Sugar & Spice Almond Flour Sugar Cookies

by Lindsay Cotter · 12/05/2019

These Sugar & Spice Almond Flour Sugar Cookies are made with healthy fats, natural sugars, and gluten free almond flour for simple to make paleo sugar cookies that will satisfy your sweet tooth with zero guilt! Make them ahead of time for holiday parties, cookie exchanges, and more.

Almond flour sugar cookies stacked up on each other sprinkled with sugar crystals

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

It’s the best time of the year, y’all! Do you know what that means? Yep! It’s cookie season! With the holidays in full swing, there’s no better time to whip up a batch of the Best Ever Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies, Brown Butter Snickerdoodles, or Vegan Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies. After all, who doesn’t love a fresh-baked cookie? They make the perfect homemade gift ideas and always hit the spot, especially when served with a cup of Mexican Spiked Hot Chocolate. However, while these recipes are all delicious, one of my all-time favorite desserts are sugar cookies!

Simple, sweet, and easy to make, they’re a classic recipe I never get tired of making (or eating). So, I decided to try my hand at creating a gluten free version that tastes just as good as the original and is a bit more healthy. Luckily, I think I nailed it with these almond flour sugar cookies! They’re perfectly soft and every bit as sweet as your favorite recipe. The only difference is, this almond flour cookie recipe is made with simple, whole-food ingredients for a paleo sugar cookie you can feel good about eating. So, if you’re ready to find out for yourself just how good this recipe tastes, keep reading to find everything you’ll need to know to get baking!

Ingredients & Alternatives for this Almond Flour Sugar Cookie Recipe

Made with a simple base and rolled in sparkling cane sugar, you’re not going to believe how something so delicious can be made with such simple ingredients! Take a look below to find everything you’ll need for these paleo sugar cookies.

Overhead view almond flour sugar cookies baked and lined up on sheet pan

Almond Flour – Almond flour is made out of finely ground almonds to create a gluten free alternative. However, if you don’t have almond flour available, you can easily make your own by placing raw almonds in a food processor or high-speed blender and pulsing until a flour-like consistency is formed.

Arrowroot or Tapioca Flour – If you don’t have arrowroot or tapioca flour, you can use oat flour instead.
Butter – Feel free to replace the butter with refined coconut oil. However, whichever option you choose, make sure they have been softened at room temperature!
Coconut Sugar – For a low-sugar, low-carb option, replace the coconut sugar with either Erythritol or Monk fruit sugar.
Egg – Eggs work as binders to hold the rest of the ingredients together while also adding protein and healthy fats!

Pantry Staples – As with most cookies or baked goods, you’ll also need a few pantry staples such as baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla extract.

How to Make the Best Almond Flour Sugar Cookies

We wanted to make this almond flour cookie recipe more festive, similar to Christmas sugar cookies. So, we gave them a little glitter. Sugar glitter, that is. Keep reading to learn how these cookies come together!

A hand rolling a sugar cookie dough ball in cinnamon and sugar

Sift. In a small bowl, sift together the almond flour, flour/starch, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, and cinnamon.
Combine. Then, in a second bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and vanilla, beating them until they are creamy. Add in the egg, and beat the ingredients again.
Mix. Working in batches, mix the flour mixture with the butter and egg mixture, beating the ingredients on low until they are creamy and smooth.
Roll and Chill. Roll the formed dough into a ball, wrap it in silicone plastic wrap, and let it chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
Form Balls. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls, and roll them in sparkling cane sugar.
Bake. Arrange the balls of dough on a prepared baking sheet 1-2 inches apart, and let them bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-15 minutes.

Note: Cookies bake differently at different altitudes. So, be sure to check on them after 10 minutes of baking!

Cool. Once finished, allow the cookies to cool on the pan for at leasat 15 minutes, and enjoy!

close up of sugar cookies with sugar crystals on top

Common Questions About Almond Flour Sugar Cookies

Are almond flour sugar cookies crispy or soft?

The texture of these paleo sugar cookies is somewhere between crispy and chewy. They are slightly soft while maintaining a bit of a crunch. However, to soften them even more, you can wrap them in a moist paper towel and microwave them for 10 to 15 seconds. As a result, you will have super soft and warm almond flour cookies!

Can I turn this almond flour sugar cookie recipe into a cookie-cutter sugar cookie recipe?

Yes, just make sure to chill the dough for 1 hour before rolling it out to form the cookies. If you don’t, the dough will become too soft to form into cookie shapes.

Can the dough be made ahead of time?

Yes! Unbaked dough can be wrapped and refrigerated for about a week. Or, you can scoop the dough into individual portions and freeze it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. When the dough is frozen, transfer it to an airtight container or freezer bag, and store it in the freezer for up to 2 to 3 months.

Will I have to thaw the dough before baking?

No. You don’t need to completely thaw the frozen dough. However, if frozen the frozen, the dough will take a few minutes longer to bake. Alternatively, to speed up the baking time you can place the dough on a baking sheet while you wait for the oven to preheat.

Why do my almond flour cookies fall apart?

If your almond flour sugar cookies fall apart, it’s likely because you either used too much fat/butter or you aren’t letting them cool after baking. As they cool, they set and firm up creating a slightly crunchier cinnamon cookie. However, if you pick them up before they’ve cooled, they will crumble.

An almond flour sugar cookie sprinkled with cinnamon sugar being held between thumb and forefinger.

More of Our Favorite

Christmas Cookies

Close up view sugar cookies on baking sheet sprinkled with sugar crystals

I hope you enjoy these almond flour sugar cookies as much as I do! If you make them, please let me know in the comments below.

Cheers,
LC

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