These Almond Flour Sugar Cookies are grain-free and made without refined sugar—an excellent choice for holiday baking when you want a classic cut-out cookie with a healthier twist. They roll, cut and decorate just like traditional sugar cookies, but use almond flour, a bit of coconut flour for structure, and honey for sweetness.
If you’re planning a cookie exchange or a holiday bake, make these cut-outs alongside other festive cookies for variety. They are sturdy enough for shaping and decorating, and they take colors and sprinkles beautifully.
Note: Photos were updated on December 7, 2022. The recipe remains the same.
Easy Almond Flour Sugar Cookies
This recipe is perfect for holiday cookie cut-outs. The dough comes together quickly, chills on the counter, and rolls well when dusted with coconut flour. Use your favorite small to medium cookie cutters and decorate with a simple icing, sprinkles or edible glitter for a festive finish.
What is almond flour?
Almond flour is simply finely ground almonds. For these cookies, superfine or blanched almond flour works best because it creates a smooth, pliable dough. Almond flour provides the primary structure and flavor in this grain-free cookie.
Why you’ll love these cookies
They’re grain-free and refined sugar-free, yet still soft and easy to cut into shapes. The texture is tender, and almond extract adds a warm, holiday flavor. You can make the dough in advance, tint it with food coloring if desired, and freeze baked cookies for later.
Ingredients You Need
Dry
- Blanched almond flour: 2 cups superfine blanched almond flour (this is the base of the dough).
- Coconut flour: 1/2 cup coconut flour (use sparingly—coconut flour is dense and helps with structure).
- Baking soda: 1/2 teaspoon.
- Salt: a pinch to enhance flavor.
Wet
- Large egg: 1, used as a binder.
- Almond extract: 1 teaspoon for that classic almond sugar-cookie flavor (or substitute vanilla extract).
- Honey: 1/4 cup as the sweetener instead of white sugar.
- Melted coconut oil: 2 tablespoons (you can swap butter if you prefer).
Simple Icing (optional)
- Organic powdered sugar: 2 cups.
- Water: 2–3 tablespoons, added one tablespoon at a time to reach desired consistency.
- Optional: a few drops of food coloring to tint the icing.
Toppings
- Sprinkles
- Edible glitter
- Crushed candy cane for a minty touch
How to Make Almond Flour Sugar Cookies for Christmas
Mix Dry
In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Mix Wet
In a separate large bowl, whisk the egg, almond extract and honey until combined. Stir in the melted coconut oil.
Combine
Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture gradually. Start mixing with a wooden spoon, then use your hands to knead the dough until it comes together into a ball. The dough may appear crumbly at first, but keep working it until smooth. If you’d like colored dough, divide and knead in a few drops of food coloring now.
Chill
Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Chilling firms the dough and makes it easier to roll and cut shapes.
Roll
Lightly dust a cool, hard surface and your rolling pin with coconut flour. Roll the chilled dough to about 1/4″–1/2″ thickness. If the dough sticks, sprinkle a little more coconut flour as needed.
Cut
Use your favorite small or medium cookie cutters to cut shapes. Place the cutouts on a parchment-lined baking sheet. These cookies don’t spread much, so spacing can be fairly close.
Bake
Preheat your oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Bake cookies for 6–8 minutes or until the edges just begin to turn golden. Watch closely—these cookies bake quickly.
Cool and Decorate
Remove cookies from the hot pan immediately and transfer to a wire rack. Let them cool for at least 30 minutes before adding icing. For the icing, mix powdered sugar with water one tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired thickness, tint if desired, then pipe or spread onto cooled cookies and add sprinkles or edible glitter.
Christmas Cookie Decorating Ideas
These cookies are a blank canvas for decoration. A few ideas to make them festive:
- Edible glitter: use gold or silver for a holiday sparkle.
- Colored frosting: tint small batches of icing and pipe details with a plastic bag or piping bag.
- Sprinkles: choose seasonal colors and shapes.
- Crushed candy cane: sprinkle on top for a peppermint crunch.
Storage Instructions
Layer cookies in an airtight container with parchment paper between layers. Store in a cool, dark place for 3–5 days for best texture and flavor.
Freezer Instructions
These cookies freeze well both frosted and unfrosted. Place cookies in a freezer-safe bag or container with parchment between layers and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Almond Flour Cookie Variations and Tips
For variety, try adding a small amount of lemon or orange zest to the dough for a citrus note, or stir in finely chopped nuts for texture. If you prefer butter to coconut oil, substitute an equal amount of melted unsalted butter. Because almond and coconut flours behave differently than wheat flour, I don’t recommend swapping them for other flours without adjusting the recipe.
Recipe: Almond Flour Sugar Cookies
Yield: about 20 small/medium cookies. Prep time: ~45 minutes (including chilling). Bake time: 6–8 minutes per batch.
Ingredients (summary)
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil (or melted butter)
- Simple icing: 2 cups powdered sugar + 2–3 tablespoons water (optional)
Instructions (concise)
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and line baking sheets with parchment.
- Whisk dry ingredients together in a bowl; set aside.
- Whisk egg, almond extract and honey in a separate bowl; add melted coconut oil and mix.
- Slowly add dry to wet. Mix with a spoon then knead by hand until a dough ball forms.
- Wrap dough, chill 30 minutes.
- Roll dough on a coconut-floured surface to 1/4″–1/2″ thick. Cut shapes and place on baking sheet.
- Bake 6–8 minutes until just beginning to brown at the edges. Cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before icing.
- To make icing, add water to powdered sugar one tablespoon at a time until the right consistency. Color and pipe as desired, then decorate.
Nutrition (approximate per cookie)
Calories: 160 kcal • Carbohydrates: 22 g • Protein: 3 g • Fat: 8 g • Fiber: 2 g • Sugar: 18 g
Nutrition is an approximation and will vary depending on ingredient brands and portion sizes.
If you try this recipe, feel free to bookmark it in your own collection and enjoy making colorful, festive cookies that work well for holiday gift plates, cookie swaps, or a family baking day.