No Fail Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies (Cut Out)

Learn how to make the best gluten-free sugar cookies from scratch that are soft, easy to roll out, and taste amazing. Easy, homemade gluten-free cut-out cookies tastes so much like old fashioned ones, no one will know the difference!

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 12

chilling 1

Servings

Author Melissa Erdelac

Ingredients

1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter softened
1 large egg room temperature
1 tablespoon milk (or dairy-free)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 tsp. almond extract + 1 tsp. vanilla
¼ teaspoon ( ) salt omit if butter is salted
2 cups (292 g) gluten-free all purpose flour Cup4Cup all purpose gluten-free flour highly recommended

Instructions

In a large bowl cream together the sugar and butter until very light and fluffy. This should take about 3 minutes for mixture to be fully creamed.
1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup unsalted butter
Add the egg, milk, vanilla, and salt to the butter / sugar mixture. Beat again until very well combined. It may look separated and curdled at first, but as it beats longer it will blend together smoothly.
1 large egg, 1 tablespoon milk (or dairy-free), 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt
Add the flour and beat at low speed until combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or freeze for 30 minutes. The dough should be very cold throughout.
2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper for best results. Otherwise, leave baking sheets ungreased. Set aside.
Sprinkle gluten-free flour onto a rolling surface or silicone mat. Use half the cold dough and roll out to about 1/4" thickness. TIP: If the dough is very cold you may have to let it sit out 5-10 minutes for the dough to become more pliable. Cut out the dough with cookie cutters and use a spatula to transfer the cut out cookies to prepared baking sheets. Repeat with all the remaining dough. TIP: If you plan on baking the cookies at the same time, store the baking sheets with cut out cookies in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Warmed dough spreads more during baking.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are set. Let the cookies cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. After cookies have cooled, decorate with my favorite sugar cookie icing. Store in airtight container up to 3 days.

Notes

Funfetti Sprinkle Cookies

Add 2/3 cup gluten-free sprinkles (not nonpareils) to the dough after mixing in the dry ingredients. Scoop the dough. Use large 2 tablespoon cookie scoop and roll into balls. If desire, roll tops in additional sprinkles. Flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass.

Transfer the balls to a parchment-lined plate or small lined baking tray, cover, and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour (can freeze for faster chilling).

Preheat oven to 350℉ and position balls 2 inches apart on parchment or silicone-lined baking sheets. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until bottoms are very lightly browned, but middles are still soft. Cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to wire rack. Makes 20 cookies.

Expert Tips and Tricks

The dough can be made up to 1 day ahead of time and store covered in the refrigerator.
Make sure the dough is very cold before cutting out the cookies. This helps them hold their shape during baking. However, let it sit for 5-10 minutes before rolling to soften slightly.
Prefer crispier cookies? Roll out the dough slightly thinner. If you like softer cookies, roll it out slightly thicker.
If you plan on cutting out all the cookies first, store the baking sheets holding pre-baked gluten free cookies in the refrigerator until ready to bake.
For quicker chilling freeze the dough for 30 minutes. Remove from the freezer before the dough freezes completely.
For dairy-free cookies, replace the butter with vegan butter sticks and the milk with a non-dairy substitute.

Freezing Gluten-Free Cookies

Freezing Baked Sugar Cookies:

Make gluten-free sugar cookie recipe as directed, cooling completely. Cookies may be frozen either unfrosted or with frosting.

If cookies are frosted, make sure the icing has set before stacking. Place cookies in a large airtight container, wrap the container with plastic wrap, and freeze up to 2 months.

Allow cookies to thaw one hour at room temperature before frosting or serving.

Freezing Unbaked Sugar Cookies:

Prepare the cut out cookie dough as directed. When it is time to chill the dough, transfer it to a freezer ziplock bag, squeezing out any excess air. Freeze up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before rolling and cutting out.

Alternatively, roll out the cookie dough and cut out cookies as directed. Place cookies on parchment paper lined baking sheets and transfer baking pans to freezer.

Once the cookies have hardened, carefully remove them from the parchment and stack in freezer ziplock bags. Freeze, laying flat, up to 2 months. When ready to bake, transfer back to lined baking sheets. Bake from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes to baking time.

Recipe adapted from MOMables

Nutrition