Learn how to make soft & chewy gluten-free drop-style sugar cookies with colorful sprinkles! A long time family-favorite recipe made gluten-free!
Plus 16 favorite gluten-free Christmas cookie recipes to make this holiday season. Perfect for gifts, cookie platters, parties and more!
Simple homemade desserts make great gifts for friends and family. It’s a thoughtful way to let them know that you’re thinking of them, especially during the holidays.
But not everyone can enjoy traditional Christmas cookies. Those with food allergies, gluten intolerance or celiac disease have to be cautious, checking ingredients before they can accept homemade food gifts.
These gluten-free cookies are delicious to share with anyone – whether they need to eat gluten-free or not!
Tips for Baking Gluten-Free Cookies
Most of the recipes below are pretty straight forward, and the ingredients are easy to find in typical grocery stores. But, if you’re new to gluten-free baking, here are a few general tips to help ensure gluten-free cookie success.
- Rest the dough. With the exception of coconut flour, gluten free flour blends take a bit longer to absorb moisture. Generally, you’ll have better results if you allow the cookie dough to rest for at least 30 minutes before baking. Plus, it helps to prevent grittiness.
- For chewy cookies, add almond flour. Adding a small amount of almond flour adds a chewy texture, nice golden color, and yummy flavor. If you have a nut allergy, you can use GF all-purpose flour instead. For many recipes, I use a combination of 1:1 GF baking flour and almond flour.
- Line your baking pans. To prevent your cookies from sticking, line the pans with a silicone baking mat or sheet of parchment paper.
- Thoroughly preheat your oven. If your oven isn’t hot enough, the cookie dough will begin to melt before it starts to bake. This can result in cookies that are flat, crisp, and sometimes burned on the outside while still raw on the inside.
TOP-RATED GLUTEN-FREE CHRISTMAS COOKIES
Recipes for Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies
I have a favorite basic gluten free cookie recipe that I make every year. I’ll walk you through how to make them, but first, here are some of my other favorite gluten-free holiday cookie recipes.
Classic Christmas Cookies
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Mint Cookies – Chocolate and mint is a classic flavor pairing for Christmas treats. These cookies are rich and fudgy, and everyone loves them.
- Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies – Hooray for cookies that are both soft AND hold their shape. They’re perfect for decorating and will bring a smile to your face.
- Gluten-Free Snowball Cookies – These gluten-free snowball cookies have a light, fluffy texture and rich, buttery flavor!
- Gluten-Free Almond Cookies – Enjoy them plain or top them with an easy almond glaze for even more almond flavor.
- Gluten-Free Molasses Cookies – Nothing says happy holidays better than this grain free, dairy free treat with the flavor of gingerbread! Oh, and the recipe is refined sugar free, too.
- Almond Flour Sugar Cookies – This recipe is a favorite for making classic cut-out cookies, with crisp edges and soft centers. It’s the perfect sugar cookie for decorating!
- Lace Cookies – A simple recipe for crispy, buttery goodness! Dip them in dark chocolate for extra decadence. They’re perfectly stackable, making them great for holiday gift-giving or any time of year!
- Flourless Chocolate Cookies – Everyone goes crazy for these gluten-free Christmas cookies. They’re sinfully rich, chewy, and delicious.
- Gluten-Free Carmelitas (dairy free option) – These oatmeal cookie bars have layers of melted caramel, chocolate, and pecans. This is a go-to recipe for when you’re tired of scooping cookie dough.
- Gluten-Free Biscotti – Biscotti is simple to make and it’s the best partner to a morning cup of coffee. Wrap it in colored cellophane and tie it with a pretty bow for a nice holiday thank-you gift.
- Gluten-Free Spritz Cookies – Buttery and so fun to decorate!
Best Anytime Cookie Recipes
These are great for holiday cookie platters or a cookie exchange. But, because they don’t have seasonal flavors, they are a delicious treat any time of the year!
- Gluten-free Snickerdoodles – These cookies are super soft, with an irresistible cinnamon sugar flavor!
- Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies – These perfectly soft, chewy cookies are downright irresistible, and nobody will guess that they’re gluten-free!
