A great gluten free cut out sugar cookie recipe is a must in our family. We find any excuse to make gluten free cut out sugar cookies to celebrate Valentine’s Day, Christmas and Halloween, of course, but then there’s Ground Hog Day, Arbor Day, St. Patty’s Day, Election Day, Wednesday, birthdays, a sunny day, a cloudy day, rainbows … you get the idea.
The key to any good cut out sugar cookie dough is that it must be easy to roll and cut, resilient, elastic, never crumbly and of course, oh so yummy.
I’ve led gluten free cooking classes with elementary schoolers and pre-teens using this recipe, and they have all had such fun with this dough! It really is a wonderful recipe, rolled thin for crispy cookies, or thicker to make a softer, cakier cookie.
My gluten eating son has recently been on a kick that he wants me to make gluten free sugar cookies “just like the ones in the grocery store!” Eww. Uh, yeah, ok Mr. teenager. Your tastes are weird, and the unpronounceable ingredient label on those store-bought cookies is a mile long, but sure. I’ll make some cookies for you like those store-bought ones.
Not being able to taste those store-bought cookies for myself, I had to rely on him to confirm that when I only roll this dough to about 1/4+ inch thick, these indeed do taste like the ones he’s been craving (not sure if that’s a compliment in this case!), and I must admit, I actually really, really like them that way.
Soft, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth yummy. And at least they have a clean label.
If you need a vegan egg-free dough option, hop over to my GF Vegan Cut Out Cookie Recipe, or for an even easier, delicious cut out cookie dough, try my gfJules Sugar Cut Out Cookie Mix! Roll them thicker to be more akin to this store-bought cookie, and use my easy homemade cookie icing recipe for that perfect crackle-topped icing we all grew up with!
Gluten Free Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil of choice
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup (236 grams) gfJules™All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3 Tbs. water (as needed)
- food coloring (optional)
- colored sugar or frosting (optional – see below)
Instructions
Cream shortening, sugar and oil several minutes with an electric mixer, until very fluffy.
Add egg yolks, vanilla extract and food coloring, if using. Mix in the dry ingredients, adding in tablespoons of water only as needed to keep the dough together and avoid dryness (err on the side of this dough being wetter).
Pat the dough into a disc shape to roll or to cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate or roll out immediately.
Preheat oven to 350º F (static) or 325º F (convection).
Lightly flour a clean surface or pastry mat with gfJules™ All Purpose Flour. Roll the dough to a little more than 1/4-inch thickness and dust cookie cutters with gfJules flour before using to cut out shapes. You may also roll thin coils of dough of different colors and braid into candy cane or other fun shapes.
Place cut cookies onto parchment-lined cookie sheets and decorate with colored sugar, if desired.
Bake approximately 8-10 minutes, but remove before they begin to brown at the edges. Cool on a wire rack and frost with gluten-free frosting, if desired.
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Based on 17 Review(s)
So cute! Thanks for linking up to Savoring Saturdays, Jules. I’m featuring your cookies this weekend. Happy Valentine’s Day!
These look delicious! I am featuring them tonight on Savoring Saturdays. Can’t wait to see what you share this week! Have a sweet Valentine’s Day. 🙂
Those look perfect for a kid-friendly Valentine’s Day! Thanks so much for sharing them with us at Savoring Saturdays!
Sure thing, Raia! It truly is a kid-friendly recipe. Hope you get to try it!
~jules
Look how soft and beautiful these sugar cookies are! I love that your products are top 8 free so everyone can enjoy good food again 🙂
Thanks Celeste, it was important to me to make delicious products and recipes that as many as possible could enjoy. I hope you get to try this cookie recipe one day soon!
~jules
Oh, boy! I’ve got two boys and I can’t wait to see what their tastes develop into when they’re teenagers!
You’ll have such fun baking cookies with them, Megan!
~jules
Sooo glad I have your flour on hand to make these!
Yum..
Chrystal
Yay for being prepared, Chrystal!
~jules
These look great for any special occasion!
Yes, Jennifer, we make them all the time, even if there’s no real “reason”! 🙂
~jules
Oh my goodness Jules ! These are heavenly ! They are by FAR the best sugar cookies I’ve ever had ! Who needs gluten and dairy anyway ? lol Thank you SO much for creating these but not for the 20 pounds I’m about to gain this holiday season.
Oh Nathalie, that’s so funny! I was just telling a friend that I just resign myself to putting on a little extra this time of year – there are just too many goodies that I associate with the holiday season! I guess that’s what New Year’s Resolutions are for! LOL! Glad you love the cookies!
Thanks Jules ! I’m glad I checked with you before making them.
