Gluten free Christmas cut out cookies are a fun way to get your kids in the kitchen and spread holiday cheer.
These days my kids are very into arts and crafts.
They enjoy painting (usually on themselves and on paper!) and coloring, and also making my husband and I “cards.” I use that term loosely because they rip up a blank piece of paper, color the pieces and then stuff them into an envelope, bring it to us and say ‘ta da’ or ‘special delivery.’
It cracks me up every time.
I like to purchase craft supplies that are holiday themed at the local arts and crafts store, and recently got them some DIY ornaments.
Well, those lasted about 2 days. They liked them so much that they made them all (and I got packs of 10).
When my daughter saw they were all done, she asked “what can we make next? Can we make something together?”
At the time, I was working on a new sugar cookie recipe, and I figured I could modify it slightly and make gluten free Christmas cut out cookies.
The idea of being mommy’s taste tester was very appealing to both of my children, so we had a really fun afternoon.
The recipe we created was inspired by Betty Crocker’s Classic Sugar Christmas Cookie Cutouts, which contains both gluten and dairy.
I knew that the recipe was going to be higher in sugar than what I typically give my kids, and that’s ok sometimes in moderation.
But, whenever I can sneak in healthy ingredients to better balance the protein and sugars more, you know I do…and they never know the difference.
So, I cut the flour in half and replaced the other half with Barney Butter’s blanched almond flour which I love to use when baking.
On the first try, we used powdered sugar which left the cookies a bit too dry.
So, on round two we replaced it with regular white sugar and they came out perfect.
Here’s the simple 7 ingredient recipe for gluten free Christmas cut out cookies so you can make some too.
If you’ve tried this recipe, please RATE THE RECIPE below!
For more recipes, please subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.
Gluten Free Christmas Cut Out Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup blanched almond flour we used Barney Butter
- 1 cup gluten free all purpose flour we used King Arthur
- 1/2 cup palm oil shortening
- 1 cup organic white sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp baking soda
Instructions
-
Add the shortening, vanilla, egg, and sugar to a mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until it's smooth and well combined.
-
Combine the almond and gf flour in a bowl and add to the mixing bowl slowly until well combined.
-
Separate the dough in two and individually wrap them in plastic wrap and place in your refrigerator for 30 minutes - 1 hour. You want the dough to be firm, but not hard or you won't be able to roll it.
-
Set a piece of parchment paper on your counter.
-
Remove the first ball of dough from the refrigerator and place it on top of the parchment paper.
-
Place a layer of plastic wrap on top of the dough and roll it with a rolling pin until it's about 1/4 inch thick.
-
Remove the plastic wrap top layer.
-
Use Christmas themed cookie cutters to create the cut outs.
-
Transfer the parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for 10 minutes. This makes the dough firm enough that you can easily peel away the leftover dough from around the edges of the cookie cutter shapes you made. It's hard to do this without placing it in the freezer, so don't skip this step.
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-
Remove the tray from the freezer, peel away the edges surrounding the cookie shapes, and set aside to make more cookies later.
-
Bake for 6-8 minutes, just until fully cooked but not browned.
-
While they're cooking, follow the steps above for the second dough ball. Or if you have enough room in your oven and enough cookie sheets you can get the second batch ready while the first one is in the freezer cooling prior to baking.
-
When the first batch is done, remove the parchment paper and cookies from the pan and let them cool completely. Leave them on the parchment paper while they're cooling so they can harden before transferring to a plate for decorating.
-
Decorate with your favorite cookie icing and sprinkles.
-
Enjoy them right away or give them as gifts wrapped in cellophane with a cute ribbon.
Recipe Notes
Not interested in cutting out and decorating cookies, but still want a delicious gluten free sugar cookie recipe? Follow the recipe above, increase the sugar by 1/4 cup, add 1.5 tsp of baking powder, and don't worry about refrigerating before baking. Roll into balls for simple round sugar cookies!
If you freeze the dough for longer than the recommended hour, just let the dough defrost until it's still firm but pliable.
The gluten free Christmas cut out cookies came out delicious, and we had fun decorating them.
Not interested in cutting out and decorating cookies, but still want a delicious gluten free sugar cookie recipe?
Follow the recipe above, increase the sugar by 1/4 cup, add 1.5 tsp of baking powder, and don’t worry about refrigerating before baking.
Yes, it’s that easy to modify them and take a look at how great they come out like this.
HayleyJean Swartzfager
Can I double the recipe and hold the dough in the fridge for a week or two?
kortneykh
Cookie decorating is such a fun winter time activity. I can’t wait to get started!
Nicole Dawson
Super cute cookies Jereann! My kids would gobble those up in no time.
Jenny
The cookies came out so cute!
Jasmine Eclipse
I went through a time when I cut out gluten and I remember how hard it was to cut out sweets. Once I found great recipes, I actually loved the taste of gluten free treats more! I don’t have to eat gluten free anymore, but I am definitely going to try this recipe!
Mama Knows Gluten Free (Audrey
These are so cute! I love that you made them with almond flour. Bonus treat is the giveaway!
Jereann Zann
Thanks, Audrey! The almond flour is key and I hope you enter the giveaway so you can get a chance to win some!
hellomoonies
Oh these are sooo cute! One of my work colleagues is gluten intolerant, so I’ll have to bring some of these in to work – thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Jereann Zann
You’re so welcome! Hope you all enjoy them as much as we do.
Theresa Bailey
These are absolutely adorable.
Jereann Zann
Thanks, Theresa!
Leslie Morrison
These look absolutely delicious! And perfect for my Holiday baking party this Sunday 🙂
Jereann Zann
Oh good! They are totally perfect for a baking party.
Alisa Fleming
At last, a recipe using almond flour for part of the cookie flour, not all of it! I’ve been searching for this. All almond flour goodies are a little harsh on the stomachs in my home 🙂
Jereann Zann
I’m so glad! The almond flour is a nice balance to the sugars in this recipe. Can’t wait for you to try them.
spabettie
UM… I had NO IDEA Barney Butter now has FLOUR! BB is my very favorite almond butter… I need to look this up and try your recipe! 🙂
Jereann Zann
They do and it’s awesome!!! I use it in a ton of recipes – from pancakes, to pies, desserts and bread. Hope you try them and enter the giveaway so you can get a chance to win some.
Taylor Lahman
Thank you so much for this recipe! My husband and I try to avoid gluten as much as possible and now that our daughter is old enough to eat solids, I would definitely feel comfortable letting her have some of these cookies!
Jereann Zann
Awesome! Recipes the whole family can share are the best 🙂