Gluten-Free Chewy Sugar Cookies
By Meaghen WalshPublished on May 23, 2019
Time
1¼ hours, plus 30 minutes chilling
Yield
Makes about 24 cookies
Ingredients
Before You Begin
For the best results, handle the dough as briefly and as gently as possible when shaping the cookies. The final dough will be softer than most cookie doughs. If you don't have almond flour, you can process 4 ounces blanched almonds in a food processor until finely ground, about 45 seconds. Do not omit the xanthan gum; it is crucial to the structure of the cookies. Resting the dough for 30 minutes keeps the cookies from spreading too much.
Instructions
- Whisk flour blend, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum together in medium bowl; set aside. Place 1¼ cups sugar and cream cheese in large bowl. Place remaining 1/3 cup sugar in shallow dish and set aside. Pour warm butter over sugar and cream cheese and whisk to combine (some small lumps of cream cheese will remain but will smooth out later). Whisk in egg and vanilla and continue to whisk until smooth. Stir in flour mixture with rubber spatula and mix until soft, homogeneous dough forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes. (Dough will be sticky and soft.)
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using 2 soupspoons and working with 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, portion 6 cookies and place in sugar to coat. Roll each ball in sugar, then space 2 inches apart on prepared sheets. Repeat with remaining dough in batches. Press dough to 1/2-inch thickness using bottom of measuring cup. Sprinkle tops of cookies evenly with sugar remaining in shallow dish for rolling, using 2 teaspoons for each sheet. (Discard remaining sugar.)
- Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are set and just beginning to brown, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Cookies are best eaten on day they are baked, but they can be cooled and placed immediately in airtight container and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.)
Time
1¼ hours, plus 30 minutes chillingYield
Makes about 24 cookiesIngredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
In early recipes for our gluten-free chewy sugar cookies, we unsurprisingly found the gluten-free flour blend's starchy flavor and mouthfeel to be far too noticeable. Plus, these cookies were greasy and stale-tasting, and they spread too much. Fixing the greasiness was easy; we cut back on the butter. But this change made our cookies too lean-tasting. We often add dairy products to baked goods for richness and tenderness, but additions of both heavy cream and sour cream made the dough too liquid-y. Cream cheese, however, enriched the dough without making it loose and was a clear step in the right direction. Letting the dough rest helped avoid grittiness, but to mitigate the starchy flavor we eventually realized we needed to find something to replace a portion of the starchy flour blend. Scanning the long list of gluten-free flours, we realized most were off the table since they either were equally starchy or had unwelcome off-flavors. But then we landed on nut flours. Almond flour had a neutral flavor and color that went unnoticed in our cookies. Replacing a portion of our blend with it not only broke up the starchiness, but it also gave our cookies a much-needed heft and chew because of the additional protein it contributed. For the leaveners, we found that our cookies needed both baking powder and baking soda. Baking powder provided the right amount of lift, while baking soda helped them spread just enough. Baking soda also gave our cookies the right crackly top, creating bubbles in the dough that rose to the top of each cookie during baking and left fissures behind. Rolling each portion of dough in sugar before baking added texture, visual appeal, and a little extra sweetness, and flattening them with the bottom of a measuring cup ensured even baking.
Before You Begin
For the best results, handle the dough as briefly and as gently as possible when shaping the cookies. The final dough will be softer than most cookie doughs. If you don't have almond flour, you can process 4 ounces blanched almonds in a food processor until finely ground, about 45 seconds. Do not omit the xanthan gum; it is crucial to the structure of the cookies. Resting the dough for 30 minutes keeps the cookies from spreading too much.
Instructions
- Whisk flour blend, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum together in medium bowl; set aside. Place 1¼ cups sugar and cream cheese in large bowl. Place remaining 1/3 cup sugar in shallow dish and set aside. Pour warm butter over sugar and cream cheese and whisk to combine (some small lumps of cream cheese will remain but will smooth out later). Whisk in egg and vanilla and continue to whisk until smooth. Stir in flour mixture with rubber spatula and mix until soft, homogeneous dough forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes. (Dough will be sticky and soft.)
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using 2 soupspoons and working with 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, portion 6 cookies and place in sugar to coat. Roll each ball in sugar, then space 2 inches apart on prepared sheets. Repeat with remaining dough in batches. Press dough to 1/2-inch thickness using bottom of measuring cup. Sprinkle tops of cookies evenly with sugar remaining in shallow dish for rolling, using 2 teaspoons for each sheet. (Discard remaining sugar.)
- Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are set and just beginning to brown, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Cookies are best eaten on day they are baked, but they can be cooled and placed immediately in airtight container and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.)
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