You'd never guess soft & chewy gluten free sugar cookies are made with gluten free flour! Bake as drop cookies or roll and cut into shapes.
“Thank you for this amazing recipe! These are by far the best gluten free sugar cookies I have ever made. … It’s great to finally have a cookie recipe we can count on.”
If you’re a long time reader you may remember that I used to decorate sugar cookies for baby showers, bridal showers, etc. (WHOSE LIFE WAS THAT?)
The sugar cookie recipe I used back then was on the crisp side to accommodate intricate designs, but what I truly love is a soft and chewy sugar cookie — and this Gluten Free Sugar Cookie recipe is the BEST!
Table of Contents
- Soft and Chewy Gluten Free Sugar Cookies
- Main Ingredients Needed
- Best Gluten-Free Flour for Sugar Cookies
- Tips for Making Perfect Gluten Free Sugar Cookies
- Where Can I Find Gluten Free Sprinkles and Frosting?
- Watch How to Make Them
- How to Make the Gluten Free Sugar Cookies
- How to Turn the Dough into Drop Cookies
- How to Make Gluten Free Cut Out Sugar Cookies
- Royal Icing Recipe for Cut Out Cookies
- Can I Freeze Gluten Free Cookies?
- Soft and Chewy Gluten Free Sugar Cookies (Cut Out and Drop Options) Recipe
Soft and Chewy Gluten Free Sugar Cookies
Soft and Chewy Gluten Free Sugar Cookies from scratch have a tissue paper-thinness of crackle-crisp on top which gives way to a soft and chewy texture with a perfectly sweet taste on the inside. You would never in a million years guess these cookies are gluten free — in fact, I’ve had several readers leave a comment to say that their family’s prefer this gluten free recipe to their “regular” sugar cookie recipe.
In short, they are incredible!
Best of all? You can bake then frost them as regular drop cookies, or you can roll the dough out and cut into shapes using cookie cutters. Kids LOVE making these gluten-free Christmas cookies!
Main Ingredients Needed
I love that this gluten free sugar cookie recipe is made with everyday “normal” ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Softened butter: I prefer baking with salted butter. You can also use your favorite vegan butter instead.
- Sugar: can’t have sugar cookies without granulated sugar!
- Eggs: help keep our cookies soft and chewy. I have used Bob’s Red Mill Powdered Egg Replacer with good results. The texture is a bit different than when the dough is made with regular chicken eggs, but still very delicious.
- Vanilla extract: adds cozy flavor to each cookie.
- Gluten Free Baking Flour Blend: you’ll want to use a baking blend that includes xanthan gum. More on my favorite brands below.
- Baking powder: ensures we have nice, puffy cookies.
Best Gluten-Free Flour for Sugar Cookies
As I mentioned, you’ll need a 1-to-1 / measure-for-measure gluten-free flour blend to make this gluten free sugar cookie recipe. When you see the term “1-to-1” or “measure-for-measure” it indicates that the flour contains a binder such as xanthan gum to keep your baked goods from falling apart. That said, be sure to read the label and locate “xanthan gum” before purchasing.
This recipe will not work with single flours and/or starches like almond flour, coconut flour, or tapioca starch. These ingredients don’t contain binders and can be more or less “thirsty” than gluten free flour blends. For example, coconut flour requires a ton of liquid/moisture when added to gluten free baking recipes.
This recipe is specifically formulated to work with a gluten free baking flour blend — here are my favorites:
- Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
- King Arthur Baking Gluten Free Measure-for-Measure Flour
Tips for Making Perfect Gluten Free Sugar Cookies
- If your dough is sticky: You may have a sticky dough if you’re baking at high altitude. Incorporate 2-3 Tablespoons more flour into the dough then refrigerate until firm and bake.
- Leave time to chill: If you plan on rolling out the dough to cut with cookie cutters, plan on leaving enough time to chill the dough for several hours or, better yet, overnight.
- Don’t roll too thin: this cookie dough is a bit softer than standard sugar cookie dough so, if you plan on rolling the dough out to cut into shapes using a cookie cutter, don’t roll thinner than 1/4 inch. Rolling pin guides are super helpful for this!
