Sugar Cookies (Keto, Paleo, vegan, GAPS optional)
Here is the picture-perfect Paleo, Keto, grain-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, and vegan sugar cookie recipe! Just try it out and you will agree with me: it’s perfect!
After going through 7 or 8 trials, I have developed the perfectly crisp and chewy grain-free sugar cookie, similar to a shortbread cookie. You can use this recipe to replace any of your holiday cutout cookies, make them into shortbread squares, or just make big, round sugar cookies dusted with cinnamon!
I’ll describe each of these options for you below.
Out with the old, in with the new
I’ve gotten pretty tired of the SAD sugar cookies I see every year during the school holiday parties at my children's elementary school.
It’s not just Christmas and Valentine’s day either! They seem to have a cookie decorating station at every possible holiday party including Halloween and Easter too!
I’ve even seen them for St. Patrick’s Day!
So instead of just watching this happen, I decided to do something about it.
However, I’ve found that getting a cutout cookie recipe to be absolutely perfect was frustrating, especially since I wasn’t using an egg to bind it and was working with non-traditional flours.
I also opted out of using ground flax seed to replace the egg so that the end product could remain a creamy white.
My Gingerbread Cutout Cookies use ground flax seed (you can totally check those out too!)
Ingredients in my grain free Sugar Cookies
These healthy sugar cookies are based on the crust of my pecan pie bars, which have a nice shortbread texture.
I made a few modifications to make sure they could be rolled out.
You’ll see these cookies are much superior to most Paleo, Keto, and vegan sugar cookies as they are not overly sweet and have the texture of traditional sugar cookies.
The ingredients I used include:
Almond Flour
Coconut Flour
Tapioca Starch (but not enough to take you out of ketosis)
Psyllium Husk Powder (the secret ingredient that holds these cookies together)
Coconut Oil or Ghee (butter is okay if you are not dairy free)
Keto Friendly Sweetener
Lemon Juice (for the special bright flavor! And feel free to use vanilla instead if you’d like!)
A quick note on grain-free flours
Most grain-free flours are higher in fiber than traditional flours and much lower in carbohydrates.
They are much less refined and a better choice all around.
It can take some getting used to when transitioning to using grain-free flours for baking, but it’s so worth the trials.
Both almond and coconut flour have their own taste and a bit of their own sweetness too.
Lastly, for the best products, make sure your almond flour is blanched and finely ground.
Here are a few tips for the perfect cut-out sugar cookies:
Pack both of your flours
Once you try this method you will see how much more gets into your measuring cup!
Don’t melt your coconut oil or ghee all the way
This makes the dough come together better and feel much less greasy. My preference is to use ghee and not melt it at all.
Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes
Any more than 1 hour in the fridge and your dough may get too hard to roll out. Chilling will make the dough tons easier to roll out and will help when transferring the cutout shapes to the baking sheet.
Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper
This will save you lots of frustration and prevent the rolling pin from sticking to the dough!
Roll the dough so that it’s a bit more than 1/4th inch thick
My big mistake was always rolling out the dough too thin! A thicker dough will give your cookies a better chewy texture and they will be easier to cut out.
I hope you enjoy this recipe! Make sure you check out one of my other recipes linked below. And, if you’re interested in working 1:1 with me, go ahead and click here to schedule a FREE discovery call!
Sugar "Cut Out" Cookies (Paleo, Keto, vegan, GAPs option)
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup coconut flour plus 1 tbsp
- 2 tbsp tapioca flour use 1 egg for GAPS
- 2 tbsp psyllium husk powder
- 1/3 cup Swerve confectioners omit for GAPS
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup ghee or coconut oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice or 1 tbsp vanilla extract and 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca, psyllium, sweetener, soda, and salt.
- Warm the ghee or coconut oil to soften it in a small sauce pan over low heat. Be careful to not melt completely.
- Add the lemon juice to the softened ghee or coconut oil and pour the wets in the dry ingredients.
- Mix well until a crumbly dough forms, then using your hands shape the dough into a flat disc shape and cover with plastic wrap.
- Chill the dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes, being careful not to let it get too hard. If your dough has been in the fridge for over an hour you will want to let it sit on the counter for about 20 minutes before rolling it out.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper so that it is no thinner than 1/4 inch.
- Use cookie cutters as desired to shape the cookies and use a spatula to place them onto the baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 7-8 minutes until just beginning to brown on top. They will brown quickly once they start.
- Let these cookies cool for a full 30-45 minutes before transferring them or they may break.
- Enjoy or decorate as desired.
Notes
My Coconut Cream Cashew Frosting is an excellent and healthy way to top these Sugar Cookies. If you want an icing instead of a frosting look at my Gingerbread Cutout Cookies at the icing recipe in the note section.
If your dough feels too crumbly just add 1-2 tbsp of water as needed.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
138Fat
13Sat. Fat
8Carbs
9Fiber
3Net carbs
6Sugar
1Protein
2Sodium
117Cholesterol
0More Recipes Like This: