Paleo “Sugar” Cookies (Gluten-Free)
These Paleo Sugar Cookies are a healthier soft and fluffy “sugar” cookie recipe made without refined sugars or flours. They come together in less than 30 minutes!
Sugar cookies made without sugar? Yes it is possible with these Paleo “Sugar” Cookies .
They are soft, fluffy, vanilla flavored, delicious grain-free gluten-free dairy-free cookies. They are a healthier non-processed version of sugar cookies and I am here for it! YUM.
Why this recipe works:
- These cookies are allergy friendly. They are made without dairy or gluten.
- They come together in less than 30 minutes.
- They are made with healthier ingredients. Maple syrup and honey are used to replace refined white sugar. Almond flour and coconut flour are used to replace refined white flour.
- They are soft sugar cookies. They are part cake, part cookie and always hit the spot.
- These cookies are customizable. You can make them for the holidays or a birthday. You can add sprinkles. And You can top them with pretty much anything that you want. Like frosting or ice-cream or even fruit.
Ingredients needed to make these Paleo Sugar Cookies:
- honey– organic drippy honey is easier to measure.
- maple syrup– use real maple syrup and not something with high fructose corn syrup inside.
- apple cider vinegar– organic is best.
- vanilla– with or without alcohol works.
- coconut oil– organic virgin coconut oil is best here. Use a refined coconut oil if you don’t want any coconut taste.
- egg– this binds the cookies together.
- baking soda– this helps the cookies to rise.
- almond flour– blanched almond flour is best for baking because the texture is more refined.
- coconut flour– this helps the texture of gluten-free cookies.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make this Paleo Sugar Cookie recipe:
Step 1: Mix the honey, maple syrup, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, and egg to a bowl. Whisk in the coconut oil.
Step 2: Mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. This includes the baking soda, almond flour, coconut flour, and salt.
Step 3: Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and let the cookie dough sit for 3-5 minutes.
Step 4: Scoop into tablespoon sized balls, put dough onto cookie sheet.
Step 5: Bake!
Expert Tips
- Make sure that you melt the coconut oil prior to measuring it! That is key.
- When mixing the wet ingredients together, add the coconut oil last. You don’t want the melted coconut oil to harden and clump, which it tends to do if it touches anything cold.
- Make sure to pack the almond flour and coconut flour. That means that you scoop it from the bag of flour and push it into the measuring cup. This packs in the flour and there is more of it this way.
- Let batter sit 3-5 minutes prior to rolling the cookies into balls so that the coconut flour can absorb the liquid in the batter properly.
- You can add sprinkles to the dough prior to baking these cookies to make a fun funfetti version of these cookies. They probably won’t be Paleo anymore but there are a lot of healthier versions out there these days. I personally like these Good Dees Sprinkles ( they are Keto, Vegan and colored naturally).
Other healthier cookie recipes you may enjoy:
These Almond Flour Sugar Cookies by Texanerin are made with a handful of healthy ingredients, such as almond flour. They are crisp yet chewy and look so yummy!
These Gluten Free Sugar Cookie recipe by Flippin Delicious are a classic soft frosted sugar cookie that look like they were made in a bakery.
These Paleo Coconut Oil Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies are the ultimate ooey, gooey melty chocolate chip cookies. AMAZING.
These Chocolate Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Cookies (Paleo, GF) are the most amazing double chocolate cookies!
Did you try this recipe? Please leave me a ⭐ review below!
Paleo “Sugar” Cookies (GF)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbs vanilla
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil ( make sure to measure it in it's melted state)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup almond flour (packed)
- 1/4 cup coconut flour (packed)
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner.
- In a large bowl, add the honey, maple syrup, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, and egg. Then add the melted coconut oil last and whisk everything immediately. Whisk until the mixture thickens and becomes a bit cloudy.
- In a separate bowl, mix the baking soda, almond flour, coconut flour, and salt together with a fork.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix with a fork. ( If you are adding sprinkles, add them in now). Let the mixture sit for 3-5 minutes. ( This lets the coconut flour absorb the liquid in the batter ).
- Put 1 Tbs sized balls of the dough onto the cookie sheet. Roll them into balls in your hands and flatten them a little with your hand when you put them onto the cookie sheet.
- Cook for 12-15 minutes, then let the cookies cool on the pan. ( Cook time depends on your oven; 13.5 minutes was perfect for me)
Notes
- *Note: if your batter is runny or too runny to roll into balls, add a little more flour until the texture is thicker.
- * Make sure that you melt the coconut oil prior to measuring it! That is key.
- * When mixing the wet ingredients together, add the coconut oil last. You don’t want the melted coconut oil to harden and clump, which it tends to do if it touches anything cold.
