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Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies
The light, tender texture and vanilla-y flavor of this gluten-free sugar cookie will have you sharing it far and wide. Make it as a drop cookie, or roll the dough out and cut it into shapes; either way you'll have a happy crowd.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour or finely ground almonds, blanched or unblanched
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
Instructions
- Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets. Preheat the oven to 350°F (for drop cookies; if you're making cutout cookies, don't preheat the oven).
- Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla stir until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl and stirring again briefly.
- Add the dry ingredients, stirring just until the dough comes together.
- To make drop cookies: Drop the dough by teaspoonfuls (a teaspoon cookie scoop works well here) onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 1/2" between them. Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes; they won't brown, but will feel set. Remove them from the oven, and cool completely on the pan.
- To make cutout cookies: Scoop the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, flatten it into a disk, and wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and dust your work surface and dough with cornstarch or gluten-free flour.
- Roll the dough about 1/4" thick and cut the shapes of your choice with a cookie cutter. Place cutouts on a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill for 10 minutes. Re-chill any dough scraps before rolling.
- Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and cool completely before icing.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 38g
- Servings Per Batch 18
Amount Per Serving:
- Calories 160
- Calories from Fat 60
- Total Fat 7g
- Saturated Fat 3.5g
- Trans Fat 0g
- Cholesterol 25mg
- Sodium 55mg
- Total Carbohydrate 24g
- Dietary Fiber 1g
- Sugars 11g
- Protein 2g
* The nutrition information provided for this recipe is determined by the ESHA Genesis R&D software program. Substituting any ingredients may change the posted nutrition information.
Tips from our bakers
- For a wonderful variation on flavor, try adding the grated rind (zest) of 1 orange and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg to the dry ingredients.
- Drop cookies baked for 12 minutes will be soft and tender; bake them a couple of additional minutes for a more sturdy cookie.
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Reviews
These cookies have changed my life, i mean it! they are so simple to make and taste just like the classic if not better. I can bake these with my kids, bring them to Christmas parties and no-one complains. I don't have to miss out on holiday traditions any more!! perfect taste and texture.
I made the drop version of these cookies, they are soft and have really good flavor. The only thing is they didnt really spread while baking, they stayed in round balls, are they supposed to be flattened before baking?Hi E! Sometimes the outside of a cookie will set up in the oven before it has a chance to spread. Try pressing them down slightly into a small hockey puck shape next time. Annabelle@KAF
We baked these today for my daughter who is gluten intolerant. WOW!! I added some orange zest and followed the recipe and suggestions for measuring flour. They are lovely! flavor and texture are great! We rolled and cut out shapes, then decorated after baking. They are a bit delicate so don't roll too thin and they will work beautifully! I will definitely use this recipe again!
I'm admittedly quite new to the world of gf baking and have enjoyed several other KAF gf recipes. I was very excited to make these based on all the great reviews, but my cookies had a rather "gritty" texture. We made these as roll-out sugar cookies to decorate shortly before the Christmas holiday. I was short on time and likely didn't chill them for the entire hour as suggested in the recipe, but I presume that step is more critical for the rolling out process and wouldn't have an impact on the texture. I did omit the baking powder to avoid losing detail in our cut-out shapes. Would a slightly heavy hand with the gum result in the gritty texture? Any other thoughts from the KAF staff on why the cookies would have had a gritty texture? I'd really like to give these another try so I have a go-to gluten free roll-out sugar cookie recipe. Thanks so much.Hi there, Jayne! We'd love to help! Too much xanthan gum will definitely affect the texture, so you'll want to be careful when measuring that ingredient out. The resting time in the fridge helps make rolling the dough out easier, but it also helps to soften the grains of the flour by giving them time to become fully hydrated. We hope this helps and happy GF baking! Morgan@KAF
This sugar cookie recipe is perfect! The texture is spot on, and the flavor is really good. I added 1 tsp of almond extract, also, because I like that in my sugar cookies. I chilled the dough in the refrigerator for an hour, and it rolled out just fine. These cookies taste really good, (not just "good for gluten free") I don't think people will be able to taste the difference between these and wheat flour sugar cookies. Thank you King Arthur!
They were delicious! We were going to decorate them but by the time they cooled they were pretty much gone! Rolled out nicely and kept their shape (stars). They were soft but a tiny bit crisp on the outside for a wonderful texture and chewiness. I haven't made sugar cookies in years but I think these are way better than any wheat flour ones that I ever made! I used a scale to measure ingredients and have a convection oven.
My daughter made this recipe for the first time and they turned out beautifully! My daughter used 1 duck egg & it made the cookies fluffy & soft! I highly recommend this recipe!!!
This is the best recipe that I have tried so far in my gluten free baking experience! I have never had a recipe turn out this well. So, I am very impressed and they tasted wonderful!
I baked these to give to a GF friend. My first gluten-free adventure. I'd give the recipe five stars except the cutout cookies held their shapes poorly. I always chill the dough for cookie cutter cookies and I chill the baking sheets before placing the shapes. Then I chill again before the cookies go in the oven, so that wasn't the issue. Rolling the dough to the recommended quarter inch is thicker that I usually go. Perhaps that's part of the problem. I'd also like to add a tip for the bakers who may have used to much flour: even if you measure the flour precisely, for a sticky dough like this one, you may be flouring your work surface too much. Rolling the dough between two sheets of parchment paper eliminates this potential problem.
I made these for my daughter and had never attempted to make cut out sugar cookies before. I followed the instructions and was very pleased with the end result. I had no trouble rolling out the dough. The recipe yielded 33 beautiful cut out cookies. They looked and smelled just like my family recipe I have used for years . I will have to let you know how they taste because my daughter is coming into town tonight and I made these as a early Christmas surprise !
