Simple almond flour sugar cookies are great for holiday cut-out cookies
Sometimes the simplest recipes are also the best recipes! This recipe for almond flour sugar cookies only has a few ingredients– almond flour, butter, sugar (coconut or regular), vanilla, and orange zest. I wasn’t sure if they would hold together without an egg, but it was no problem.
Have a virtual cookie bake!
I’ve included a recipe for cookie icing just in case you want to decorate your sugar cookies. It’s so much fun to do with kids over the holidays. Before the pandemic we used to do an annual cookie bake at our friend’s house each December. Now you can do one virtually. Just plan an afternoon when you want to get together with some friends/family to bake together!
Tips for rolling out the dough
If you’re going to make these into cut-out cookies, you’ll need to chill the dough for about 30 minutes before rolling it out. I recommend rolling the dough out in between two pieces of parchment paper or two silicone baking sheets. Then cut out your cookies one at a time and transfer carefully with a spatula to a baking sheet.
Almond Flour Sugar Cookies (Gluten Free)
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 30 min
- Yield: 30 cookies 1x
Description
This is the simplest recipe I’ve seen for sugar cookies. They work well for holiday cut-outs so I’ve included a recipe for icing as well.
Ingredients
Cookies
6 tablespoons butter, palm shortening, or vegan butter, softened
6 tablespoons granulated sugar or coconut sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons orange zest (optional)
2 cups almond flour
cookie cutters (round or holiday shapes)
Icing
2 cups powdered sugar
up to 2 tablespoons water or milk
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, vanilla extract, or almond extract
food coloring (optional)
Decorating supplies
small paintbrushes (dedicated to cookie making)
sprinkles, decorating sugar, and/or red hot cinnamon candies
Instructions
Cookies
Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy with a whisk or an electric mixer. Add vanilla, orange zest (if using), and almond flour. Mix together with a wooden spoon (or use your hands) until the dough comes together into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20-30 minutes or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350° F. Roll out refrigerated dough in between two pieces of parchment paper (or two silicone baking sheets). The dough should be about 1/8-1/4 inch thick, so that the cookies are thick enough to transfer to the cookie sheet and thin enough to get a bit crispy when baked. Cut out cookie shapes with cookie cutters (or just make round with a glass or jar) and carefully transfer each cookie over to a cookie sheet with a spatula. Round up leftover scraps of dough, roll out again, and make more cut out shapes. You’ll probably need two cookie sheets to fit all of the cookies. Bake 8 minutes (or more if cookies are a little thicker) and cool completely before icing.
Icing
In a small mixing bowl, mix together powdered sugar and lemon juice and gradually add water or milk until you get a smooth consistency (not too thick or too thin). Divide icing into small prep bowls or custard cups, one for each color. Keep one white, and add 1-2 drops food coloring to the other cups (if desired). Some good colors for Christmas cookies are red, green, yellow, and blue.
Cookie decorating
When cookies have completely cooled, you can start decorating your cookies with icing and/or sprinkles. You may want to start with a base of white icing, let it dry, then add some other colors on top.
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