These Gluten free sugar cookies are a delicious treat at any time. This simple gluten free sugar cookie recipe makes delicious soft buttery cookies with crisp edges, just the way a cookie should be!! These cookies start in your mixing bowl and into your mouth in about 20 minutes!
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Drop sugar cookies are one of my favorite cookies because they have all of that famous sugar cookie taste, with half the work. No cookie cutters needed, you just get yummy cookies. If you prefer to use cookie cutters, you will want to try my Gluten Free Cut-Out Cookies recipe!
These gluten free sugar cookies are so good, you can even use them for ice cream sandwiches! I will keep nibbling on these delicious, soft gluten free sugar cookies until summer comes :-).
What makes these gluten free sugar cookies so good:
- Crispy edges. This gluten free sugar cookie recipe makes cookies with those perfect crisp edges, they hold together beautifully.
- You can freeze these delicious cookies to enjoy anytime.
- They are made drop style so they are easy to make
- I include a dairy-free option too!
They are easy to decorate with gluten free sprinkles to make them fancy! I honestly believe this is the best gluten free sugar cookie recipe I've made.
Okay, I know we talked about the crispy edges...and the rich buttery taste. Let's talk about how to make this simple gluten free sugar cookie recipe. First, gather your ingredients.
Ingredient notes:
- Gluten free flour blend - II tested this recipe using Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend and King Arthur's Measure for Measure Gluten Free Blend. That doesn't mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn't contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, you will need to add it so your cookies hold together.
- Vanilla - please make sure you use pure vanilla extract and not imitation.
- Butter - use dairy-free butter if you would like this recipe to be dairy-free too!
Step by step recipe directions:
You are going to love these cookies!! It is so easy to make these cookies from scratch!
Step 1: Pulse the flour mixture and butter in a food processor until it looks "grainy" and crumbly.
To measure your gluten free flour, I recommend using the spoon method or leveling method. In a perfect world, people weigh their flour, but most do not own a kitchen scale. To make a scale even trickier, every gluten free flour blend has a different weight.
Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour.
You can also use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour.
Step 2: In a small bowl, add your wet ingredients and whisk to blend.
Step 3: Add the wet ingredients and mix well. Your dough should form a stiff ball. So far everything is going according to plan! Wrap the gluten free sugar cookie dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Step 4: Take the dough out of the refrigerator and then preheat the oven to 350º F. Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Use a cookie scoop to drop balls of cold dough onto a parchment-lined cookie baking sheet. Press down in the middle of each sugar cookie and add thick baker's sugar to each middle.
Bake the cookies at 350º F for 8-10 minutes.
Expert tips and recipe FAQ:
You don't have to refrigerate the dough, but it definitely makes the cookies better if you do. I refrigerated these for 1-2 hours.
These cookies will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for vegan butter.
I do not recommend using powdered sugar in this recipe. Your cookies will not turn out well.
Fun variations:
- Add frosting and sprinkles
- Colored icings are a pretty way to decorate these gluten free cookies.
- Add sprinkles to the actual cookie dough for funfetti cookies
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do. If you are new to gluten free baking, don't forget to check out my Gluten Free Pantry Essentials to learn about the different gluten free flours and ingredients I use to make all of my gluten free recipes.
More Holiday Cookie Recipes:
- Gluten Free Vanillekipferl Cookies
- Gluten Free Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
- Gluten Free Pfeffernusse Cookies
- Fun Halloween Cut Out Cookies
- Here is a roundup of the most popular cookie recipes on my blog!
Recipe
The Best Gluten Free Sugar Cookie recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten free flour blend * see note
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- dash of salt
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 10 tablespoons butter * see note
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons course baking sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Add dry ingredients to a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly.
- Pour flour mixture into a bowl and add eggs, vanilla and water and mix well.
- Wrap the dough ball in plastic and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a cookie scoop to drop balls of dough onto the cookie sheet.
- Press down in the middle of each. Add a little of the course sugar to each center.
- Bake for 12 minutes until done.
- Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack.
Video
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend. That doesn't mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for vegan butter.
- These cookies will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
- Feel free to decorate these cookies with sprinkles. You can sprinkle the dough balls, or mix sprinkles into the cookie dough before mixing. Make sure to use gluten free sprinkles brands.
Nutrition
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.
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DEBBIE
I AM GOING TO TRY MAKING THIS, SINCE I HAVE ALL PURPOSE FLOUR, DOES IT WORK TO USE ALL PURPOSE FLOUR? THANKS.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Debbie, when you say all purpose flour, do you mean non-gluten free flour, or a gluten free flour blend?
debbie
Yes, gluten free. cassava flour and it is called all purpose flour.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Debbie, Cassava flour behaves differently and is not really an all purpose flour in context. It is mostly starch, which would behave differently in this recipe. Cassava is considered paleo and sometimes it can be substituted for a gluten free flour blend, but it absorbs more liquid and isn't a one to one substitution measure. I haven't tried it in this recipe, I am sorry I can't advise better on this.
RSBakes
My gf girlfriend said these were the best cookies I’ve made. Nice simple base and I used 1:1 gf baking flour with xantham gum and they came out perfectly soft and not too sweet. I’m going to try a slight variation with peppermint oil for a holiday spin. Thanks!
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad she liked them. You are a pretty awesome guy to make cookies for her. My husband just gave a thumbs up 🙂
Debra C.
I wish I lived closer! Pretty sure I could sneak in and steal some cookies and you’d never know! 😉
Sandi Gaertner
OMG I wish you lived closer too!!! It would be so fun to brainstorm recipes, and share calories!