.

        The Best Healthy Brownies – Gluten Free

        Best Healthy Zucchini Muffins – Gluten Free

        Healthy Baked Beet Chips – Vegan/Gluten Free

        Healthy Spring Recipes

        Golden cooked naan pizza topped with red sauce and cheese cut into large, rectangular pieces.

        10-Minute Simple Naan Pizza

        Easy Salmon Tacos – 20 Minute Recipe

        Round plate filled with a bunch of small sweet peppers filled with a cheese and spinach filling with basil leaves on the plate.

        Cheesy Stuffed Mini Peppers – Healthy and Delicious

        Pouring yellow dressing over a kale and quinoa salad with pomegranate seeds and sliced red onion on it.

        Must Make Chopped Kale Salad With Quinoa

        Healthy Breakfast Sandwich (make ahead recipe)

        Pile of crispy golden green bean fries in a round platter with a bowl of dipping sauce and more green beans in front of it.

        Healthy Air fryer Green Bean Fries – Gluten Free

        Easy Sheet Pan Sausage and Veggies – 20 Minutes

        The Best Air Fryer Asparagus – Easy Recipe

        Footer

        As Seen On

        As Seen On

        CONTACT | PRIVACY POLICY