Welcome to Ambitious Kitchen’s Cookie Week 2016. I’m going to lay the frosting on thick, brown the butter like no other motha and blow ya minds with these dank ass cookies. Yep that’s right, every day this week there will be a new, delicious cookie recipe complete with a recipe video.
GUYS I’ve been LOVING doing recipe videos because they make the recipes seem super easy, visual and achievable. I want you to be able to make these recipes with success and I’m confident the videos will help get you there.
FREE Ultimate Guide to Cookie Baking
Sign up below and get a FREE printable e-book with my best tips & tricks for baking perfect cookies every time!
To kick off cookie week, I made you these delectably soft almond flour sugar cookies that just so happen to be both paleo and gluten free.
But wait! Don’t let the paleo/gf label defer you; these are some of the BEST sugar cookies I’ve ever had. The texture and flavor are incredibly similar to that of the real cookies you buy at the store. Soft, chewy, slightly cakey and a hint of almond flavor.
Can I get a YUM?
There are a few tricks to ensuring your cookies come out fabulous:
Make sure you pack your almond flour: Pack it just like you would with brown sugar!
Make sure you measure your coconut oil when it is melted. This is the best way to measure it. Also make sure that your coconut oil is NOT hot when you make the cookies. You need it to be melted and cooled so that you don’t end up cooking the egg.
Let the dough sit for 5 minutes. The coconut oil will need to absorb some of the liquid, so my best advice is to let the dough sit at room temperature.
More gluten free dessert recipes you’ll love:
Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Almond Flour Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Velvet Chocolate Frosting
Grain Free Omega-3 Fudgy Walnut Skillet Brownies
If you make this, be sure to leave a comment below, or upload a photo and tag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram.
Soft Almond Flour Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup melted and cooled coconut oil
- 1/4 cup organic cane sugar (regular sugar or coconut sugar will also work)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 1/2 cups packed fine almond flour (do not use almond meal)
- 3 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Vanilla Buttercream (optional):
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened
- 3/4 cup organic powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of a food processor, add in coconut oil, sugar, honey, egg, vanilla and almond extract. Process for 20-30 seconds until well combined.
- Next, add in almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt. Process until a dough forms. Allow dough to sit for 5 minutes. You can also mix by hand or use an electric mixer, but I find the food processor to be the easiest!
- Next use your hands to roll dough into golf sized balls. Place on prepared cookie sheet then flatten each dough ball with the palm of your hand or use the bottom of a glass to flatten.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer to a wire rack and allow cookies to cool completely before frosting. Makes about 15 cookies.
- For the frosting: Beat butter, powdered sugar and vanilla on high until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Frost each cookie then decorate however your heart desires.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz | Photography by: Sarah Fennel
101 comments
These look so simple and I love the gluten free flours you use! I am bookmarking these to bake, thanks 🙂
Sugar cookies with vanilla frosting have my full heart! I’m obsessed with the fact that these cookies are paleo and made with almond flour aka my most favorite flour!
Love these Monique!! 🙂 Cookie week is THE BEST.
So cute, fun, and festive! These are definitely a cookie to add to my holiday list!
Once I get almond flour (ran out) I am totally making these. I love the videos! Cookie week is like, the best thing ever, right?
Oh these look awesome. I have some leftover almond flour and coconut flour that I dont use very often, so I will be making these cookies today to use them up.
Thanks Monique!
Dang! I’m out of almond flour! Guess who is going to the store. Super excited to try this recipe:)
i don’t normally make gluten free cookies (except maybe meringues and the couple of failed batches of macarons), but these sound amazing! and the dough totally looks like normal sugar cookie dough.
Can confirm, these cookies are BOMB <3
BRILLIANT LOVE the video! Bravo lady!
These look fabulous!!
These look amazing!!! Love the video! 🙂
these look so great!! i have some celiacs on my christmas cookie plate list this year & have been racking my brain trying to figure out what to put on their plates!! these are going to have to happen. can’t wait to see more. cookie week is, like, the best week ever.
These look great. Can you make cut-outs with the dough?
Perhaps if you stuck the dough in the fridge for at least 3 hours, then rolled it out. I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure. Let me know if you do!!!
I was able to cut shapes with cookie cutters no problem! After it rests for 5 min to absorb the coconut flour, simply roll these in a ball as Monique demonstrates and then place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper. You’re then able to freely roll the dough (although it’s only one shape per ball) without the fridge part!! Thanks for a fantastic paleo recipe Monique; you’re the best! Xoxo
xoxo!! Whoo hoo — thank you for sharing!
These cookies look INCREDIBLE!! Thank you for making paleo cookies during this series – I totally appreciate it! I’m going to make these 🙂 Also – I’m loving your videos that accompany the recipe. They look stellar!! ?
