Gluten Free Cut-Out Sugar Cookie Recipe
These soft, melt-in-your-mouth Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies are perfect for making cut-out cookies.
RECIPE FOR PERFECT GLUTEN-FREE CUT-OUT SUGAR COOKIES
These gluten-free cookies don’t spread during baking. They have a melt-in-your-mouth texture and are perfect for decorating cookies with royal icing.
THINGS YOU NEED
- Recipes: Royal Icing, Vegan Royal Icing
- Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour
- My Favorite Cookie Decorating Tools
- Cookie Cutters I use
- Baking Tools
- Dough EZ Mat
- Food Colors
- Needle Tool
- Spray Bottle – to thin royal icing
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INGREDIENTS
- King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour
- Potato Starch or Gluten-Free Corn Starch
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Unsalted Butter
- Granulated Sugar
- Large Egg
- Honey or us Agave/Invert Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Almond Extract
GLUTEN-FREE COOKIE DOUGH
Gather all the ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, honey, vanilla, and almond extract. If you don’t have almond extract or you don’t like it, use vanilla or lemon extract instead. Into a medium-size bowl, sift Gluten-Free Flour, starch, baking powder, and salt.
- Cream room-temperature butter with sugar until fluffy. It takes about 2-3 minutes. Gradually beat in egg mixture-honey mixture. Beat until well combined, another 1-2 minutes.
- Then, at low speed, in 3 additions, beat in the flour mixture. Once the dough is moist throughout, continue beating for 20 seconds.
Gather the dough for the best gluten-free cookies into a ball. Flatten it into a disk and wrap it in clear plastic wrap. Be sure to chill the dough for at least 4 hours. I prefer to let it rest overnight, even for up to 2 days. Resting gluten-free cookie dough is very important.
ROLL AND BAKE
Lightly dust your work surface with potato starch. Roll the cookie dough ¼ inch thick and cut out desired shapes. Transfer cookies onto a baking sheet and chill for 10 minutes.
Bake cookies in the preheated oven at 335°F (168°C) for 10 minutes. Bottoms should be lightly browned and the edges a little crispy. Let cool for 5 minutes on a baking sheet. Then transfer cookies onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
SUCCESS BAKING TIPS
As you know, gluten-free cookies are known for their gritty, sand-like texture. Chilling and resting the dough is essential for developing a soft, smooth texture. During this resting period, flour gets adequately hydrated, resulting in a soft, melt-in-your-mouth cookie texture. Be sure to chill the dough for at least 4 hours. I prefer to let it rest overnight, even for up to 2 days. Resting gluten-free cookie dough is very important. Don’t skip this step.
Gluten-free cookies made with starch bake with a softer, fluffier texture. I find, it also eliminates the gritty texture of most gluten-free cookies.
For the best results, use a 3.25-inch cookie cutter or smaller.
Add a teaspoon of milk.
Most gluten-free mixes contain Xanthan Gum. Cookie dough made with a flour blend containing xanthan gum, when over-mixed, will become very tough and elastic-like. Overmixed gluten-free cookie dough will stretch when pulled apart.
I use Gluten-Free measure-for-measure flour. You can also make your own Gluten-Free Flour Blend via Minimalist Baker.
I suggest you use my recipe for Vegan Sugar Cookies. You can use Pamela’s Artisan GF flour to make a vegan and gluten-free version (per Christina’s recommendation; see the full comment in the comment section).
DECORATE WITH ROYAL ICING
I used a quick, easy dipping method to decorate gluten-free flower cookies.
- Thin royal icing to 10-second consistency royal icing. Divide the icing into bowls.
- Color icing with gel food colors. I mixed two shades of pink and white icing.
- Cover the icing with a damp kitchen towel and sit for 10 minutes. This time allows air bubbles formed during mixing to float to the surface.
- Use a toothpick to pop the air bubbles.
- Or bang the bowl with the icing on the counter and watch the bubbles pop.
- Be sure to cover the bowl with a damp towel to prevent the icing from crusting.
- To white 10-second consistency royal icing, add contrasting colors. I used light and deep pink.
- Use a toothpick to swirl the colors.
DIPPING METHOD USING ROYAL ICING
- Hold the cookie by the edges, turn it upside down, and let the cookie touch the icing.
- Gently wobble the cookie or turn it gently. This ensures that icing touches the edges and covers the whole surface of the cookie.
- Carefully lift the cookie from the icing. At first, there is a slight resistance; this is normal.
- Move the cookie above the icing surface, let the icing drip off the cookie for a few moments.
- Then, turn it over, place it on a flat, firm surface, and shake it gently to smooth the icing.
- If you see any bubbles on the surface, pop them with a needle tool.
- Let the icing dry.