- * Make sure to pack the almond flour and coconut flour. That means that you scoop it from the bag of flour and push it into the measuring cup. This packs in the flour and there is more of it this way.
- * Let batter sit 3-5 minutes prior to rolling the cookies into balls so that the coconut flour can absorb the liquid in the batter properly.
- * You can add sprinkles to the dough prior to baking these cookies to make a fun funfetti version of these cookies.
Nutrition
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33 Comments on “Paleo “Sugar” Cookies (Gluten-Free)”
Wonderful!
Used only maple sugar and olive oil instead of coconut oil.
Thank you! I love baking with maple sugar. 🙂
Can I sub monk fruit for the honey and maple syrup?
I’m not sure because the honey and maple are liquid and the proportions of the dry ingredients match the amount of liquids in this recipe.
These just came out of the oven and I tasted one warm. They live up to the ‘sugar cookie’ title so next time I’ll cut the honey and maple syrup back by a Tbsp each. I might trim back the vanilla to tone it back a bit too. I tend to cut the sweet on most baked goods per my tastebuds. I’m curious if I could stick a piece of dark chocolate in the middle. Overall, this was a lovely recipe to find at 11:00 o’clock at night when we need to satisfy a craving!
I like the sound of chocolate or even jam in the middle. YUM.
Hi, do you think I can use more honey in place of maple syrup? Making tonight and just don’t have any
I don’t see why not, it just may taste a little bit more like honey. Let me know if you try it!
Looks great! Could I use Olive Oil instead of Coconut Oil?
I’ve never tried making these with olive oil but I don’t see why not!?
I am out of coconut flour but have tapioca flour. Would that be an okay substitute and if so how much of the tapioca flour would I use?
Hmmm, I have never tried it, but I don’t think tapioca flour could be used as a replacement. Coconut flour is tough to replace because it is so absorbent. Using something else also requires changing the fat ratio of the cookie. If you do try it, let me know how it works!
Hi there,
My brother is on an intense strict diet and can’t have apple cider vinegar. What would be a good substitute for it? Thanks so much!
Try 1 Tbs lemon juice!
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What is a comparable substitute for coconut flour?
Would arrowroot be a 1:1 or would a gluten free all purpose flour mix work?
No, coconut flour is absorbent in a way that arrowroot isn’t.
Do you press the cookie dough ball down prior to baking? Mine didn’t spread out very much into the shape your photo shows.
No I didn’t. Did they stay in ball form? I’m curious.
So good!!!!!! I didnt have any vanilla zo I used vanilla bean paste and it turned out so good! This is by far the best paleo cookie recipe I have ever had!
This makes me so happy to hear!!! I love these too 🙂
These cookies are GOOD. I’ve made many paleo cookies and these are fluffy, sweet and deceptively light. The mix was a bit like batter but I added more almond flour to make it stiff enough to roll into a ball. They turned out great. My husband couldn’t stop raving about how delicious they are. Thanks for sharing!! ?
I’m so so glad to hear it!! 🙂 🙂
This recipe didn’t work out too well for me. 🙁
I followed it as it said, but just ended up too thin of a consistency to roll into a ball and/or rise. Maybe I did something wrong :{They tasted absolutely amazing, but kinda turned out like blondies. Thanks anyway!
Ahhhh- I wonder if it’s the coconut flour. I get varying results based on different brands that I use. I’m glad they tasted good but that’s a bummer they didn’t turn out! I think adding more flour until the batter was a thick enough texture to roll into balls would have worked. I’ll test this recipe out again to see what I can come up with. 🙂
I made these tonight and they turned out great! I followed the recipe exactly and my dough was very thin. More like a batter. So, I added extra flour until it was stiff enough to dollop onto the pan. They browned nicely and didn’t spread at all on the pan. They taste great. They are super sweet. But that’s great since I made them for my kids!
I am happy to hear it!!! 🙂
I tried these tonight – Trader joe’s was out of coconut flour so I substituted a 1/4 cup of regular flour. For that reason they taste something like flat muffins. Not horrible but nothing like sugar cookies. Next time I’ll have coconut flour.
Ah, coconut flour and regular flour can’t be used at a 1:1 ratio! Much more regular flour would be needed. Let me know if you try this with coconut flour 🙂 🙂 🙂
I literally just made these 10 minutes ago. WOW. These are delicious, soft, and very sweet. I love them warm. Thanks for the amazing recipe! It’s an instant hit with my family.
These are SOOO good warm. 🙂 So happy they were a hit!!
I’m sorry, but I hate apple cider vinegar. Would it still work if I left it out?
I’m sure it would. You shouldn’t be able to taste it thought.