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies – If you need to choose just one go-to gluten-free cookie recipe to save, this is it! They’re even better than a classic chocolate chip cookie!
- Gluten-Free Monster Cookies – With a base of oatmeal, these naturally gluten-free Christmas cookies are Santa’s favorite for breakfast!
- Gluten-Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies – This recipe has rave reviews! The cookies have the perfect balance of flavors and texture – and nobody can tell that they’re gluten-free!
- Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies – These are completely grain-free, making them a nice choice for anyone who wants to avoid grains.
- Gluten-Free Oatmeal Scotchies – These soft and chewy gluten-free oatmeal scotchies cookies are loaded with butterscotch chips in every bite. They’re soft in the middle and crisp on the edges with a delicious buttery flavor.
- Gluten-Free M&M Cookies – Make these with festive red & green MMs!
Gluten-Free Drop Style Sugar Cookies
This is one of my favorite all-purpose cookie recipes. The dough includes buttermilk, so it has a nice tangy flavor.
Plus, it’s not necessary to scoop the dough! All you need is a spoon to drop the dough onto the cookie sheet. Or, you can roll the dough through sprinkles or colored sugar to give them festive flair.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Gluten-Free Flour – I recommend usinga high quality 1:1 gluten-free baking flour. Be sure it contains xanthan gum.
- Buttermilk – If you need a substitute, you can make your own by adding 1 tablespoon of vinegar to a cup of regular or non-dairy milk.
- Sprinkles – I bought this large bag of Christmas sprinkles to make these cookies. I really like the shape for these cookies and the way they melt into the dough.
How to Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies
First you’ll start by making the dough…
- Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set them aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar on high speed in the bowl of a stand mixer. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a handheld mixer. To whip air into the butter for fluffy, soft cookies, you’ll need to blend for at least 5 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract. Be sure that the egg is fully incorporated before you add the dry ingredients.
- Incorporate the dry ingredients. TIP: Turn the speed of your mixer to low, or you’ll end up flouring your kitchen (and your face!)
Then you’ll scoop and roll the dough…
- Add sprinkles or mix-ins of choice. If you want to use nuts or other large mix-ins, limit them to 1/2 cup or less total.
- Scoop and roll dough into balls.
- Roll balls of dough into sprinkles or colored sugar, if desired.
- Chill the dough. This step is very important! Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours before baking it. You can chill it up to 3 days ahead.
Chill the Dough!
IMPORTANT: This dough contains a lot of butter (which makes the cookies so delicious) but it really needs the chilling time so the butter hardens. This will prevent the cookies from spreading too much during baking.
The dough can be hard to scoop when it’s chilled. That’s why I recommend scooping/rolling the dough balls before the refrigerator time. Then baking them is easy peasy!
Freezing raw cookie dough and baked cookies
Everyone is busy during the holidays, so making and freezing cookie dough is a great way to save time. Or, you can freeze gluten-free Christmas cookies after baking them.
Most raw cookie dough freezes well for up to 3 months. Just be sure to store it in airtight, freezer-safe containers or zip top plastic storage bags. The same rules apply for baked cookies.
TIP: Scoop and place balls of the dough on a paper plate, then transfer to the freezer. After the dough freezes, transfer the balls to a freezable container.
Also, be sure that baked cookies are completely cool before you freeze them. Doing this helps to delay the formation of ice crystals on the cookies.
If you want to bake frozen cookie dough, just add 2 minutes to the bake time for your recipe.
MORE Gluten-free christmas cookies
I hope you like this gluten-free Christmas cookie recipe as much as we do! They will make a cheerful addition to any cookie platter. If you try this recipe or have any questions leave me a comment below. I’d love to hear from you!
Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten-free 1:1 baking flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons softened butter 1 1/2 sticks
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk or unsweetened almond milk
- ½ cup sprinkles + more for topping
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until creamed, about 1 minute. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Mix in the buttermilk and sprinkles. Dough will be thick and sticky.
- Scoop large sections of dough (about 2 Tablespoons of dough each) and roll into balls. Optional but delicious: Lightly dip the tops of the cookie dough balls in more sprinkles. Place dough balls onto a large plate or lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap.