MORE DELICIOUS COOKIE RECIPES
- Egg White Cookies
- Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cut-Out Cookies
- Ice Cream Cone Pinata Cookies
- Soft Loft House Cookies
- Homemade Fortune Cookies
Gluten Free Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp room temperature unsalted butter
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 ¼ cup Gluten Free Flour I used King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour
- ¼ cup potato starch Substitute : gluten free cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract Susbtitute : vanilla, lemon
Instructions
- Whisk together GF flour(1 1/4 cup ), potato starch(1/4cup), baking powder(1/4tsp) and salt(1/8tsp). Set aside.
- In a small dish whisk together egg (1), honey(1tbsp), vanilla extract(1 1/2tsp) and almond extract(1/2tsp).
- In a bowl cream room temperature butter(6tbl) and sugar(1/2cup) until pale in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
- Gradually beat wet ingredients into the butter mixture. Beat well. About 2 minutes.
- In 3 additions beat in dry ingredients. Once dough is moisten through, beat for additional 20 seconds. Gather dough into ball and flatten it into a disk. Wrap in a plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 8 hours. (minimum 4 hours)
- Preheat oven to 335F. Roll the dough between 2 sheets of parchment or use a Silicone Mat. (I use DoughEZ rolling mat). Dust your work surface with little bit of potato starch. Using ¼inch rolling guides, roll out the dough. Cut out shapes and transfer them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Chill the cookies for 10 minutes. Bake at 335F for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes and then transfer cookies onto a cooling rack.
- Store in an airtight container for up to a week. Decorate with icing as desired.
PIN IT for later
Do high altitude adjustments work in your gluten free recipe?
In your standard recipe I add 2tsp beaten egg, no baking powder, and bake at 25 degrees hotter and they come out perfect at 7,000 feet.
Hi Bronwen,
thank you so much for your recommendations. It’s much appreciated.
Happy Fall!
Hi! Can I freeze the cookies once baked?
Hi Jessica,
yes, you can freeze the cookies.
Can I freeze this dough in a roll, and then slice and bake instead of rolling out? Thank you!
Hi Joan,
I don’t see why not, though I haven’t tried it myself.
It’s something I need to try and test to be 100 % sure.
Hani
Hi Hani,
I watch your lives all the time.
I recently made gluten free by just changing out the flour the dough was very easy to work with and baked nicely, but as they cooled became flaky on top and seemed very fragile. Does the resting and /honey help with this? I decided decorate the smooth bottom side. And put some royal icing on the other side to lend support, but it will be extra sweet.
Hi Tonya,
Resting allows for proper flour hydration resulting in more desirable texture, usually gluten-free cookies have sand like texture, not very
appetizing, proper hydration helps with this. Honey is naturally hygroscopic ( you can also use invert sugar syrup) it draws moisture from air, keeping the cookies moist for a little longer.
Can you freeze this dough? If so, for how many days or weeks?
Apologies if this is a question you’ve answered before. I am unable to find it.
Hi Carla,
I suggest rolling it out into small sheets, freezing it on a tray, and then wrapping in food wrap and freezing it in Ziploc bags for up to 2-3 months.
Is it necessary to use honey in this recipe? I’m not a fan of honey.
You can use agave.
Hello! I am planning to make these for use in a cookie decorating class, but some of the cookies are larger like 5″ across and maybe 3″ wide rectangular shape. Is there a reason it says not to do over 3.25″ size? I have read on other blogs that gluten free browns faster and cooks through more slowly so you use lower temp & longer cooking time. Would that work here as well you think? Or do they simply not bake through if they are too large? For example if I dropped it to 325 or 315 and baked it longer? Thanks for any thoughts!
Hi Lora,
I think at the time of my testing larger cookies were too dry when I made them larger. Maybe it’s just my own. You can definitely experiment with a different temperature and bake them for a a little longer.
Can you use a flax egg in place of a regular egg if you have an allergy to eggs?
Hi Kate,
I haven’t tried it with this recipe but if you look at my Vegan Cut-Out Sugar Cookie Recipe, one
of the commenters mentioned they used the Vegan Cut-Out Recipe with Pamela’s Artisan GF flour successfully to make a vegan and gluten-free version.
Would Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free flour work? Or Namaste gluten free? Those are the only ones I have.
Hi Jody, I think Bob’s Red Mill should work just fine. Thank you.
Hi Haniela,
Can I substitute the sugar for something else, like coconut sugar?
Hi Joanna,
I haven’t tried it myself, so it’s hard for me to say if the results will be the same. Cookies might be slightly different.
BEST gluten free sugar cookies I’ve ever baked. They came out soft and chewy and possibly better than the regular sugar cookies I made using gluten. Will use this recipe forever!
Hi Briana,
so happy to hear you like them. It made my day. THank you so much. Enjoy your day.