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+ servings
Rows of gluten free sugar cookies topped with pink buttercream frosting and rainbow jimmies on parchment paper.

Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies (Cut-Out or Drop Cookies)

So soft and ridiculously tender, these gluten-free sugar cookies with buttercream frosting are perfect for holidays or anytime!
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Chill 2 hours
Total: 2 hours 40 minutes
Yield:18 cookies

Equipment

  • Medium bowl
  • Flour sifter
  • large mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl
  • hand mixer with beater attachments or stand mixer with beater attachment
  • Silicone spatula
  • Wax paper
  • Oven
  • 1-2 Cookie sheets
  • unsalted butter or neutral cooking spray
  • flat work surface
  • rolling pin
  • powdered sugar to dust surface and rolling pin
  • Cookie cutters
  • Spatula
  • 2-3 wire cooling racks
  • medium mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl
  • Piping bag or offset spatula

Ingredients

For the Sugar Cookie Dough

  • 3 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour with xanthan gum, see Notes
  • ¾ teaspoon fresh baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 8 ounces unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg at room temperature, lightly beaten
  • 1 tablespoon whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Buttercream Frosting (Optional)

  • 8 ounces unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 16 ounces powdered sugar plus more as desired
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons whole milk or heavy cream
  • food coloring optional

Decoration Suggestions (All Optional)

  • sanding sugar
  • shaped sprinkles
  • nonpareils
  • jimmies
  • edible glitter

Instructions

To Prepare the Gluten-Free Sugar Cookie Dough

  • Add 3 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour, ¾ teaspoon fresh baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt to sifter, then sift ingredients into medium bowl. If needed, return ingredients to sifter and repeat. Set bowl aside.
  • Add 8 ounces unsalted butter (at room temperature) and 1 cup granulated sugar to large mixing bowl. Use hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with beater attachment to cream butter and sugar together until fully combined, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Mixture should be pale in color and fluffy. Use silicone spatula to scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
  • Add 1 large egg (lightly beaten), 1 tablespoon whole milk, and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract to bowl. Mix until all ingredients are just combined.
  • Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add small amounts of flour mixture to butter mixture, incorporating dry ingredients completely before adding more. Once all flour mixture has been added to butter mixture, mix until dough pulls away from sides of bowl.
  • Turn off mixer and set aside. Lay two large sheets of wax paper on flat work surface. Divide dough into two equal halves and transfer one half of dough onto each sheet of wax paper.
  • Wrap each half of dough completely in wax paper. Place fully-wrapped dough halves in refrigerator and chill 2 hours.

To Bake the Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies

  • Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit and position racks so that cookie sheet(s) can sit in center of oven. Lightly grease cookie sheet(s) with unsalted butter or neutral cooking spray, then set cookie sheet(s) aside. Sprinkle powdered sugar over flat work surface and rolling pin.
  • Remove one wrapped dough half from refrigerator. Unwrap and discard wax paper, and place dough on dusted work surface. Roll cookie dough out until entire sheet of dough is uniformly ¼-inch thick. See Notes below for rolling tips.
  • Use cookie cutters to cut dough into desired shapes. Place shaped dough on prepared cookie sheet and repeat, leaving 1-inch minimum between dough shapes on cookie sheet(s). Combine dough scraps and roll flat when possible to form additional cookies.
  • When no additional cookies can be cut from dough, place cookie sheet(s) in refrigerator and chill shaped cookies while repeating process with other half of cookie dough. Incorporate scraps from first half of cookie dough into second half of dough before rolling.
  • Once all dough has been cut into shaped cookies, place cookie sheet(s) in preheated oven. Bake cookies 5 minutes, then begin checking doneness. Check cookies every 60 seconds and remove cookie sheet(s) from oven as soon as bottom edges just begin to brown. Exact bake times will vary - be very careful not to over-bake.
  • Once bottom edges of cookies begin to brown, remove cookie sheet(s) from oven and set aside. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet(s) 2 minutes, then use spatula to carefully transfer cookies to wire cooling racks. Let cookies rest on cooling racks until completely cooled.

