These almond flour sugar cookies are soft, chewy with a very *slight* crisp on the edges. They’re so easy to make (just one bowl!), and topped off with a simple dairy free icing. They’re naturally gluten free and perfect for any occasion!
Soft, chewy, with slightly crispy edges, perfectly sweet, gluten free, dairy free, PERFECT almond flour sugar cookies. They’re everything a cookie should be, but are totally grain free and made in just one bowl.
They’re a slight variation on my almond flour chocolate chip cookies, with a few tweaks to make them perfect as cut out cookies!
The almond flour in these cookies keeps them soft and chewy but also gives them a delicious and rich flavor, largely because of the high fat content and nutty flavor.
They’re buttery on the inside, without being doughy, and have a slight crisp on the edges thanks to a bit of coconut flour and tapioca starch. They’re basically like a healthy lofthouse cookie!
I kept these simple by just using round cookie cutters, but you can easily get creative and use your favorite holiday cookie cutters!
Make hearts on Valentine’s Day, pumpkins for Halloween, snowflakes for wintertime, whatever you like. If you love this recipe, try my almond flour double chocolate cookies, gluten free peanut butter cookies or paleo vanilla cake next!
How to make almond flour sugar cookies
Add the room temperature butter to a bowl or bowl of a stand mixer. Add in the sugar and cream together for about 30 seconds, or until well combined.
Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add in all remaining ingredients and using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to combine.
Once a dough has formed, add it right into the fridge for at least 1 hour, ideally 2, but up to 24 hours. I know chilling dough is annoying, but please don’t skip this step 🙂
Once the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Add the dough to a piece of parchment paper and roll with a rolling pin until it is about 1/4 inch thick. If you prefer thicker cookies, then feel free to keep it thicker!
Use a cookie cutter (I used these round ones) and cut the dough. I find it easiest to slide a lightly greased spatula under the cookie with the cookie cutter still on, then add it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, slide away the spatula, then lift off the cookie cutter so it keeps its shape.
Repeat until all dough has been used, rolling it out again as needed. The cookies will spread very slightly while baking, so keep a bit of room between each cookie. Only bake one cookie sheet at a time, so do two batches if needed.
Bake for 9-12 minutes. I usually do 11 in my oven, but all ovens are different. You’ll know they’re done when the edges are just slightly golden brown.
They go from golden to burnt pretty quickly, so keep an eye on them! They’ll be soft when they come out of the oven, but will continue to firm up as they cool.
Ingredient swaps
SUGAR. You can, but I don’t recommend it. You can swap the white sugar for coconut sugar, but the cookies will be very dark in color and won’t look much like a classic sugar cookie!
FLOUR. Almond flour and regular all purpose flour cannot be used interchangeably. If you want to use regular gluten free all purpose flour, try my gluten free sugar cookies!
EGG. I haven’t tested these almond flour sugar cookies without egg, and I’m not sure how well it would turn out. My suggestion would be to use an egg replacer like Bob’s Red Mill, or apple sauce (about 3 tbsp for the egg).
They may be a bit more crumbly and may spread more while baking, but let me know if you try it!
Almond flour vs. almond meal
Almond flour is made from blanched almonds without the skins, which gives these cookies their delicious flavor and texture. Almond meal uses whole almonds with the skins and the two cannot be used interchangeably in this recipe.
Storage tips
These cookies store quite well. Once cooled and frosted, these cookies will store in a container for 3-5 days.
During the summer, I prefer to keep them in the fridge because the butter can melt into the cookies and make them a bit too soft.
I usually recommend reheating leftover cookies, but in the absence of chocolate, it’s really not necessary! And in fact, because these are frosted, you wouldn’t want to anyway.
More gluten free cookies to try!
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Almond Flour Sugar Cookies
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Cookies
- 6 tablespoons room temperature butter
- ¾ cup granulated cane sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 3 tablespoons coconut flour
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Icing
- ½ cup softened/room temp butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Add the room temperature butter to a bowl or bowl of a stand mixer. Add in the sugar and cream together for about 30 seconds, or until well combined.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- Add in all remaining ingredients and using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to combine.
- Once a dough has formed, add it right into the fridge for 2 hours, but up to 24 hours. I know chilling dough is annoying, but please don't skip this step 🙂
- Once the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add the dough to a piece of parchment paper and roll with a rolling pin until it is about 1/4 inch thick. If you prefer thicker cookies, then feel free to keep it thicker!
- Use a cookie cutter (I used these round ones) and cut the dough. I find it easiest to slide a lightly greased spatula under the cookie with the cookie cutter still on, then add it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, slide away the spatula, then lift off the cookie cutter so it keeps its shape.
- Repeat until all dough has been used, rolling it out again as needed. The cookies will spread very slightly while baking, so keep a bit of room between each cookie. Only bake one cookie sheet at a time, so do two batches if needed.
- Bake for 9-12 minutes. I usually do 11 in my oven, but all ovens are different. You'll know they're done when the edges are just slightly golden brown.
- They go from golden to burnt pretty quickly, so keep an eye on them! They'll be soft when they come out of the oven, but will continue to firm up as they cool.
- To make the icing, add the room temperature butter to a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Add in the powdered sugar and beat until well combined. Finally, mix in the vanilla and milk.
- If it's too thick, add in a splash of milk, if it's too thin, add in more sugar. I used a couple drops of red food coloring to make pink frosting, but you can definitely leave them white.
- Wait until the cookies are completely cool, then frost, sprinkle and enjoy!
Joanna Ross says
These cookies are DELICIOUS. I found the recipe when I was making cookies for a reception and decided I should have a gluten free option. I was not enthusiastic. I am now! The almond flour adds a light, lovely flavor and the crisp/chewy aspect is wonderful. I have made them twice and the third batch is “setting up” in the refrigerator. The cookies and the frosting are both easy to make, and if you build-in the expectation of letting the dough get cold, it’s a very simple and simply delicious recipe. I found Claire’s baking time of 11 minutes to be just right for my oven, too. Thanks for this recipe! It changed my entire view about the possibilities for gluten free baking.
Claire Cary says
Love to hear that! Gluten free baking can truly be just as good as the classic 🙂
Danielle says
Can I freeze the dough to use for a few days later? How long can the dough stay refrigerated?
Claire Cary says
Yes! You can keep it in the fridge for up to 48 hours, or in the freezer for up to a month before baking. If you bake from frozen, decrease the temperature to 325 and add a few extra minutes of bake time.
CC says
Have you subbed coconut sugar for the cane sugar?
Claire Cary says
I don’t recommend that with this recipe!
Kathryn Nidde says
Actually I have questions. Can Monk Fruit sugar be uses (I’m diabetic)? Can Parkay Spray butter be used (butter flavored oil)?
And lastly, can xanthan gum be added to help hold the dough together? Thank you.
Claire Cary says
I do not recommend subbing out the butter for anything else unless you use coconut oil. You can try using monk fruit, but I cannot guarantee the results. No need for xanthan gum as the egg will bind everything!