Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies Recipe

These gluten-free sugar cookies are easy to make with basic ingredients. Complete with a decadent cream cheese frosting, you’ll come back to this gluten-free sugar cookie recipe again and again.

Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies Ingredients

These are the ingredients you’ll need to make this delicious iced gluten-free sugar cookie recipe:

• Gluten-free flour: Opt for an all-purpose gluten-free flour, as it can be substituted for regular all-purpose flour using a 1:1 ratio. Recipe creator SueAnne McInnis suggests Cup4Cup gluten-free multipurpose flour.
• Baking powder: Baking powder as a leavener, which means it helps the cookies rise.
• Salt: A pinch of salt enhances the other flavors, but it won’t make your cookies taste salty.
• Sugars: You’ll need white sugar for the cookies and confectioners’ sugar for the icing.
• Butter: Unsalted butter goes into the cookie dough and into the 4-ingredient icing.
• Vanilla: You’ll need two teaspoons of vanilla extract — one for the cookies, one for the icing.
• Eggs: Two large eggs add moisture and richness. Plus, they help bind the dough together.
• Cream cheese: The sweet, rich, tangy icing starts with softened cream cheese.

How to Make Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies

You’ll find the full, step-by-step recipes below — but here’s a brief overview of what you can expect when you make these gluten-free sugar cookies:

1. Make the cookie dough: Whisk the dry ingredients together, then beat the wet ingredients together. Gradually stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Form the dough into a ball and chill in the fridge for about an hour.
2. Roll, cut, and bake the dough: Roll the chilled dough out on a floured surface and cut with cookie cutters. Bake in the preheated oven until the edges begin to brown.
3. Make the icing: Beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together. Stir in the confectioners’ sugar. Spread the icing on the cooled cookies.

How to Store Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies

Since these gluten-free cookies feature a cream cheese icing, you’ll need to store them in an airtight container in the fridge (for up to three days). If you forgo the icing, you can store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.

Can You Freeze Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies?

Yes! For the best results, freeze the cookie dough before baking. Follow the recipe until right before you stick the cut-out cookie dough in the oven. Instead of baking them, cover the baking sheet and freeze for a few hours or up to overnight. Once the dough is frozen, you can transfer it to zip-top freezer bags or another freezer-safe container. Bake, from-frozen, according to the recipe (you might need to add a minute or two to the bake time).

Allrecipes Community Tips and Praise

“These might be my favorite gluten-free cookies,” says Kristen. “I did not make the icing (since I didn’t have all of the ingredients), but iced them with icing from my pantry and they were so good. The texture reminded me of the soft iced cookies you can buy at the grocery store.”

“They don’t break apart nor do they bend once cooled so they are ideal for holiday decorating,” according to Allrecipes Allstar Buckwheat Queen. “I left them covered with cheesecloth on the counter overnight and decorated the next day and packaged once the icing dried. They make great gift cookies.”

“This cookie recipe tastes really good and is easily rolled out to make cookie cutter cookies,” raves J Telg. “I have made it with half white sugar/half coconut sugar and all coconut sugar for the cookies. Both batches were really good!”

Editorial contributions by Corey Williams