- Let them cool: gluten free cookies can be more fragile than regular cookies when they’re hot. Be sure to let your cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a full 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Where Can I Find Gluten Free Sprinkles and Frosting?
What are gluten free Christmas cookies without a flourish of frosting and sprinkles?!
- Frosting: Nothing beats homemade buttercream frosting, but for cookies, store-bought frosting is fine too. Pillsbury White Frosting is both gluten and dairy free.
- Sprinkles: While many sprinkles don’t contain gluten, many are manufactured on shared lines with products containing wheat. Be sure to check labels before adding to your cookies! Sweetapolita, Supernatural, Watkins, and Kate’s Safe and Sweet all offer gluten free sprinkles.
Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Recipe Overview
- Step 1: Make the gluten free sugar cookie dough.
- Step 2: Decide if you’ll make drop cookies, or roll the dough out and cut with cookie cutters.
- Step 3: Bake the cookies.
- Step 4: Cool then decorate the cookies.
Watch How to Make Them
How to Make the Gluten Free Sugar Cookies
Step 1: Combine the wet ingredients.
Add salted butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a large glass bowl if using a hand held mixer. Cream until pale yellow, about 1 minute, then scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add 2 eggs one at a time, mixing until the egg is just combined before adding the next one, then add vanilla extract and mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Step 2: Mix then add the dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients: gluten-free baking flour WITH added binder, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in three batches, mixing until just combined before adding the next batch.
How to Turn the Dough into Drop Cookies
If you want to turn the sugar cookie dough into drop cookies (aka, round cookies) scoop out 2 Tablespoons worth of dough then roll into balls and place onto a parchment paper or silicone mat-lined half sheet pan leaving room for the cookies to spread.
Gently press down on the dough balls with your fingers to slightly flatten then bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees or until the centers of the cookies have just barely set.
Recipe Tip
The cookies will not be golden brown around the edges when they’re done, so pull them out of the oven just shy of being golden brown to ensure they stay soft and chewy in the center.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Finally, frost with a knife then embellish to your heart’s desire!
How to Make Gluten Free Cut Out Sugar Cookies
If you’d like to make cut out cookies using cookie cutters, divide the dough in half then wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled – a couple hours or overnight.
Once chilled, remove one dough disc from the fridge then place it onto a sheet of parchment paper. Working quickly, cover with another sheet of parchment paper then roll 1/4″ thick.
Recipe Tip
Be sure to not roll thinner than 1/4″ or you will have trouble transferring the shapes to the baking sheet. Rolling pin guides help with this!
Press cookie cutters into the dough then wiggle a bit to make sure they’re completely separated from the surrounding dough. Transfer the cookies to half sheet pans lined with silpat mats or parchment paper then bake for 7-9 minutes at 375 degrees (NOTE: this is a higher temperature then the drop cookies!) or until the edges are barely golden brown. Freeze scraps for 5 minutes before re-rolling and cutting.
Recipe Tip
I DO like to bake the cut out cookies until golden brown around the edges (vs the drop cookies which I don’t) because it’s a little easier to frost cookies with arms/legs/boots, etc when they’re a bit sturdier. Still soft, but just a touch sturdier.
Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, frost and decorate.
Royal Icing Recipe for Cut Out Cookies
Here’s the tried-and-true royal icing recipe I used back in the day for my cut out sugar cookie business. The icing dries hard and shiny for a professional look!
Ingredients:
- 2 large eggs whites of pasteurized liquid egg white product
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- gel food coloring
Directions:
Icing will harden as it sits so be sure to transfer to an airtight container if not using immediately.
To the bowl of an electric mixer, or a large glass bowl if using a hand held mixer, add egg whites and lemon juice then beat to combine. Add powdered sugar then mix on low speed until smooth. If the icing seems too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it seems too thick, add a little water or milk.
Add gel food coloring if desired then mix until the color is even. If you want to make several colors, divide the icing between bowls then stir gel food coloring into each bowl. Scoop into piping bags with tips to ice.
