The Best Vegan Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies
The BEST Vegan Gluten-free Sugar Cookies that are also oil-free and made with just 8 easy ingredients. Soft, chewy and so perfectly sweet!
Servings: 16 cookies
Calories: 142kcal
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons (40g) coconut sugar, powdered (see directions)
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (128g) superfine blanched almond flour
- 7 tablespoons (70g) potato starch (SEE NOTES below for sub) I order mine here and it's very cheap.
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (60g) white rice flour
- 3/4 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
- scant 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 6 tablespoons (120g) pure maple syrup OR agave
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (96g) raw cashew butter I make my own here
- 2 teaspoons (10g) vanilla extract
- Optional: organic sprinkling sugar for topping if desired.
NOTE
- Of course, as always, I recommend highly to use a scale to prevent room for error. You don't need cups or to compare the weights to cups, just simply follow the weights listed, as this is exactly how the recipes are tested and made. Make sure to zero out before adding each ingredient.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- First, you will need to blend up your coconut sugar down to a fine powder. I did this in my Vitamix in about 15 seconds. This gives better distribution of sweetness, and visual, to the cookies since coconut sugar granules are very gritty. It did not work in my food processor, so use a high-powered blender or coffee grinder.
- Add the ground up sugar, almond flour, potato starch, rice flour, baking powder and salt to a large bowl. Whisk very well.
- Make sure your cashew butter is very smooth and flowy and not stiff, or the cookies will be dry. Add the syrup, cashew butter and vanilla to the dry and stir until the batter comes together into a thick sticky ball (as pictured in post).
- Using a tablespoon, scoop out a heaping tablespoon of dough and roll into 16 balls and place on the 2 pans, spaced about 2 inches apart. Press down each ball down to 1/4 inch thickness, using a patting circular motion with your fingers and form into a round shape. See photo in post for how they should look. Sprinkle with sprinkling sugar, if desired.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes. Mine are perfect at 9 minutes in my humid/hot weather, but drier or cold weather, 8 minutes will probably be better. Going over 9 made mine too dry, but keep in mind ovens vary. They should have puffed up and be golden and a slight crackled effect.
- Cool for 10 minutes on the pan, as they will be too delicate to remove right away. Use a thin spatula to transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling. They are too gooey immediately but will fluff out as they cool. These are best the first day and start to dry out by the next day, so make sure to store in a sealed container. If you want to decorate some with icing like I have in the photos, follow the "Classic Icing" from these oatmeal cookies and use only half of the recipe.
Notes
- POTATO STARCH: If you do not have or cannot find potato starch, then you can sub with cornstarch and it works just as well! The mouthfeel is slightly more starchy, but still delicious. You will use 70 grams (same weight amount) which is equivalent to 9 tablespoons. The tablespoon measurements are different than potato starch because they weigh differently, which is why you'll need 2 more tablespoons of cornstarch. For best results, I always recommend weighing for baking.
- CASHEW BUTTER: It is crucial to use a raw cashew butter (with no added oil/sugar) so the texture of these cookies turn out right. Since this can be hard to find in stores and quite expensive. I always make my own in my food processor.
- SUGAR: If you prefer, you can sub regular white granulated sugar for the coconut sugar (not powdered white sugar, just regular). I have not tested this personally, but it should work fine. Due to the difference in sweetness and flavor though, it will change some. Coconut sugar has more of a deep caramel flavor.
- ALMOND FLOUR: This is where the cookies get the majority of moisture from and a nice chew to the cookie. It replaces butter, so it cannot be subbed. I use either the "Superfine" Bob's Red Mill Blanched Almond Flour, "Superfine" Bob's Red Mill Blanched Almond Flour or "Superfine" Bob's Red Mill Blanched Almond Flour are all good.
- White Rice Flour: This adds a slight crispness to the exterior of the cookies and also helps to bind them.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 142kcal | Carbohydrates: 18.4g | Protein: 1.7g | Fat: 6.9g | Saturated Fat: 0.8g | Sodium: 64mg | Potassium: 73mg | Fiber: 1.2g | Sugar: 7.6g | Calcium: 35mg