- Chill the dough balls for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. (Transfer to an airtight container if storing more than a few hours.)
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Enjoy!
Notes
- Gluten-Free Flour – I recommend using a high quality 1:1 gluten-free baking flour. Be sure it contains xanthan gum.
- Buttermilk – If you need a substitute, you can make your own by adding 1 tablespoon of vinegar to a cup of regular or non-dairy milk.
- Sprinkles – I bought this large bag of Christmas sprinkles to make these cookies. I really like the shape for these cookies and the way they melt into the dough.
Question is the dough always so sticky it says and sticky I was just wondering I had a really hard time like forming them into balls and everything was sticking all over my hands. Is there any suggestions to make this part easier? Thank you so much. It’s been really difficult finding things to bake with my celiac. My sweet little girl wants to bake cookies with me that I can eat as well. She does not have celiac, but she wants me to be able to eat them too, so it’s been difficult and this is the first time we’ve tried it right now. I have been chilling in the refrigerator. I actually gonna probably leave them overnight in the refrigerator and then bake them tomorrow
Hi Tiffanie, we hope chilling the dough helped and you both enjoyed the cookies! The dough should be thick and sticky, but if it is too hard to work with and sticky more to your hands than the dough ball, chilling is usually the best solution. Happy baking!
Just like with most gf cookies I’ve made in the past, these spread out and nearly cover the entire cookie sheet. I wish there was a way to keep them from spreading so much.
Hi Beth, we’re sorry you had this experience! Did you chill the dough? This dough contains a lot of butter so the chilling time is crucial so that the butter goes into the oven hard otherwise they’ll spread too much. Other factors that can cause cookies to spread are: the brand of gf flour, placing dough on warm baking sheets, the material type of the baking sheet, inaccuracies with measuring or the oven temperature, etc. Next time, you could try bumping up the oven temp by 25°F so the edges set quicker too. We hope these ideas help!
Can you used reduced fat buttermilk or does it need to be whole?
Hi Kayla, whole buttermilk will provide the ideal fat content for the best texture. You may be able to use reduced fat in these cookies, but it can impact the structure/texture of the cookies. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Just made these. Excellent recipe. I added a 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract for a bit of almond flavor and they turned out perfect!
We’re so glad you loved them, Nick! Thank you for sharing your positive experience with us. Happy baking!
These always taste amazing when we make them, but regardless how long they are chilled (or even frozen) they overspread. Any recommendations?
Hi Haley, hmm that’s a good question! What kind of gf flour are you using? And what is the material type you’re baking on? Different gf flour blends and shiny versus dark baking sheets can impact spreading for example. Besides that, you could try bumping up the oven temp by 25°F to set the edges quicker so they can’t spread as much – just keep an eye on how the centers are baking so they don’t go too long in the oven. You could also try scaling back the butter by 1-2 Tbsp. We hope these ideas help! We’re so glad you still enjoyed the flavor!
Is it salted or unsalted butter?
Hi Brooke, we recommend salted butter for baked goods. We hope you enjoy the recipe! Happy baking!
Just like how your recipes make gluten free treats much easier than when these recipes first appeared. Will be making this season. Thank you for sharing
Hi Maria, we’re so glad you enjoy the recipes! We hope you love the Christmas cookies!
Do you have to use GF flour for the recipe (measurements) to work? Can you substitute AP flour?
Hi JuliAnne, we haven’t tested all-purpose flour with it ourselves, but you should be able to use it in place of the gf flour at a 1:1 ratio. We’d love to hear how it goes! Happy baking!
Do you have the weights in grams for this recipe?
Could you instead roll out the dough and make cut out (Christmas) cookies from them?
I would use this recipe for gluten-free sugar cookies! https://meaningfuleats.com/the-best-gluten-free-sugar-cookies/
Confused about butter what I d the total it sounds like butter is divided
Hi Deb, the full 12 tablespoons of softened butter (equals 1 1/2 sticks) all goes into the dough in step 2 with the sugar. We hope this helps and you enjoy the cookies!
What would you suggest if I wanted to turn drop sugar cookies lemony?