DELICIOUS Gluten Free Cut Out Sugar Cookies

Our family has so many traditions around the holiday season. Traditions from my childhood that I get so giddy to pass onto my girls. One of these traditions is making gluten free cut out sugar cookies and then decorating them!

I remember as a little girl it was such a big occasion. My mom, sister, and I would bake the cookies the day before so the aroma of freshly baked sugar cookies filled our house. Then we would set out a table cloth, an assortment of colored frosting, and all the cookie/cake decorating tools you needed. Then we would decorate until our hearts were content. This as one of my mom’s favorite traditions, mess and all!

Finding a great recipe that is gluten free and that will give you the best results can be challenging.

One of the problems with gluten free cookie baking is the cookies flatten out like pancakes. This is both frustrating and not what you are looking for in cut-out cookies.

This gluten-free sugar cookie recipe is both delicious and has the perfect texture! It truly makes some great cookies that the whole family will love.

Let’s talk about the gluten free all-purpose flour.

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When making this gluten free sugar cookie dough, you need to remember that not every gluten-free flour blend turns out the same great tasting product. There are so many different flours out there and knowing which all purpose gluten free flour blend tastes the best and has the best texture will change what kind of product you get in the end.

I have used so many different flour blends out on the market. Some were definite flops and others were ok. It wasn’t until I found Cup 4 Cup that my baking started to change.

For about the last 8 months I have solely used my own homemade flour blend that I have shared in my Gluten Free Homestead Pantry E-Book. This blend is the most like Cup 4 Cup, which is the flour blend I recommend if you are going to buy it. You can find Cup 4 Cup on Amazon in 3lb bags. However the best price is buying it in bulk in 25lb bags!

Making your own flour blend is much more cost effective. I buy all my flours in bulk on Azure Standard, I have found that this is the best place to buy bulk gluten free flours that is both at a decent price and convenient. Not to mention I can whip it up quickly any time I need it.

Some of the flours I use in my flour blend are also the flours I use in my Favorite Gluten Free Bread Recipe. This makes it even more cost effective because I have these flours on hand anyways.

With either my blend or Cup 4 Cup, you can truly substitute it in any recipe for baking (besides breads) and will get a great product in the end. Now that’s the kind of gluten free flour blend I am looking for!

One thing to remember, make sure whatever flour blend you use has xanthan gum in it. If it does not your will want to add 1 tsp to the recipe below. My homemade blend and Cup 4 Cup already has xanthan gum in it.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 3/4 cup white sugar (you can substitute for coconut sugar but the color of your cookies will be dark. I prefer to use evaporated cane juice sugar I get on Azure Standard)
• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 cups gluten free all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

How to make perfect sugar cookies:

1. Add your butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. If you don’t have a stand mixer, use a mixing bowl with a hand mixer. I prefer the stand mixer but this will work just fine!
2. Cream your room temperature butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Add in egg and vanilla extract. Turn mixer back on to low speed until it is well combined. Your mixture should be pretty wet.
4. Add your flour and salt to the wet ingredients. Turn mixer back on and let mix until you have a dough ball formed. Your dough should not be sticky but not crumbly either. It should be easy to work with. Add more flour a tablespoon at a time to dough if it is too sticky. If I need to add more flour I work it in with my hands at this point and don’t turn the stand mixer back on.
5. Wrap your dough ball in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. It will keep in there for days if you want to make it ahead of time! I like to make mine up in the morning to be able to roll out and bake in the afternoon.
6. When you are ready to roll it out, take the dough out of the fridge for about 30-40 minutes to let it soften a little. You don’t have to do this but it will be really hard coming out of the fridge. This helps you not to have to use as much elbow grease.
7. Using a rolling pin, roll dough out on a well floured surface or between two pieces of parchment paper to your desired thickness. Your cookies will puff up slightly so keep that in mind when you are rolling them out.
8. Using cookie cutters, cut out your dough and place the shapes on a cookie sheet about 2″ apart. Continue to roll and cut out dough until you have used up all the dough.
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until you have crispy edges.
10. Let your cutout cookies cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.

Now for the decorating!

I am not a super sweet person, so personally I love these cookies plain without any frosting. I get it from my dad! However my girls think the decorating is the best part, so we always decorate with frosting and sprinkles.

You can always buy tubs of white frosting and use food coloring to make them different colors.

However I like to make my own frosting because it is so easy! Our favorite butter cream frosting is easy to whip up in just minutes. It calls for simple ingredients that you likely already have in your pantry and fridge like butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk.

Once you have your frosting made up the fun part begins. First start by dividing them into different containers so you can make them all different colors.

Finding good ingredients is very important to me. Your food is only as healthy as the ingredients you put in them. Now I wouldn’t go and say these sugar cookies are healthy, but having the right ingredients does make them better.

I know there are some concerns out there about food coloring and sprinkles, and the artificial dyes that are in those two products. The brand that I like to use for this special occasion is the Watkins brand. Their food coloring and sprinkles have no artificial dyes in it and I feel safe with the ingredients they use. Of course always do your own research and decide what is best for your family.

Once you have all your frosting in the colors you want, it’s time to get started!

If you want to get real fancy you can use a piping bag or a Ziploc bag with one corner cut to add your frosting in and decorate your cookies. Another great option is these plastic reusable condiment bottles that you can get on Amazon or even at your local Walmart for cheap!

If we aren’t feeling fancy I just simply put a butter knife in each of the dishes with frosting and let the girls have at it!

Whether you go fancy or just with a simple butter knife, these gluten free cut-out cookies are delicious and such a fun tradition to start!

So, roll up your sleeves, roll out some dough, and enjoy decorating the most delicious gluten free sugar cookies for all your friends and family…. Or maybe just for yourself!

Other Gluten Free Recipes you may like:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gluten Free Dairy Free Banana Bread

Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes