vegan and free from gluten and top 9 allergens
These delicious sugar cookies are so easy to make and they keep their shape when baked. You can enjoy them plain, decorated with sprinkles or sanding sugar, or frosted with royal icing.
A sugar cookie everyone can enjoy!
mise en place
These easy no-spread sugar cookies are great for cutouts and decorating. You can also freeze the cookie dough and baked cookies!
Look How Easy
- Make your flax eggs.
- Combine flour, baking powder, and xanthan gum.
- Cream non-dairy butter and sugar with a hand mixer for 1-1/2 minutes.
- Add flax eggs and vanilla to butter mixture and beat until combined.
- Add flour mixture and beat on low just until incorporated. Finish combining dough by hand. Form dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Take half the chilled dough and knead briefly. Shape into a flat disk and roll with a rolling pin between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap to the thickness of about 1/4-inch.
- Using cookie cutters, cut dough into desired shapes. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or silicone baking mat. Decorate with sprinkles or sanding sugar, if desired. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
When cutting out your sugar cookies, make sure to keep your cuts as close together to get as many cookies out of your dough as possible. Re-roll any scraps.
Freeze
Plain or decorated baked cookies freeze beautifully for up to 3 months.
You can also freeze the dough. Divide dough in half and flatten both halves into a disk. Wrap well in plastic wrap and freeze. When ready to bake cookies, thaw the disks in the fridge, then bring to room temperature for 20 minutes. Roll away!
Getting the Most Accurate Measurement
Proper measuring and sifting of dry ingredients is essential in baking. Dry ingredients, including flour, naturally settle on standing. Texture, how long the flour has been stored, and humidity can all influence the degree to which flour settles.
To get the most accurate measurement, start by whisking the flour in its container to aerate.
Scooping the flour directly into your measuring cup packs the flour into the cup, causing you to end up with significantly more flour than the recipe calls for.
To measure the flour, spoon into measuring cup, overfilling. Use a knife or other straight edge to level off the top. Whisk again with the other dry ingredients to combine and further aerate the ingredients before incorporating them into the dough.
Some baked goods may require an extra step of sifting to obtain light and airy baked goods. Sifting also helps to filter out any impurities and/or clumps.
Allergy-Friendly Decorations
Tru Color Natural Sanding Sugars are free from the top 8 allergens, artificial colors, sesame, and mustard. They can be purchased online.
Betty Crocker Nonpareils are free from the top 8. However, they are not all processed at the same facility/lines. They take allergies VERY seriously and advise to check the labels. If the sprinkles are processed on a line that may process other allergens, they will state on the label “may contain”. The container does have a phone number that you can call for peace of mind.
Sugar Cookies
Yield 32 small cookies
Free of: gluten and top 9 allergens.
Finally, a sugar cookie everyone can enjoy!
Ingredients
Cookies
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1/3 cup lukewarm water
2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour blend (1:1 baking flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if using a flour blend containing xanthan gum)
1/2 cup non-dairy butter (such as Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Sticks), softened to room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Nonpareils or sanding sugar for decorating, optional
Royal Icing, Optional
6 tablespoons aquafaba (from a 15-ounce can of garbanzo beans)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar or 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
4-5 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Prep
- Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment; set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees F.
Steps
- For the cookies, in a small bowl, whisk together flaxseed meal and water. Set aside for 5-10 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and xanthan gum. If the baking powder contains lumps, sift into the flour. Set aside.
- Return to the flax eggs and whisk vigorously.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with a hand mixer. Mix until the sugar is slightly dissolved into the butter, about 1-1/2 minutes. Add the flax eggs and vanilla. Beat until incorporated.
- Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until the dough starts to come together. Turn off hand mixer and finish combining the dough by hand.
- Once the dough is made, form the dough into a flat disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Let the dough chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. If making the dough in advance, store wrapped in refrigerator. Let rest on counter for 15 minutes before ready to use.
- When ready to make cookies, lightly flour a clean rolling surface and a rolling pin. Take half of the dough and knead briefly. Shape into a flat disk and roll with a rolling pin until dough is about 1/4-inch thick. It’s easiest to roll between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap.
- Using cookie cutters, cut dough into desired shapes. Decorate with nonpareils or sanding sugar. If you're going to decorate with royal icing, leave plain. Place cookies on prepared baking sheets.
- Repeat with remaining dough.
- Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to turn lightly golden. Do not over bake, as they won’t turn much of a golden brown. Remove cookies from oven and place on cooling rack to cool. Enjoy plain or decorated with nonpareils or sanding sugar. The royal icing instructions follow if you will be decorating plain cookies with royal icing.
- For the royal icing, open a can of garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas). Drain and strain the aquafaba (brine) through a fine mesh sieve. Reserve garbanzo beans for another use such as Chickpea Melts.
- Measure 6 tablespoons of aquafaba (brine) into a bowl. Add cream of tartar. Mix on medium to high speed using a hand mixer with a whisk attachment or in a stand mixer until mixture is frothy/foamy. Gradually add 4 cups of powdered sugar and continue beating on low speed until thick and everything is incorporated.
- Turn the mixer off and lift the whisk to check the consistency of your icing. It should be thick with a glue-like consistency. If it’s not there yet, add another cup of powdered sugar (or more) until a thick consistency is achieved. Add vanilla extract. Turn the mixer up to medium-high and beat for about 8 minutes.
- After 8 minutes or so, turn the mixer off. You should have a nice, stiff royal icing. Store in an airtight container, covered with plastic wrap and closed with a lid in the fridge up to 7 days. Let come to room temperature before decorating cookies. You may need to thin icing with a little water.
- Royal icing can be colored with gel food colors. Adding too much food coloring can result in excessive drying times.
Notes
Getting the Most Accurate Measurement
Proper measuring and sifting of dry ingredients is essential in baking. Dry ingredients, including flour, naturally settle on standing. Texture, how long the flour has been stored, and humidity can all influence the degree to which flour settles.
To get the most accurate measurement, start by whisking the flour in its container to aerate.
Scooping the flour directly into your measuring cup packs the flour into the cup, causing you to end up with significantly more flour than the recipe calls for.
To measure the flour, spoon into measuring cup, overfilling. Use a knife or other straight edge to level off the top. Whisk again with the other dry ingredients to combine and further aerate the ingredients before incorporating them into the dough.
Some baked goods may require an extra step of sifting to obtain light and airy baked goods. Sifting also helps to filter out any impurities and/or clumps.
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