These Almond Flour Sugar Cookies are perfect for all occasions, or a casual Wednesday when you need a little treat! These cookies are soft, sweet, and buttery, made with almond flour, tapioca starch, and coconut flour for the perfect grain-free bite.
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These cookies are easy and so fun to make! Getting the kids involved is an effortless way to make the baking process more enjoyable. My 5 year old loves to help with this recipe (maybe just to sneak some sprinkles but we're not judging here). With almond flour, coconut flour, and real butter, these cookies taste like the real thing but with added nutrition and a lower glycemic impact than a traditional sugar cookie.
If you need more almond flour cookie recipes, you'll love these Almond Flour Cocoa Cookies and these Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies - both made entirely with almond flour!
What I Love About This Recipe
These cookies are made throughout the year in our house! Here is why I love them:
- Versatile — This sugar cookie recipe can be used base for countless cookie variations. See 'Recipe Variations' for some ideas!
- Easy to Make — This is a great recipe to get kids involved. It is easy, and kids have so much fun baking them!
Try one of my all-time favorite almond flour recipes, this Paleo Almond Butter Banana Bread!
Ingredients for Almond Flour Sugar Cookies
Butter - Use high-quality salted or unsalted butter, or dairy-free butter. Miyokos European Style Plant Butter is my go-to butter substitute for dairy-free baked goods - it worked great in this recipe! Pro Tip: Cut it in half before softening because it generally comes in a 1-cup stick.
Almond Flour - For best results, use ultra fine blanched almond flour, not almond meal. Almond meal contains the whole almond with skin and doesn't create as tender of baked goods.
Tapioca Starch - Tapioca starch (which can also be called tapioca flour) adds lightness to this recipe.
Coconut Flour - Coconut flour is key to reduce the moisture and help the dough firm up.
Sprinkles - I like these Dye-Free Sprinkles from Amazon. They are a great deal, and are gluten-free & soy-free. You could also skip the sprinkles and roll the cookie dough balls in a mix of cinnamon sugar, or frost them with buttercream frosting.
See the full ingredient list and measurements in the recipe card below.
Possible Substitutions
- Butter can be replaced with dairy-free butter or softened palm shortening.
- You can use granulated maple sugar for a refined sugar-free option!
- I don't recommend substituting the almond or coconut flours or changing the ratios. If you do, expect mixed results.
- Tapioca starch could likely be substituted by arrowroot starch or cassava flour. Cassava flour is made from the same root as tapioca flour but contains the whole root not just the starch. I haven't had a chance to test this substitute yet but I think it would work.
- No egg replacements were tested in this recipe. If you try something that works, please let me know in the comments below!
If you try any substitutions in this recipe, please let us know what works in the comments below!
How to Make Almond Flour Sugar Cookies
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Step 2: Place the softened butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Cream the butter with the sugar using a handheld electric mixer until it appears crumbly.
Step 3: Add the egg to the bowl with the sugar and butter. Mix together with the mixer until well incorporated.
Step 4: Add the almond flour, tapioca starch, and coconut flour to the mixing bowl and mix until well combined.
Step 5: Add the baking soda and sea salt to the dough. Mix until evenly distributed, but avoid overmixing.
Step 6: Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes. If chilling for longer, make sure to tightly cover with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.
Step 7: Use a 1-ounce cookie scoop to divide the dough into 18 cookies. Once scooped, roll the dough between clean hands until smooth.
Step 8: Pour spinkles onto a plate. Roll the dough balls in the sprinkles coating all sides.
Step 9: Place cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet.
Step 10: Lightly flatten the cookies with your palm until they are about ⅓-inch thick. Ensure there is at least an inch of space between each cookie. Use two baking sheets if needed.
Step 11: Place the cookies in the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes (13 minutes was perfect for my oven), or until the cookies have flattened slightly and the edges are firm.
Commonly Asked Questions
These cookies can be stored, once fully cooled, in a Ziplock bag or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Yes! Allow the almond flour cookies fully cool, then transfer to I a gallon-sized freezer bag. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Simply thaw at room temperature and enjoy.
To freeze unbaked cookie dough, scoop, roll and flatten the cookies out as instructed in the recipe. Then place the baking sheet with the cookies in the freezer for at least 3 hours. Once frozen, place the cookies in an airtight freezer bag. Use parchment paper to separate the cookies if needed. Pull from the freezer and bake from frozen according to the recipe. They make take 1-2 minutes longer when baking from frozen.
I prefer the texture of jimmy sprinkles in this recipe, but your favorite type of sprinkles will work. My favorite sprinkles are Sweet Eva's Dye-Free Sprinkles.
Easily! Just use a red and green mix of jimmy sprinkles for the perfect Christmas sprinkle cookies.
