Do you have any idea how many unidentifiable blobs I’ve baked in my attempt to make sugar cookies? Guys, it’s kind of embarrassing. The good news is, that I am a rather determined (a.k.a. stubborn) person so I kept on experimenting and experimenting until I figured out what worked. Now you all can reap the benefits of my tenacity with this allergy-friendly sugar cookie recipe!
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Sugar Cookie Ingredients
Overall, sugar cookie recipes tend to follow a basic pattern. They use fat (butter, shortening, etc.), flour, sugar, and some sort of binder (usually eggs). Since I wanted this to be an allergy-friendly sugar cookie recipe I changed a few of those up.
The Fats
Yes, you read that right, fats. Plural. This recipe calls for both margarine and shortening. I promise there’s a really good reason. Vegan margarine has a better flavor than shortening, but it’s higher water content makes for a slightly less stable dough. Shortening helps your cookies to hold their shape, but doesn’t have quite as good of a mouth feel or taste as margarine. That’s why this recipe uses both. Then you get the best of both worlds!
Baker’s Sugar
There are more types of sugar than you can shake a stick at! For this recipe I recommend using Baker’s Sugar. Baker’s Sugar is basically a very finely ground version of granulated sugar. I recommend it here just like I did in my ice cream recipe. This type of sugar dissolves much easier in cooking and baking.
Gelatin
Remember how I said the ‘binder’ in sugar cookies is usually eggs? Well, I kind of didn’t want eggs in my allergy-friendly sugar cookie recipe! First, not so allergy-friendly and second (and most importantly) Izzy can’t eat them! Instead of eggs this recipe uses unflavored gelatin as a binding agent. If you want to make these totally vegan you can use pectin or agar powder instead of gelatin.
Sugar Cookie Method
Prepare to have your mind blown. This allergy-friendly sugar cookie recipe kind of throws conventional cookie wisdom out the window! Thanks to a serendipitous moment watching America’s Test Kitchen I can now show you the BEST method for making cut-out cookies!
Cold Fat
Normally you would bring your fat for cookies to room temperature and cream it with your sugar. Not here! For this recipe you need to start with COLD margarine and shortening. Measure both out together on a plate and stash them in the fridge while you get everything else ready.
Food Processor
You didn’t soften your margarine because you aren’t creaming it with your sugar in a mixer. Instead you are going to use a food processor for these sugar cookies. You’ll blitz the fats and sugar together in your food processor till they form a cohesive paste.
Roll, Chill, Cut, Bake
Typically you chill sugar cookie dough before rolling it out. The process of creaming softened butter and sugar together makes for a very soft dough. If you try to roll that out immediately you’ll end up with a sticky mess! Since you’re going to use your food processor for this dough it’s still fairly cold and firm enough to roll immediately. Then you’ll chill the rolled out sheets of dough before cutting and baking.
Changing Things Up
It’s hard to beat a classic like these soft, vanilla sugar cookies. If you want to change things up, though, I’ve tried out a few variations for you.
Crispy Sugar Cookies
Usually I want my sugar cookies nice and soft. Sometimes, though, I want something crispy and crunchy. Crispy sugar cookies make for a great cookie crust for pies and cheesecakes! To make these cookies crispy roll them a bit thinner before cutting, bake them a minute or two longer, and bake at the same temperature but on convection setting (if you have it).
Peanut Butter Sugar Cookies
Just about everything can be made better with peanut butter! Just swap out the sour cream for peanut butter and you’re set! These work especially well combined with the crispy method to make a crust for a fruity cheesecake.
Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies
Looking for a fabulous fall treat? Turn these into pumpkin spice sugar cookies by using canned pumpkin in place of the sour cream and adding a 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice to the dry ingredients. I made these for my family and they loved them!
An Allergy-Friendly Sugar Cookie for Every Occasion
Never give up on a baking goal. Imagine if I’d given up on my second or third blobby mess. You wouldn’t be about to whip up a batch of this deliciousness! Now you’ve got the perfect allergy-friendly sugar cookie recipe for every occasion. Get your cookie cutters out and get baking!
Sugar cookies aren’t the only thing I’ve got up my sleeve, though. Sign up for my email list and get my brand new GF and allergy-friendly chocolate chip cookie recipe!
Don’t forget to join my Fearless Gluten-Free Living group to get more support, inspiration, and recipes!
Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp (300 grams) GF Flour Mix
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp powdered, unflavored gelatin
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup (56 grams) cold margarine (solid stick form)
- 1/4 cup (42 grams) cold shortening
- 3/4 cups (150 grams) superfine sugar
- 1/4 cup (68 grams) vegan sour cream or THICK vegan yogurt
- 2 tbsp coconut milk
- 1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Stir together your sour cream, vinegar, and vanilla and set aside.
- Sift the first 5 ingredients into a large bowl. Whisk in the salt and set aside.
- Put the cold margarine, shortening, and sugar into your food processor with the blade. Turn it on and let it run until they are fully combined, about 15-20 seconds.
- Add the sour cream mixture to your mixer and run until combined. Put the dry ingredients and the coconut milk in the food processor and run for another 15-20 seconds, until it comes together as a dough.
- Turn the dough out of the food processor onto a sheet of parchment paper and knead together a few times to make sure everything is mixed in, then divide it into two pieces.
- Roll one section at a time out between two pieces of parchment paper. Slide the parchment covered dough onto a rimless cookie sheet and set aside. Repeat with the other section. Chill the rolled out dough for 2 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 350*F.
- Remove the parchment from the top of the chilled dough, then put it back on. Gently flip the dough sheet over, remove the new top sheet and set the dough on your counter. Cut out your shapes and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes (depending on the size of your cookie).
- Move the pan to a wire rack and allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer coolies directly to the wire rack to finish cooling.
- Repeat step 8-9 with the other two dough sheets. Gather all of the dough scraps together, re-roll, and chill in the fridge for a bit, then repeat step 8-9 again.
