Crispy Buttery Gluten-Free Butter Cookies

Watch out because this new gluten-free butter cookie recipe is going to become one of your new favorites! They taste like those famous Danish-style butter cookies that come in those fancy blue tins.

(*This post was sponsored by Plugrá® Butter. All delicious opinions are my own.)

I have been so excited to share this recipe with you in time for the holidays. These are the best gluten-free butter cookies!! This is one of our favorite recipes of all time.

They taste just like the Dutch butter cookies we all love. (You know, the ones that are sold in that festive blue tin every holiday season!) Only my version is gluten-free!

They are also perfect for making gluten-free holiday cookies that you can decorate for a party, bake sale, or cookie exchange! If you are a cookie fanatic like me, you must give some of these gluten free cookie recipes a try!

In my family's homemade butter cookie recipe, better butter matters!! If you haven't tried Plugrá® Butter yet, I highly encourage you to pick some up. Plugrá® Butter is slowly churned, making it creamier than regular butter.

Why This Recipe Is Great:

• I have perfected this homemade butter cookie recipe for you. I have made this cookie a complete copycat of those delicious Danish cookies in the blue tin.
• You can make these cookies by piping the cookie dough or drop style, depending on your comfort level!
• Plugrá® Butter has a higher fat content than regular butter, which means this butter makes better pie crusts, flavorful sauces, and buttery cookies. You can read more about Is Butter Gluten Free for more information.
• They make a great holiday cookie for those cookie exchange parties, and even Santa.
• They are crisp and slightly soft outside, just like Danish butter cookies should be.
• You can dip them in chocolate, sprinkle with sprinkles or coarse sugar, or enjoy them plain!

Be sure to check out my favorite Cookie Equipment Recommendations.

Top Pick

King Arthur, Measure for Measure Flour 3 lbs

This is one of my favorite gluten-free flour blends for cookies, cakes, pie crust, biscuits, and muffins! (Do not use this flour blend for yeast recipes.)

Buy Now

We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

Ingredient Notes:

All you need are six simple ingredients to make this classic butter cookie recipe!

• Gluten Free Flour Blend - I tested this recipe with Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend and King Arthur Measure for Measure. That doesn't mean others will not work; I have not tested other flours.
• Xanthan Gum- if your gluten free blend doesn't contain this or guar gum, you will need to add it.
• Sugar - Use regular white sugar.
• Salt - I used sea salt, but you can also use kosher salt. I do not recommend pink Himalayan salt.
• Eggs - Use size large.
• Pure Vanilla Extract - The vanilla flavor is the star of these butter cookies, and I do not recommend imitation vanilla.

Tips For Sucess:

• Use room-temperature butter and eggs. It sounds crazy to use butter and eggs at room temperature, but it dramatically helps how your cookies will turn out. You'll thank yourself later if you try it.
• Use a cooled cookie sheet when baking. Don't take a hot cookie sheet and put the batter on it, or I promise the cookies won't turn out. They start baking immediately, and it messes with their shape of them. Use a couple of sheets and rotate them out when making large batches of cookies.
• Don't let the cookies sit on the pan too long. After they have baked, only let them sit on the baking sheet for up to 5 minutes. The pan will still be hot, and continue baking them otherwise.

I have a great Gluten Free Cookie Troubleshooting Guide if you need help baking gluten free cookies.

Recipe Step-By-Step Directions:

Step 1: Add your dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Use a wire whisk to mix the ingredients together.

Step 2: Add the wet ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk to mix. Be sure your butter is at a very soft room temperature. You can microwave the butter for 20 seconds to soften it more but do not fully melt the butter.

Add the wet ingredients into a bowl and whisk. Can you believe how creamy this butter is??

Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix them together.

You want your cookies to be the same size for the best results. This is simple to do.

Step 4: There are two great ways to ensure your cookies all turn out the same size. The first way is to take a small glass and trace circles around the bottom in rows, all along with a piece of parchment paper.

