Vegan Gluten Free Sugar Cookies

By Sophia DeSantis, Reviewed by Anjali Shah on July 13, 2026

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In just under an hour, I have the most delicious vegan gluten free sugar cookies with a soft center and crisp edges. I use oat flour, almond flour, and vegan butter for a dessert that anyone can enjoy. These cookies keep their shape exceptionally well, and I love decorating them for the holidays, birthdays, and random baking nights with my boys.

Vegan gluten free sugar cookies decorated with green and blue sprinkles piled on a white platter on a green surface.

Unlike some cookie varieties, such as my vegan gluten-free peanut butter cookies, vegan gluten free sugar cookies can be a bit trickier to execute perfectly. There is no gluten, eggs, or dairy to help retain that classic shape and texture. After testing countless batches, I finally landed on a combination of flours and tapioca starch to make a cookie sturdy enough for decorating while keeping a soft and chewy center. If you have been searching the store for sugar cookies that suit a gluten-free and plant-based lifestyle, I recommend trying this recipe and making your own instead.

Table of Contents hide

👩🏽‍🍳 Why I Love This Recipe

🍽 Serving Suggestions

🧊 Storing And ♨️ Reheating

❓Recipe FAQs

🍪 More Easy Cookie Recipes!

I started working on this recipe after one frustrating holiday season where nearly every sugar cookie recipe I tested fell apart for some reason. I even decided to make a batch of vegan gluten free oatmeal raisin cookies for Christmas instead, but it was not giving me that festive feeling. Not wanting to admit defeat, I finally got the recipe perfected, and my kids gave their approval, too. They even recommend leaving the oatmeal cookies out for Santa so that we could eat all the sugar cookies ourselves.

👩🏽‍🍳 Why I Love This Recipe

The texture of these vegan gluten-free sugar cookies is one of the main reasons I come back to this recipe year after year. The oat flour keeps the cookies soft while the almond flour adds richness and a slight nuttiness that complements the vanilla icing. I also love that these cookies stay sturdy enough for decorating without turning dry or sandy the way some gluten-free cookies can. As a mom, I appreciate having a dessert that works for parties, school events, and holiday trays without needing separate batches for different diets.

The dough for these vegan gluten-free sugar cookies comes together in a fairly simple way, but I pay special attention to the ingredient ratios and handling, as these make a huge difference in the final texture. I start by whisking the oat flour, almond flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, and salt together thoroughly. Then, in a separate bowl, I beat the vegan butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy before gradually mixing in the dry ingredients to form the dough. Once combined, I knead the dough gently and chill it before rolling it out between sheets of parchment paper. After cutting the shapes, I bake the cookies just until the edges turn golden and leave them on the baking sheet to firm up as they cool.

One December, I made a double batch of these cookies, mixed bowls of colorful icing, along with a variety of sprinkles and decorations, and served them to my guests as dessert. I figured it would be a fun way of getting into the Christmas spirit. The kids were seated at a separate table, and they giggled as they decorated. I was not expecting the adult table to take the task so seriously and even become competitive. At one point, I heard my friend accusing her husband of copying her design and using up all of the good sprinkles. Ha! If you need a dependable vegan and gluten free sugar cookie that also lends itself to a fun activity, this recipe is the one for you.

🥘 Ingredients

I use a simple blend of flours and other plant-based ingredients whenever I make these vegan gluten free sugar cookies. This is everything I need to create that classic texture:

Dry ingredients: I use oat flour, superfine almond flour, and tapioca starch to form the base of the cookies.

Baking powder: This helps the cookies keep their shape while baking, instead of spreading too much.

Sea salt: A small amount balances the sweetness and sharpens the vanilla flavor.

Vanilla extract: I add this for the classic sugar cookie taste.

Sugar: I use regular granulated sugar to keep the cookies crisp around the edges.

Vegan butter: I let this soften slightly without melting and use it to help form the dough.

Powdered sugar: For the icing, powdered sugar creates a smooth, sweet glaze for decorating.

Maple syrup: I add a bit of maple syrup to help the icing stay glossy and smooth.

🔪 How To Make

I prepare these vegan gluten free sugar cookies in stages so the dough stays easy to work with and the shapes bake cleanly. This is how I make them:

Preheat and mix dry ingredients: First, I preheat the oven to 350F and whisk together the flours, tapioca starch, baking powder, and salt until fully combined.

Top view of a glass bowl with a whisk mixing flours inside.

Cream butter mixture: In a stand mixer bowl, I beat the vegan butter, sugar, and vanilla together until light and fluffy.

A stand mixer with the whisk attachment and a fluffy white butter sugar mixture on it.

Form dough: Next, I slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until a dough forms.

Top view of a silver bowl from a stand mixer with sugar cookie dough inside.

Chill dough: I knead the dough gently into a ball, wrap it, and chill it for 15-20 minutes.

Sugar cookie dough in a ball wrapped in plastic wrap sitting on a green surface.

Roll out dough: Once chilled, I put the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll it out.