You are doing a truly awesome job with your videos!! This one is no exception. I love that these cookies are SOFT! Sugar cookies of all varieties should be soft;)
[…] Soft Almond Flour Sugar Cookies […]
I made these last night and they came out perfect! They are soft, chewy, and delicious! Followed the recipe exactly except I didn’t have almond extract – which I replaced with about a teaspoon of Almond Egg Nog! I actually added about a teaspoon of the Silk Almond Egg Nog to the batter and the frosting. This cookie is too good!
[…] Soft Almond Flour Sugar Cookies […]
These looks amazing! I’ve really been enjoying the videos.
Quick question: I have TJ’s almond meal onhand. Am I able to use that in place of almond flour?
@shortstack825 I used Almond meal when I made these and they turned out great 🙂 perhaps not as soft but still delicious
I’m sure it would still work if you use almond meal; they just might not have the same texture. Trader Joe’s also now sells blanched almond flour — highly recommend for that!
Ok I have a question, I thought paleo was unrefined sugars? Is there an unrefined powdered sugar?
Nope, that’s why these are paleo friendly. Simple Mills frosting is paleo friendly if you want to try that instead!
[…] Soft Almond Flour Sugar Cookies […]
Oh my GOODNESS. I’ve had celiac disease for about 8 years and I always missed sugar cookies this time of year. Other recipes were just disappointing! But these. Holy cow. They are insanely delicious, chewy, with a subtle hint of almond, and just dang good. Thank you so much for this recipe! It’s by far your best cookie yet!
i have celiac too
and miss xmas
sugar cookies
so much.
SOOOO EXCITED
to make these tonight.
YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEE!
[…] Foodie has shared almost every cookie recipe on the planet on our Facebook page…including Ambitious Kitchen’s Healthy Christmas Cookie Week, which I can’t get enough of. While searching for yummy cookie recipes to share, I came […]
[…] Fit Foodie has shared almost every cookie recipe on the planet on our Facebook page…including Ambitious Kitchen’s Healthy Christmas Cookie Week, which I can’t get enough of. While searching for yummy cookie recipes to share, I came across […]
[…] Soft Almond Flour Sugar Cookies from Ambitious Kitchen (they had amazing texture, especially for a gluten-free cookie) […]
Don’t have coconut flour on hand…. Can I just use more almond flour? Thanks so much for posting!
Loved this recipe as is…how do you think it would be if you replace the coconut oil with some grass fed butter? Will it change the texture?
Thank you for this recipe, it’s a hit in our house. I’m sure the frosting is delicious but we love them plain. Sometimes we leave out the almond extract, add cream of tarter and roll in cinnamon sugar for snickerdoodles. Thanks again, we always love all your recipes!
Oh my gosh the snickerdoodle idea sounds amazing! Glad these are a hit 🙂
[…] Read More: Soft Almond Flour Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream video! […]
[…] Read More: Soft Almond Flour Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream video! […]
[…] make your own powdered sugar by blitzing organic cane sugar in a high speed blender.Adapted from Ambitious Kitchen and Food and […]
These cookies look amazing! I am planning to make them for a friend who is gluten and dairy free. Do you have any suggestions of what I could use to “glaze” the cookies that doesn’t include butter?
Try the cashew butter vanilla glaze from this recipe!
Is there an alternative for buttercream so its more dairy free?
Yes! Try soaking 1/2 cup of cashews (for about 2 hours) 1/4 cup of maple syrup water to thin if necessary. Blend this up!
[…] The crust is one of my favorites because it’s soft, doughy and tastes incredibly similar to a soft lofthouse style sugar cookie. The recipe for the crust is just slightly adapted from my AMAZING almond flour sugar cookie recipe. […]
I made these and had my roommate taste test – her exact response was: “Oh sh*t these are good. I wish I could eat the whole plate.”
Had to share 🙂
YES amazing! So happy to hear that 🙂
[…] made these babies last week. They’re based off one of my favorite cookies on AK and come together in ONE […]
[…] Adapted from my German Chocolate Cookies Bars and Ambitious Kitchen. […]
[…] 18. Soft Almond Flour Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream […]
Hi! Can these be made with butter instead? I don’t like the flavor of coconut oil. Thank you
[…] Soft Almond Flour Sugar Cookies […]
[…] 18. Soft Almond Flour Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream […]
These were really good! My one suggestion would be adding lemon zest to to batter! I also made the buttercream dairy free by using vegan butter instead of regular butter.
Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed! And noted on the lemon zest – I’ll have to try it next time 🙂 Perfect with the dairy free frosting!
I am celiac, and love using almond flour. My kiddos and I made these yesterday and they were super easy and soooooo delicious! soft and with the hint of coconut, they were heavenly! we added food colouring to our icing (of course they needed blue and pink cookies! haha!) These will be my GO-TOs when they kids want to bake again!
I’ve signed up for your email subscription, and am going to be looking through your other recipes now! thanks for sharing your creations with us!
I’m so glad you found this recipe! The blue and pink sound awesome 🙂 I have tons of other recipes with almond flour, too – hope you find some new favorites!