Just found this recipe today and am so excited to try it. I live in Canada and I have never seen your flour blend here. Is it possible to make this with Bob’s Red Mill All purpose flour blend ? Thanks,
Hi Nathalie – I wouldn’t try it with Bob’s Red Mill Flour – that blend is substantially different from my blend, as it has bean flours in it and no xanthan gum. I don’t think you’ll like the results of that flour with a recipe written for my blend which is lighter, has no aftertaste, and already includes xanthan gum. The only other suggestion I have for you is to make your own similar blend. I have recipes for such blends in my newest cookbook, Free for All Cooking, if you want to check those out. You should be able to find the ingredients near you to make a blend like this for better results!
Could this cut out cookie dough be used as a substitute for pie crust?
Absolutely! If you’re looking for a sweeter, cookie-like crust, this could certainly provide the answer! Be careful not overcook it (or any large cookie, for that matter). Cook it at a lower temperature if baking without the pie filling in it first; or perhaps cover it while baking to be sure the edges don’t over-bake. Let us know how it turns out!
Hi Jules,
I LOVE your flour! After using it I haven’t looked back at other GF flours – there’s no reason to!
Is there a way to substitute butter for the shortening and oil in the cut-out cookie recipe? (I’m okay with using oil, just not shortening.)
Thank you. Happy Holidays!
Jill
Thanks Jill! Why don’t you try using coconut oil (it’s like shortening, as it’s solid at room temp)? Otherwise, I’ve used Spectrum Palm Oil Shortening and Earth Balance Shortening Sticks (non-hydrogenated; no transfats; all natural; non-GMO) with success in this recipe.
Hi Jules,
My dough is in the fridge now, ready to be cut out tomorrow morning! YAY
I am wondering: do you think this would work in a cookie press? the kind that has a tube , a plunger and a trigger to press the dough out?
Thank you!
I haven’t tried this recipe in a cookie press, but let me know if you do! There are a couple great-looking spritz cookie recipes posted on the Gluten Free Cookie Swap, some of which have used my flour and had great success! If this recipe doesn’t work for you in a press, try one of those, for sure!
Hi Jules,
I learned f your website and flour from Lois whom I now get the most wondeful bread from!! We are new to this going on 3 months and it has been a real lifestyle change, but we have never felt better. I love your flour, it has made it a lot easier for me to make some of my own recipes, just using your flour. We can’t thank you enough for all the hard work you did to make all of our lives so much better. I have purchased all of your products and e-books and I am working my way through them.
Merry Christmas & A Very Happy New Year!
Sharon & Bruce
Hey Jules! I am a very new celiac person! So I am trying to get a hand on all this “new” cooking…it can be a little overwhelming but I feel GREAT!!! so can’t complain much!! =) I am also a mother of to wonderful little girls so I am really enjoying your website…it helps me eat “normal” with them! OK SO the question I have for you is all of your recipes are gluten free but are they even ok for us celiac people? Thank you so much again…your website means a lot!!!
Hi Heather – welcome to the club! I, too, am celiac, so yes, all my recipes are safe and totally delicious for everyone, even us celiacs! So glad you like o bake and are enjoying sharing the experience with your girls!! I’m off to bake more cookies with my kids now, as a matter of fact! : )
Hi Jules,
I was comparing the cut-out recipes in Free for All Cooking (GREAT book) and the Holiday Baking ebook (also wonderful) and noticed that there are several significant differences: fats, eggs, baking powder and quantities of both sugar and Jules flour. I was wondering how the final products of these recipes compare and if one dough is more “user-friendly” than the other.
Thanks!
Sally
Hi Sally – I’m so glad you like my new book! The recipes are actually totally different, as the one in Free for All Cooking is able to be made successfully without eggs, if necessary. The one here on my blog has been my favorite cut-out cookie recipe for years, but I really like the new one in the book too!
I was wondering if I could use egg substitute? My little guy is allergic to eggs and wheat and I wanted to try and make these for him this Christmas.
Hi Deena, I actually have another recipe I like better when using egg substitutes. I published it in my new cookbook, Free for All Cooking: 150 Easy Gluten-Free, Allergy-Friendly Recipes the Whole Family Can Enjoy. If I get time soon, I’ll try to post it in the blog for you, but you should check out the cookbook anyway, since most all the recipes are or can be made egg-free as well!
Hi Jules
It is me again I was just wandering if you could substatute the cookie mix for the flower? If you can please tell me how to do so
thank you so much
Hi Ruby, actually the cookie mix makes a fantastic toll-house like cookie — not one you’d roll out like you need for this recipe. Great idea though! I’ll have to see about trying to make a conversion for that someday!