Since I’ve gone gluten free, holiday baking has been a bit of a challenge. This year, I decided I was going to defeat the ‘sugar cookie blues” and attempt to adapt my favorite sugar cookie recipe to meet my gluten free dietary needs. It was a huge success, and a few friends have asked for the recipe, so I’ll share it here for easy reference. Before I get to the recipe, I feel I need to add the following disclaimer: I am not celiac. If you are, you will need to make sure you use GF Vanilla. I did not for this recipe.
Madie was in charge of cutting out the cookies and decorating them. She chose to use her favorite baker’s recipe for the royal icing: Rosanna Pansino’s Royal Icing Recipe.
Here we go!
Gluten Free Sugar Cookies for the Win!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cups butter, softened
- 1 cup organic white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (gluten free, if celiac)
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 2 cups all-purpose gluten free flour (I used Namaste Organic Perfect Flour Blend, but King Arthur Gluten Free Flour should work fine too.)
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough overnight. I wrap mine tightly in plastic wrap and form it into a tight disc before refrigerating.
- About a half hour before you are ready to roll your cookies, take the dough out of the fridge and let it rest at room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Cover your rolling surface with parchment paper, then give it a good dusting of your gluten free flour. I also give the top of the dough a little dusting of flour.
- Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets (I covered mine with parchment paper – keeps the bottoms from getting too brown).
- Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven – watch closely (mine were done in 6 minutes). Cool completely.
Gluten free tips:
Gluten free flour is much more absorbent than traditional wheat flour. It also absorbs liquid much slower. Allowing your dough to rest overnight helps prevent that gritty taste that is a dead giveaway to gluten free baked goods.
Roll your dough slowly to keep it from cracking.