A rolling pin on top of a piece of parchment paper with cookie dough under it.

Cut out shapes: Then I use cookie cutters to cut out the shapes I want, and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Rolled out cookie dough on a piece of parchment paper with cookies cutters cutting shapes.

Unbaked sugar cookies in holiday shapes sitting on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake cookies: I bake the cookies for 10-11 minutes until golden at the edges. Then remove them from the oven, and allow them to cool completely on the baking sheet.

Baked sugar cookies in holiday shapes on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Prepare icing: While the cookies cool, I whisk together my powdered sugar, water, maple syrup, and vanilla extract until smooth.

A whisk mixing white icing in a glass bowl on a green surface.

Decorate: Once the cookies are completely cooled, I dip or spread the icing over the tops and decorate with sprinkles.

A hand dipping a star shaped sugar cookie in a glass bowl of white icing.

Serve and enjoy!

Holiday shaped vegan gluten free sugar cookies decorated with green and blue decor on a parchment lined baking sheet.

💭 Expert Tips

My #1 Secret Tip for this vegan gluten free sugar cookie recipe is to avoid rolling out the dough too thin. I keep the dough around 1/4 inch thick to help the cookies stay soft in the center, while preventing cracking or breaking after baking.

Other Tips To Keep In Mind:

Chill if soft: If the dough starts becoming sticky or fragile, I chill it briefly before continuing.
Use parchment: Parchment paper helps the cookies bake more cleanly while preventing sticking and over-browning on the base. It also helps to roll out the dough neatly.
Do not move until fully cooled: I always let the cookies cool completely before moving or decorating them. Moving them too soon could result in them breaking since they have not firmed up enough. And decorating while warm may cause the icing to melt.
Keep scraps: I press leftover pieces of cookie dough together lightly to form a ball before rerolling and using for more cookies.
Add sprinkles while icing is wet: I always add the sprinkles while the icing is still a bit tacky. This gives them something to adhere to.

📖 Variations

I love changing these vegan gluten free sugar cookies depending on the season, holiday, or occasion. These are 3 variations I recommend trying:

Citrus sugar: I add 1 teaspoon lemon or orange zest to the dough for spring parties and baby showers. I love pairing these with an Italian margarita.

Spiced cookies: I mix 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg into the dough, with just a pinch of ground ginger. These are amazing during colder months. I love enjoying the warm flavors with a chai latte.

Chocolate drizzle: I skip the icing and drizzle melted vegan dark chocolate over the cookies instead. These look really fun with rainbow sprinkles, and my kids love having them at all their birthday parties.

🍽 Serving Suggestions

Cookies and milk are a classic combination, but if you are making these vegan gluten free sugar cookies over the festive season, I highly recommend trying them with some homemade vegan eggnog. And if there is no specific occasion, these cookies pair really nicely with a cool glass of vegan strawberry milk.

At home, there is no limit to how my boys eat their cookies. Usually, they stick to eating these sugar cookies with a glass of chocolate milk tea on a hot day and oat milk hot chocolate on a cooler day. Recently, however, they used these cookies along with some tofu ice cream and made some very quirky-looking ice cream sandwiches.

🧊 Storing And ♨️ Reheating

Top view of plastic square containers with different kinds of blue and green sprinkles in them.

A ball of sugar cookie dough in a plastic square container on a green surface with a red lid next to it.

Refrigeration: If I prepare the dough a day ahead, I keep it wrapped tightly in the refrigerator until I am ready to roll and bake the cookies.

Room temperature: I store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days away from direct sunlight.

Freezing: I freeze the tightly wrapped raw dough for up to 2 months, and plain baked cookies between layers of parchment in a freezer-safe container for 2 months.

Reheating: For undecorated cookies, I warm them in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften them slightly before serving. I do not reheat iced cookies.

❓Recipe FAQs

Why is my cookie dough so crumbly?

Gluten-free dough is naturally more fragile than traditional cookie dough since there is no gluten network to hold everything together. A little crumbliness is completely normal. The dough becomes far more cohesive once I knead it with my hands for a minute or two. The warmth from my hands softens the butter just enough to help everything bind. If your dough is genuinely falling apart, I recommend adding in a small amount of extra vegan butter, just a teaspoon at a time, until the dough comes together.

How do I get clean edges when cutting out the cookie shape?

I always make sure that my dough is as cold as possible, as this gives me much cleaner cuts. When pressing the cookie cutter down, I push straight through in one firm motion without twisting or rocking the cutter back and forth to avoid dragging the edges of the cookie. I also dip the cutter in a bit of flour between cuts for less sticking.

Can I use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend in this recipe?

Yes, you can, but the texture will change. I have had the best results using a blend that contains xanthan gum, which helps the cookies stay together. I replace the oat flour and almond flour with the same amount of gluten-free flour. Since almond flour adds moisture and richness, the cookies may turn out a bit firmer and maybe even a bit drier.

A hand holding a vegan sugar cookie with a bite out of it sideways so you can see the inside.

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