Can I Freeze Gluten Free Cookies?
Yes! Both the dough and baked gluten free sugar cookies freeze beautifully.
- To freeze the dough: Divide the dough in half then wrap each half tightly in plastic wrap. Place inside a Ziplock freezer bag then freeze. Thaw the dough in the refrigerator for 24 hours then bake per recipe instructions.
- To freeze the baked cookies: Cool cookies completely then layer in a Ziplock freezer bag and freeze. Eat or frost directly from the freezer – they thaw quickly.
I hope you LOVE these sweet and chewy, best gluten-free sugar cookies. Take it from me — the girl who always loses count of how many she devours every time she bakes them — they’re super fun to make, but even more fun to eat. Enjoy!
More Gluten Free Cookie Recipes
- Gluten Free Shortbread
- Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft Batch Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Bars
- Gluten Free Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
- Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 10 Gluten Free Christmas Cookies and Treats
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup salted butter, 1-1/2 sticks, softened to room temperature (NOT MELTED)
- 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2-3/4 cups gluten free baking flour blend WITH binder, see notes
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 slightly heaping teaspoon salt
Directions
- Add butter and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer, or to a large glass bowl if using a hand-held mixer, then cream until pale yellow, scraping down the sides of the bowl once. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until just incorporated before adding the next egg. Add vanilla then mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- In a separate bowl, stir together gluten-free flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in three batches, mixing on low speed until just incorporated before adding the next batch. Dough should be soft but not sticky – if sticky, place bowl in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to firm up.
To make drop cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees then line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper and set aside. Scoop dough into 2 Tablespoon-sized portions then roll between your hands to form a ball and place onto prepared baking sheet at least 2” apart. Press down gently with your fingers to flatten the balls slightly then bake for 8-10 minutes or until the centers of the cookies are set. NOTE: cookies will NOT be golden brown around the edges! Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make cut out cookies:
- Divide dough between two sheets of saran wrap then shape into flat discs, cover, and refrigerate until completely chilled. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees. NOTE: this is a higher temperature than the drop cookies. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper then set aside.
- Unwrap one disc then place onto a sheet of parchment paper. Working quickly, cover with another sheet of parchment paper then roll 1/4” thick. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into shapes (it helps to wiggle the cookie cutter once pressed to separate the cut out from the surrounding dough) then carefully transfer cut outs to the prepared baking sheet. If cutouts are too soft to transfer, refrigerate or freeze parchment paper with cut outs for 5-10 minutes then try again. Freeze scraps for 5 minutes before re-rolling and cutting.
- Bake cookies for 7-9 minutes or until cookies are barely golden brown around the edges. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Frost cookies with your favorite frosting, icing, and/or embellishments. Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days or freeze unfrosted cookies for several months.
Notes
- I recommend King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour or Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour to make these cookies.
- To freeze the dough: Divide dough in half then wrap each half tightly in plastic wrap. Place inside a Ziplock freezer bag then freeze. Thaw dough in the refrigerator for 24 hours then bake per recipe instructions.
- To freeze the baked cookies: Cool cookies completely then layer in a Ziplock freezer bag and freeze. Eat or frost directly from the freezer – they thaw quickly.
- Royal Icing Recipe: add 2 large eggs whites of pasteurized liquid egg white product to a large mixing bowl with 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice then beat with a mixer to combine. Add 3 cups powdered sugar then mix on low until smooth. Add more powdered sugar if too thin, or a little water or milk if too thick. Add gel food coloring then mix until color is even. Transfer icing into piping bags then ice. Transfer icing to an airtight container if not using immediately.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin
Love this recipe! It’s my go-to for fruit pizza too!
This time I swapped part of the gf flour for coconut flour and cut down on the sugar. (Type 1 diabetics and celiac here)
It turned out sooo good!! The coconut flour gave a nice texture and sweetness, didn’t miss the 3/4c sugar I cut down out.
Would you add almond flavoring to this? If so, how much?
Yes! I’d add 1/4 — 1/2 teaspoon depending on how pronounced you want the flavor to be.
