Tips for Making Gluten-Free Cookies
While gluten-free flour blends can be convenient, they don’t always work as a perfect 1:1 swap for all-purpose flour. The recipes below use a variety of different gluten-free options, like buckwheat flour, chickpea flour, almond flour, and oat flour, without relying on special ingredients like xanthan gum. If you’re not already familiar with gluten-free baking, these tips may help you get started.
Don’t swap the flour in a recipe. If a recipe calls for almond flour, don’t expect to get the same results if you use a gluten-free flour blend. Instead, find a recipe that already calls for the flour you want to use. Oat flour doesn’t work for everyone. While oats are naturally gluten-free, not everyone with celiac disease can tolerate them. If you can use oat flour, make sure the package is labeled “certified gluten-free” to make sure there is no cross-contamination during processing. Don’t make extra modifications. Gluten-free baking is trickier because there’s no gluten to act as a binder. That means it’s more difficult to leave out the eggs, and if you cut back on the sugar in a recipe, the cookies won’t spread as expected.
If you need a vegan or Paleo recipe, I’ve labeled them for you below! I hope these gluten-free cookie recipes will make your holiday season easier.
Gluten-Free Christmas Cookie Recipes
Almond Flour Thumbprint Cookies (Vegan & Paleo) Naturally sweetened with maple syrup and molasses, these gluten-free cookies taste even better than the classic version. They make the perfect holiday dessert! These rich chocolate cookies are made with almond butter instead of flour, for a nourishing gluten-free and dairy-free treat. Since they’re made without eggs, you can taste-test the cookie dough, too! These classic cookies are filled with your favorite jam for a bright and fruity flavor. With a subtle hint of almond extract, they are hard to resist. Oat Flour Chocolate Cookies These chocolate cookies have a chewy texture and rich chocolate flavor. You can add chocolate chips for a double chocolate cookie, or roll them in powdered sugar for a crinkle. Oat Flour Sugar Cookies Oat flour is an affordable flour that makes delicious gluten-free sugar cookies! To help hide the “oat” flavor, these cookies feature almond and vanilla extract. Cut them out to decorate or roll them in sugar for an easy drop cookie that will spread on the pan. Coconut Macaroons (Vegan & Paleo) Made with protein-rich almond flour, these cinnamon-sugar cookies have a chewy texture you’ll love. Classic macaroons are made with sweetened condensed milk and egg whites, but this recipe is vegan-friendly using coconut butter and maple syrup, instead. They almost taste like a Girl Scout cookie, especially when you dip them in chocolate! Peanut Butter Temptations If you love chocolate and coconut, this cookie is for you. It has a rich chocolate flavor and takes just a few minutes to stir together! These peanut butter cookies are irresistibly chewy and happen to be gluten-free. Chickpea flour is NOT delicious before it’s baked, so don’t snack on the gluten-free cookie dough with this one. (But trust me when I say you’ll love the final results!) Flourless peanut butter cookies become extra-decadent when you stuff a dark chocolate peanut butter cup inside! They taste like an upgraded peanut butter blossom. Date-Sweetened Peanut Butter Cookies. (Vegan) These gluten-free peanut butter cookies are fruit-sweetened, with a rich and tender texture. Press a few chocolate chips in the center (or a Hershey’s Kiss) to make easy gluten-free peanut butter blossoms. Chocolate Buckwheat Cookies Buckwheat flour doesn’t often make it into cookies because it can have a distinctive earthy flavor. Adding cocoa powder to this recipe gives it a delicious brownie flavor! No-Bake Cookies These no-bake cookies are made with coconut sugar instead of white sugar and have a surprising twist. They will disappear quickly, so you might want to make a double batch. Almond Flour Biscotti (Paleo) Biscotti has a very crispy texture that makes it perfect for dunking into coffee or tea. These almond flour cookies are double-baked and would make a delicious DIY holiday gift, especially when dipped in dark chocolate. Flourless Chocolate Peppermint Cookies If you love chocolate mint desserts, this cookie is for you. It has a chewy texture without using any flour and is the perfect addition to holiday cookie platters when you sprinkle some crushed candy cane on top. Looking for more gluten-free recipes? These gluten-free Cinnamon Rolls are the best you’ll ever try, and my Gluten-free Pretzels make an excellent appetizer! If you love a batch of classic chocolate chip cookies, be sure to try my Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies or my Almond Flour Cookies for some gluten-free options. If you try one of these gluten-free Christmas cookies, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like them!