You can also use a silicone macaron mat that has the circles pre-drawn. To avoid getting ink on the cookies, turn the parchment paper over. Now we get to pipe the cookie dough into the cute circles.

Step 5: Use a tip that has jagged edges if you want your cookies to have the flower shape my cookies have. I like the Wilton tip 8B too. You can use other tips, but if you want the texture of your gluten-free butter cookies, use a tip with cut zig-zag edges.

Step 6: Add the semi-soft batter to a pastry bag with the shape of the piping tip I show above. Your cookie batter should be somewhat soft for piping.

Step 7: Grab your pastry bag with cookie dough. Pipe the cookie dough along with the circle shapes.

🔑 Sandi says: If you are sugar-coating these cookies, sprinkle coarse sugar over them before baking instead of dipping them in chocolate.

Step 8: Do this until you fill all the circles with cookie dough. Bake your cookies at 350º F for 8-10 minutes until the cookies are just slightly golden. Remove the cookies from the oven onto a wire cooling rack.

Let the cookies cool completely before moving them. The cookies will be a little soft until they cool into a nice crisp texture.

Step 9: As these Danish-style cookies are cooling, add your melting chocolate to a microwave-safe dish and melt. I like to melt in 10-15 second increments, stirring between increments to avoid the chocolate burning.

Step 10: Dip your cookies halfway into the chocolate and sprinkle with colorful sprinkles. Note: make sure the sprinkles you use are gluten free. Read here for information on all of the gluten free sprinkles.

Storage:

Store these cookies in an airtight container. I prefer storing them in the refrigerator. They will keep fresh for up to 4 days. You can also freeze these cookies. Place cooled cookies into a zip-style freezer bag.

If you like to decorate cookies, try these Gluten Free Cinnamon Sugar Cookies too!

Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ:

More Gluten-Free Holiday Cookies:

• Chestnuts roasting over an open fire are the inspiration for these Gluten-Free Roasted Chestnut Cookies.
• Santa loves these Easy Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles cookies!
• These Gluten-Free Chocolate Pizzelles are fabulous Italian cookies for the holidays.
• Everyone loves this classic Holiday Gluten-Free Gingersnaps cookie recipe.
• A Collection of Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies

I hope you love these gluten-free butter cookies as much as we do. They make a beautiful holiday gift. If you love European cookies, try these Italian Gluten Free Pizzelles too!

📖 Recipe

Gluten-Free Butter Cookies

Sandi Gaertner

Crispy delicious Gluten-Free Butter Cookies are perfect for the holidays or anytime you are craving a delicious cookie.

4.94 from 32 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save RecipeSaved!

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Gluten Free Dessert Recipes

Cuisine American

Servings 24 cookies

Calories 116 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup butter softened
• ▢ 1 ¾ cups gluten free flour blend * see note
• ▢ ½ cup sugar
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 egg

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350º F.
• In a bowl, add the dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
• In a smaller bowl, add the wet ingredients and mix well.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
• Take a pastry bag and a star tip. Cut the tip of the bag and insert the tip.
• Fill the pastry bag with the butter cookie dough.
• Place a piece of parchment paper onto a cookie sheet. Use the small glass to trace circles on the parchment paper. (Or use a macaron mat!).
• Pipe the cookie dough in a ring around each circle. (See photos above for step by step instructions on how to do this.)
• Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes.
• Optional, dip into melted chocolate and sprinkles.

Notes

1. I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF, Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend, and Authentic Foods Multi Blend in this recipe. That doesn't mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
2. If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
3. To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for vegan butter.
4. Note, you can pipe these cookies into any shape.
5. These cookies will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.

SPECIAL NOTE

Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn't test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 116kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 1gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 82mgPotassium: 5mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 246IUCalcium: 9mgIron: 1mg

Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @FearlessDining or tag #FearlessDining!

Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

This post was updated from an older November 2019 post with more details.

If you love the recipes you find on my blog, I would love for you to sign up for my newsletter (and get my free gluten free lemon dessert e-cookbook!)