Excellent and delicious cookies! This post would benefit greatly from a “Jump to Recipe” link. I’m grateful for your insight. I resent the hassle of scrolling through a hundred ads. Please.
Hi Daniel! There is a jump to recipe button at the very top of this post. Can you tell me what device you’re using to view my site so that I might double check to make sure it’s appearing correctly?
Jump link does not work using my android phone (pixel)
Thank you for your feedback, Krista! We are working hard to launch an updated version of the site with features that will work across all browsers and devices without issues like this. Thanks so much for your patience!
Delicious! Will make again and again! Family didn’t even realize they were gluten free!!!❤️
Oh my gosh, that thrills me to hear, Molly! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
If I want to serve them for dinner on Friday, but do the dough Wednesday, chill overnight, and bake/ decorate the cut out cookies Thursday, how do I store them for Friday night? I don’t want them to lose their chewiness?
You can store them in an airtight container on the counter – they’ll get even softer and chewier as they sit! :)
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. My 3 year old is on the spectrum and he has certain food intolerances (no gluten, no potato, and no fruit and sugar combined) that being said I have tried several recipes and none of them came out good I was desperate as I felt so bad for my son not being able to have any of the food he likes to eat so I came upon your recipe and decided to try.. these cookies came out DELICIOUS omg don’t even taste gluten free he loves sugar cookies but has refused other recipes because of taste.. he ate the whole plate. This recipe was easy to make and really fool proof I’m not a big baker.. also appreciate the large batch it makes as we were able to freeze much more for next time. I do not leave reviews but felt that I had to. 10 stars if I could.. (also I baked these with a nightshade flour mix I make found on google recipes.. that doesn’t have xthanian gum I added 1 teaspoon of xathian gum and worked out great)
Oh my gosh Brandy, I am so thrilled not only that he was able to experience the joy of a sugar cookie, but that you got to bake them from him!! Truly a special moment, I know! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating — I really appreciate it!
This is by far the best GF sugar cookie recipe I have found. My son, who is 9, has celiac disease and it can be hard to find easy and delicious recipes that don’t make him feel like he is missing out. Most people we make these for don’t even realize they are GF.
We have loved all the recipes we have tried from your website but the ones for the holidays are extra special. Thank you so much!
Aww, I am *thrilled* to hear this, Kristin!! So glad he doesn’t feel like he has to miss out on special holiday treats!
I don’t normally leave reviews, but I had to for this one. I just went gluten free a month ago and I had been struggling to find a good cookie recipe. Not anymore! This recipe was perfect for all of my Christmas cookie needs! I turned them into snickerdoodles, hershey kiss cookies, and M&M cookies. (I’m also doing a batch of cut outs in the morning.)
Thank you so much for this recipe! It’s amazing!
Fantastic!! I’m so glad this recipe hit the spot, Sarah!! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Have you tried an egg alternative? My son is also allergic to egg and usually are ok with flax seed or applesauce as replacements in baking but haven’t tried sugar cookies yet! Thanks!
Bob’s Red Mill powdered egg replacer works well in these cookies!!
Will this work with regular, non gluten free flour?
Hi Sarah! I have Celiac Disease and can’t use regular flour so I’ve never tested to see if that is an ok swap!
I don’t normally comment on things like this but Christmas is coming up and I kinda miss some old traditions. I’m a teenager, but this year I really want to leave out cookies (I just like baking) but my mom has celiacs. I’m gonna try and do this recipe and hope she likes it.
I’m sure it will be a smash hit – so thoughtful of you to make these cookies for your Mom!!
Thank you for this recipe. I used Bob’s red mill 1 for 1 and it worked beautifully. I chilled the dough as I was making cut cookies and the dough probably only needed about 30 minutes to firm up. It was too firm to roll after 2 hours. I will definitely keep this one in the file as there are more and more people requesting gluten free baking for bake sales, etc.
Holy smokes, these are amazing! I made them for my daughter for Valentine’s Day who is newly diagnosed with Celiacs disease. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Ahh, I’m so so glad you ladies loved them! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!