You will be delighted when you sink your teeth into these Gluten Free Swiss Brunsli Cookies! They boast sweet chocolate flavor and have the right amount of chewy, soft, and tender. These brunsli cookies are naturally gluten free, too!

Three star shaped Swiss Brunsli Cookies with red ribbon.

Recipe At A Glance:

  • This is a beginner-level recipe.
  • You only need five simple ingredients.
  • Make this gluten free Swiss Brunsli recipe in 30 minutes.

Everything about these star-shaped brunsli cookies is fantastic! They have a slight nuttiness to them that leaves a lasting impression. If you love cookies as much as we do, here are some of my best Gluten Free Holiday Cookie Recipes to try.

These chocolate cookies made with almond flour are quick and easy. If you love these gluten free Swiss brunsli cookies, check out some of my gluten free cookie recipes.

My family has shared a lot of delicious European cookie recipes with me. You will want to try these Gluten Free Pfeffernusse Cookies, too!

Ingredient Notes:

  • Almond Flour – I highly recommend using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond flour is milled to be finer, so you don’t get the grittiness. I highly recommend Anthony’s Blanched Almond Flour, which is blanched to remove the peels.
  • Chocolate – I used shaved Ghirardelli chocolate, but you can use any ground chocolate or Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers.
  • Eggs – Use size large eggs.
A small silver bucket full of gluten free Swiss brunsli cookies.

Recipe Step-By-Step Directions:

The chocolate flakes in a bowl ready to melt

Step 1: Add your chocolate flakes/shavings to a large microwave-safe mixing bowl.  

The melted chocolate in a bowl.

Step 2: Melt your chocolate in your microwave. I suggest 20-second intervals, stirring between intervals, to avoid burning your chocolate.

Whipping the egg whites with an electric mixer.

Step 3: Add the egg whites to a mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to whip until they form stiff peaks.

The egg whites in stiff peaks.

Step 4: Make sure your egg whites are completely whipped. Here, you can see how the egg whites are now stiff peaks.

All ingredients in a bowl ready to mix

Step 5: Gently fold the almond flour, sugar, and chocolate mixtures into the egg whites.

Swiss brunsli cookie dough ready to refrigerate.

Step 6: Wrap the cookie dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cutting out star shapes in the cookie dough.

Step 7: Roll the cookie dough out to ¼ inch thickness and use a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out star cookies.

Step 8: Place on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and bake at 350º F for 10 minutes. Remove the cookies to a cooling rack to cool.

The baked Swiss brunsli cookies on a cookie sheet.

Optional: dust the cookies with powdered sugar. You may also love these Gluten Free Cinnamon Sugar Cookies. Serve them with a mug of this Homemade Spiked Hot Chocolate.

Recipe FAQ:

What are brunsli cookies?

The cookies are also known as Basler Brunsli. They are well known for their tender, soft texture and spicy, nutty flavor. These gluten free Swiss brunsli cookies are famous in Switzerland.

They are a delicious treat that is typically served during Christmas. They traditionally have spices like cinnamon in them, as well as cocoa. You will find them cut into heart shapes frequently.

How do you store Swiss Brunsli Cookies?

Store the gluten free Swiss brunsli cookies in an airtight container. Make sure to keep them away from extreme heat, like a dishwasher or in direct sunlight. They will last 3-5 days if they are correctly stored.

Can you freeze Swiss Brunsli cookies?

Yes, you can freeze these gluten free Swiss brunsli cookies. Lay them flat on a cookie sheet and place them in the freezer for 2-3 hours. This will flash-freeze them so they don’t stick together. Then, remove them from the cookie sheet and place them in a freezer bag or airtight container.

Dusting the cookies with powdered sugar.

🔑 Sandi says: If you make these around the holidays, you will want to check out all these delicious Gluten Free Christmas Cookies recipes.

More Gluten Free Holiday Cookies

Love This Recipe?

If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Include which flour blend you used. This helps others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!

Gluten Free Swiss Brunsli Cookies

Sandi Gaertner
If you love chocolate cookies, this delicious gluten free Swiss Brunsli Cookies recipe is so worth making. Perfect for the holidays or anytime.
4.84 from 6 votes
gluten free allergy icon
soy free allergy icon
vegetarian icon
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Gluten Free Cookies and Bar Recipes, Gluten Free Dessert Recipes
Cuisine Swiss
Servings 16 cookies
Calories 174 kcal

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ¾ cups almond flour * see note
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 6 ounces chocolate finely chopped/shaved
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 egg whites
  • Optional: Powdered sugar for dusting.

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350º F.
  • Add almond flour, sugar, and spices to a bowl and whisk to blend.
  • In a microwave-safe bowl, add the chocolate and melt. I like to melt 20 seconds at a time, stirring between each 20-second interval so the chocolate doesn’t burn.
  • In a large bowl, add the egg whites and mix on high speed with an electric mixer until the egg whites form stiff peaks.
  • Add the melted chocolate and almond flour mixture to the egg whites and gently fold together to mix.
  • Place the cookie dough onto a piece of wax paper and wrap it. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  • Remove the cookie dough and roll it out to ¼ inch thickness.
  • Use a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the cookies.
  • Place the cookie stars onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove onto a cooling rack.
  • Optional: dust with powdered sugar.

Notes

  1. You do not want to use cocoa powder for this recipe.
  2. I recommend using almond flour and not almond meal because almond meal is much thicker than a grind.
  3. These cookies will keep fresh for up to 4 days in an airtight 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: 174kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 3gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 8mgPotassium: 38mgFiber: 2gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 0.01mgCalcium: 31mgIron: 1mg
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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.

Note this post was updated from an older October 2019 post with more recipe details.

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10 Comments

  1. I’m just learning about gluten free baking. Your tips and notes are appreciated I was looking at you Swiss Brunsli cookie and you don’t indicate what kind of chocolate. bittersweet, unsweetened, semi-sweet. There’s milk chocolate and dark chocolate, etc. What works best?

  2. What kind of chocolate is used? Unsweetened, semisweet, bittersweet, milk chocolate? Can you use chopped chocolate? I do not see a link.

    1. Hi Adrienne, this recipe won’t work with other flours. I would look for a chocolate cut out sugar cookie recipe if you want to replicate the stars. Coconut flour absorbs a ton of liquid, the opposite of how almond flour behaves.

  3. These cookies look wonderful! What is the difference between ‘ground chocolate’ and cocoa powder? The chocolate product you linked to has the horrid ‘may contain wheat’ label so I will not chose that particular brand.

    1. Hi Kim, I clarified in the recipe more, I hope it helps. Ground chocolate is more like shaved chocolate…which is sweetened and melts differently from cocoa powder. You are right the wrong shaved chocolate was linked. Thank you :-).