To Decorate & Serve the Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies

  • Add 8 ounces unsalted butter (softened) and 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract to medium mixing bowl. Using hand mixer with beater attachments or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter and vanilla extract together on medium-low speed until fully combined, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with silicone spatula as needed.
  • Sift 16 ounces powdered sugar into bowl in increments, mixing on low speed after each addition until sugar is incorporated into butter. Once all sugar has been added, add ¼ teaspoon salt and mix until incorporated.
  • Scrape down sides of bowl with silicone spatula as needed. Set mixer to medium speed and add 4 tablespoons whole milk in 1-tablespoon increments, fully incorporating each tablespoon before adding more, until desired consistency is achieved. If needed, mix in additional powdered sugar to thicken frosting.
  • Optional: If using food coloring, add desired amount of coloring and mix until fully incorporated, adding more coloring as needed to achieve desired results.
  • Transfer prepared frosting into piping bag and pipe onto completely-cooled cookies. Alternately, use offset spatula to dollop small amounts of frosting onto each cookie and spread frosting over cookie to cover.
  • If desired, top frosted cookies with sanding sugar, shaped sprinkles, nonpareils, jimmies, edible glitter, or other decorations of choice. Let frosted cookies stand 3 to 5 minutes or until buttercream frosting is slightly set, then serve cookies as desired.

Notes

  • Exact number of cookies will depend entirely on the size and shapes you make from the dough.
  • Xanthan Gum: Xanthan gum is super important with gluten-free baking, so make sure to use a gluten-free flour that includes it. If yours doesn't include it, add ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum for every 1 cup of flour.
  • Measuring Flour: Use the spoon-and-level method to ensure you don't use too much flour! Add spoonfuls of flour to your measuring cup, then use the back of a knife to level the top of the flour once the measuring cup is full. Don't pack the flour into the cup!
  • Rolling Cookie Dough: Check under the cookie dough frequently to make sure it's not sticking to your work surface. You'll want to work with the dough while it's chilled - if it becomes warm, sticky, or hard to roll, return it to the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Alternately, chill a cookie sheet and place it directly on top of the cookie dough to cool it down.
  • Cutting Cookie Dough: If the cookie cutters stick to the dough, lightly grease them with butter or cooking spray, or lightly dust the edges of the cookie cutters with powdered sugar.
  • Buttercream Flavors: To change the flavor of the frosting, feel free to replace the vanilla extract with almond extract, peppermint extract, lemon extract, orange extract, or any other flavor you like.
  • Decorations: Make sure any sprinkles or other decorations you use are actually gluten free!
  • Storage: Store frosted cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. Frosted cookies can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 7 days. Baked sugar cookies without frosting can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container up to 7 days.
  • Freezer Cookies: After decorating the cookies, lay them out on a baking sheet, plate, or platter in a single layer, making sure they don't overlap. Place them in the freezer for 1 hour. After 1 hour, transfer them to an airtight container or food-safe sealable freezer bag. Use wax or parchment paper between each layer to keep the cookies from sticking together. Cookies can be frozen up to 3 months. Defrost desired number of cookies at room temperature before consuming.
 

For Drop Cookies (Round Cookies Without Cookie Cutters)

  1. Follow the cookie dough recipe as written. Once the dough is ready, cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough in the mixing bowl for 2 hours. Don't divide the dough in half or wrap it in wax paper.
  2. After 2 hours, remove the bowl from the fridge and discard the plastic wrap. Use a cookie scoop to scoop equal portions of dough out of the bowl. Roll each scoop between the palms of your hands (work quickly - don't let the dough get warm) and then place the dough ball on the greased cookie sheet.
  3. Once all the dough has been rolled into balls, gently flatten each dough ball with your fingers. Make sure each individual flattened dough ball is the same thickness all the way across, but also make sure all your flattened cookies are the same size and the same thickness or they won't bake evenly!
  4. Once all the dough balls have been flattened into uniform round cookies, bake the cookies at 375° Fahrenheit for 5 minutes, then begin checking how "done" they are. Check them every 60 seconds and remove them from the oven once the bottom edges just as they barely start to brown.
  5. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheets 2 minutes, then transfer them to wire cooling racks and set them aside until they're completely cool.
  6. Decorate as desired and serve!

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1cookie without buttercream | Calories: 205kcal | Protein: 1g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 66mg | Potassium: 42mg | Total Carbs: 27g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Net Carbs: 26g | Vitamin A: 331IU | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 1mg
Recipe By:Cheryl Malik