Yes! Use Miyokos European Style Plant Butter and granulated maple sugar to make paleo sugar cookies. You will likely have to skip the sprinkles, unless you have a paleo favorite. If so, I'd love to hear what you use!
I had some variation in cookie texture when using regular butter vs. Kerrygold butter. The Kerrygold butter cookies were softer and the standard butter cookies were a little crispy. I think this wasn't a result of the butter but rather that my oven was hotter (it was a big baking day so my oven was preheated to 350 for hours), and my dough didn't chill for quite as long in the fridge. With the oven being hotter and the butter colder, the cookies spread out more and became crunchier. To combat this, make sure your dough is chilled and check the cookies after 12 minutes. Using an internal oven thermometer is also helpful.
Recipe Variations
- Frosted Cookies: Skip the sprinkles and top with your favorite butter cream (or dairy-free buttercream) frosting! Try this Chocolate Buttercream Frosting!
- Snickerdoodles: Roll in cinnamon sugar instead of sprinkles for delicious almond flour snickerdoodles!
- Christmas Cookies: Sub Christmas colored jimmy sprinkles for easy and healthier Christmas cookies.
- Thumbprint Cookies: Instead of flattening the cookie, indent the middle with your thumb and fill the indent with raspberry or cherry jam for thumbprint cookies.
Dietitian Notes
- Made with real sugar and butter, these cookies are a real treat with added wholesomeness from the almond and coconut flour. These flours have a lower glycemic impact compared to regular flour, and added healthy fats. Even with real sugar, each cookie only contains 12 grams of sugar (pre-sprinkled).
- Each cookie has 2 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber, with only 120 calories.
Recipe Tips
- Be sure to use softened butter, softened dairy-free butter, or softened palm shortening, not melted!
- When measuring the almond flour, scoop and lightly pack it before leveling.
- Use a 1-ounce cookie scoop to measure the dough. This will yield 18 perfect cookies. If you do not have a small cookie scoop, you can measure about 2 tablespoon of dough per cookie.
- If you prefer softer cookies, don't wait for them to turn golden. Take them out at about 11-13 minutes depending on your oven. For crispier cookies, chill the dough for less time and bake for 13-15 minutes.
Try These Other Gluten-Free Cookies
Looking for other tasty recipes? Here are a few you might like:
Did you try these Almond Flour Sugar Cookies?
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📖 Recipe
Almond Flour Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Handheld electric mixer
- Rubber Spatula
- 1-ounce cookie scoop
- Parchment paper
- Baking sheet
Ingredients
- ½ cup Butter, softened or dairy-free butter (I like Miyokos European Style Plant Butter)
- ½ cup Granulated sugar (100 g)
- 1 Large egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ¾ cup Blanched almond flour scooped lightly packed (80 g)
- ¾ cup Tapioca starch (95 g)
- ¼ cup Coconut flour (25 g)
- ¼ teaspoon Baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon Sea salt
- Dye-free sprinkles (optional) ½ cup or more
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place the softened butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Cream the butter with the sugar using a handheld electric mixer until it appears crumbly.
- Add the egg to the bowl with the sugar and butter. Mix together with the mixer until well incorporated.
- Add the almond flour, tapioca starch, and coconut flour to the mixing bowl and mix until well combined.
- Add the baking soda and sea salt to the dough. Mix until evenly distributed, but avoid overmixing.
- Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes. If chilling for longer, make sure to tightly cover with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.
- Use a 1-ounce cookie scoop to divide the dough into 18 cookies. Once scooped, roll the dough between clean hands until smooth.
- Pour spinkles onto a plate. Roll the dough balls in the sprinkles coating all sides. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Note: You can skip the sprinkles and roll in cinnamon sugar for snickerdoodles or frost them with buttercream for an extra special treat!
- Lightly flatten the cookies with your palm until they are about ⅓-inch thick. Ensure there is at least an inch of space between each cookie. Use two baking sheets if needed.
- Place the cookies in the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes (13 minutes was perfect for my oven), or until the cookies have flattened slightly and the edges are firm (for softer cookies don't let them get too golden). Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before enjoying.
Notes
-
- Be sure to use softened butter, softened dairy-free butter, or softened palm shortening, not melted!
-
- When measuring the almond flour, scoop and lightly pack it before leveling.
-
- Use a 1-ounce cookie scoop to measure the dough. This will yield 18 perfect cookies. If you do not have a small cookie scoop, you can measure about 2 tablespoon of dough per cookie.
- If you prefer softer cookies, don't wait for them to turn golden. Take them out at about 11-13 minutes depending on your oven. For crispier cookies, chill the dough for less time and bake for 13-15 minutes.
Amanda McGillicuddy says
One of my all time favorite almond flour cookie recipes!