[…] 12. Soft Almond Flour Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream […]
Hi Monique! Can this frosting recipe be used for cupcakes? If not, do you have a vanilla or buttercream cupcake frosting recipe? I couldn’t find one on your site. I know there are thousands of recipes out there, but I wanna start with the best ❤️ Thanks!
Hi April! This frosting would be delicious on cupcakes (and it’s super easy!)
I just found this recipe and made it with my grandson. I liked that it made only 13-15 cookies. Fun and fast and so YUMmy! Fall is in the air so we used a few fall sprinkles on top of the icing and shared them with friends. They looked great. I used grassfed butter so they had a golden hue.
Amazing! Sprinkles are perfect on these 🙂 So glad everyone loved them.
These cookies look amazing and I’m so excited to bring them to an otherwise gluten-filled cookie exchange! Thank you for making my first cookie exchange since eliminating gluten something I’m looking forward to. Quick question – is it possible to replace coconut flour with more almond flour? If so, what liquid needs to be eliminated? Thank you again!
Absolutely the most delicious cookie ever!
My favorite! Glad you loved it.
[…] Modified from the ones at Ambitious Kitchen […]
I don’t have coconut flour, would 1-1 gf flour work? Or oat flour?
Oat flour should work!
How do you store them? The frosting is soft and I can’t stack them on top of each other!
I would add wax paper in between the cookies or even put small rectangles of cardboard wax paper in between so that the cookies don’t get smooshed 🙂
These are great, I’ve made them 5 or so times now. Something I started doing that works fantastic with these is taking the dough and rolling it in parchment, and sticking it in the freezer. That way I can slice and bake the day of an event or whatever.
Also palm shortening in place of the coconut oil gives a more “butter” taste and works out just fine.
Perfect! Great tips 🙂
This recipe is amazing. I love trying new recipes that are healthy, and these honestly taste like real sugar cookies-just with a hint of coconut. For my cookies, I found that baking them for 8 minutes and then taking them out to cool was perfect and gave them that slighty cakey/chewy feel that I love. As for the vanilla frosting, I personally found that 3/4 cup of powdered sugar was too sweet, so I think that next time I bake these I’ll reduce the amount. Thank you for such a great recipe; I cannot wait to share these with my friends! =)
Glad you found the perfect temp with your oven 🙂
Can these be made into cut out cookies?
Yes they can — just add another tablespoon of coconut flour and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour before rolling out.
Hello , im so confused because the ingredients dont list eggs but the video does. help please 🙂 I LOVE all your recipes and plan to make these tonight with my girls. Not allergic to egg, just wanna make correctly. thank you for all you do!
Hi! There is 1 egg listed in the ingredients (right under the honey). Enjoy! 🙂
These were so good. I made them for my personal trainer and she loved them as well.
Love it! So happy to hear that 🙂
very yummy and the cookies are super soft in a good way!
Yes! These stay deliciously soft for awhile 🙂
These are the best! Seriously so fluffy and soft. The texture is amazing and the buttercream pairs so well with the cookies 🙂
So happy you loved them!
I got your cookie e-book in my email this morning, saw these, and made them immediately. They are so yummy paired with a hot cup of coffee! I didn’t make the icing, but the plain cookies are delicious.
Amazing! So happy to hear that!
SOO yummy, Not too sweet and very easy! Love the almond, and the amount of frosting was perfect! 🙂
Glad you loved them!
I have never been a fan of cut out sugar cookies but I love the taste of sugar cookies so these are the best of both worlds – all the sugar cookie flavors and enjoyment of sprinkle decorating with the soft interior of a fluffy cookie!
So glad you loved these ones!
Super tasty and versatile recipe – I added orange zest and cocoa powder to half the dough to make additional cookie types! Already added this recipe to my recipe box – will definitely be making more!
Pefect! Glad you love them!
SO YUMMY! BETTER THAN LOFTHOUSE, CHEWY AND DELICIOUSLY BALANCED!!! THANKS FOR THE RECIPE, WILL BE IN MY MAKE OFTEN FILES!!
So happy to hear that, Shari!
These are INCREDIBLE! So soft and fluffy, and I could eat the frosting by the spoonful. Everyone in my apartment loved these, even the ones that were not gluten-free! To quote my roommate, “These are the best things you’ve ever made.” If you need a sugar cookie recipe, this is it.
Just made these to bring to a Christmas part and they are delicious! I used vegan butter, and a flax egg (1 T flaxseed meal + 3 T water) to make them fully vegan. Perfect for the holidays!!
So happy they came out well!! Thanks for leaving a review, Meghan 🙂
I made these this weekend and they came out SO GOOD! The dough comes together super easy and they taste even better than the Lofthouse cookies. Thank you for such a great recipe!
So glad to hear that you loved them, Kelly! Thank you!
Easy and delicious! They turned out perfectly and my whole family loved them.
Yay! So glad you did!