Still searching for a soft and chewy gluten free vanilla sugar cookie recipe? I've got you covered with this gluten free roll out cookie recipe that doesn't need to be chilled and won't spread!!
I'm not super good at doing things "the right way" or even "the way any sane person would do them." I eat candy while running. I do my Christmas shopping the week after Halloween. I use tipless piping bags...with tips. I shower at 2 in the afternoon...sometimes. I am completely at ease talking to a room full of hundreds of adults...and 100% terrified to talk to just a handful of teenage girls. I rarely wear anything even remotely fashionable, but when I do... you can be sure that I am also wearing an over sized nondescript gray sweatshirt on top of it. And apparently, I open bananas from "the wrong end." Who even knew that there was a RIGHT and a WRONG end to open a banana?! Not this girl!
My very first recipe on this blog was for
CHOCOLATE sugar cookies...and it was months before I ever posted a traditional vanilla cookie recipe. I pretty much took the same direction when I started branching out into gluten free recipes. When Bob's Red Mill reached out to me in the spring, I jumped at the chance to make a
gluten free version of my chocolate cookies. And...between you and me... the gluten free version rivaled the original. It split my household - half of my family actually liked it better than the original. I was satisfied with that, in spite of all my sweet friends that kept asking me when I was going to create a gluten free version of my vanilla recipe.
But with the holidays coming, I really wanted to be able to love ALL of my friends and family through sugar and baking (like I do.) So when Bob's Red Mill reached out to me again, I took it like a sign in a holiday themed Hallmark movie. You know...the one where Bob's Red Mill turns out to be a handsome prince in disguise and evvvvvvveryone knew three minutes into the movie that he was going to save the girl. That one.
Just a note about
Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour in case you haven't heard of it or used it before. It's designed to be used in place of a regular all-purpose wheat based flour with straight across substitutions. There's no searching endlessly for xanthan gum. You don't even have to know how to say xantham gum. Just use this flour cup for cup the way you would regular all purpose flour.
That being said...I'm neurotic about my cookie recipes. When I substituted this flour straight across with my Vanilla 2.0 recipe, it made a GOOD cookie. My husband loved it just the way it was. But I can't leave well enough alone and modified my 2.0 recipe just a smidgeon. Or two. The end result is this recipe that I am happy to say is a no-chill, non-spreading, CHEWY gluten free vanilla sugar cookie!!
Gluten Free No-Chill No-Spread Vanilla Roll Out Sugar Cookie
A gluten free, soft and chewy vanilla roll out sugar cookie recipe that doesn't need to be chilled and won't spread.
ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
2. Cream butter and sugar together.
3. Add eggs, vanilla, baking powder and salt and mix well.
4. Add flour. Mix until the flour is completely incorporated and the dough holds together in a ball. Add additional flour if necessary to keep it from feeling sticky. If it seems crumbly...just keep mixing. It will get there.
5. Roll out between two sheets of parchment paper. Bake at 375° F for 6-9 minutes. (I roll my cookies 1/4" thick and bake 3 inch cookies for 7 minutes.)
NEED MORE??
FAQs
Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool. As a result, the cookies will expand more slowly, holding onto their texture. If you skip the chilling step, you're more likely to wind up with flat, sad disks instead of lovely, chewy cookies.
Should you chill gluten free cookie dough before baking? ›
5- Chill your dough well before baking.
It reduces stickiness of gluten free doughs and also can enhance the flavor, but again, it's not necessary with gfJules Flour or Cookie Mixes. If you find your cookies are too crispy for your liking, do not chill the dough before baking.
How do you make cookies that don't spread? ›
A great (and tasty) way to bring more stability to your cookies is to brown the butter. “Using cooled browned butter helps prevent spread because the water is removed during the browning process,” Dawn shares.
How to prevent gluten-free cookies from spreading? ›
Chill the Dough
Put your cookie dough, already rolled dough or even an entire cookie sheet with cut cookies on it in the fridge when it's too soft. This helps cut cookies hold their shape and overall decreases spreading during baking.
Does all sugar cookie dough need to be refrigerated? ›
Chilling the dough is a key step in making sugar cookies, especially when you're making cut-outs. Even if you're tight on time, make sure to get the dough in the fridge, or even the freezer, even if it's only for a little while. Skip this step, and the dough will be sticky, and much harder to work with.
What makes sugar cookies not spread? ›
- The Rules for Making Sure Your Sugar Cookies Don't Spread.
- Rule No. 1: Bake at the Right Temperature.
- Rule No. 2: Don't Over or Under Cream Your Butter.
- Rule No. 3: Don't Over-Soften Your Butter.
- Rule No. 4: Don't Overcrowd the Baking Sheet.
- Rule No. 5: Make Sure Your Ingredients Have Not Expired.
- Rule No.
Storing your dough in the fridge helps to harden the fat and prevent your cookies from spreading. Allow it to chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
What holds gluten-free cookies together? ›
Binding agents (such as xanthan gum, guar gum, or flax) help give gluten-free baked goods the elasticity needed to create structure — so if your favorite gluten-free flour mix doesn't contain one, you'll probably want to add one.
Why are my gluten-free cookies always flat? ›
The Problem: Your Oven Is Too Hot
If your cookies repeatedly turn out flat, no matter the recipe, chances are your oven is too hot. Here's what's happening. The butter melts super quickly in a too-hot oven before the other ingredients have firmed up into a cookie structure.
Should I add xanthan gum to gluten-free cookies? ›
Using xanthan gum helps provide some of the stickiness that gluten free goods lack, replacing some elasticity. Xanthan gum mimics some of gluten's most essential properties by sticking to flour and its moisture. This helps create moist goods that hold their shape after being baked.
But the truth is, the primary reason bakers chill their dough is to prevent cookies from spreading too much. Chilling firms up the fat (usually butter) in the dough, ensuring that the dough doesn't spread too quickly in the oven.
What happens if my sugar cookie dough is too dry? ›
To avoid this, try using as little flour as possible while preparing to roll your dough. Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.
How long does sugar cookie dough have to sit? ›
Beat sugar and softened butter together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least 1 hour (or overnight).
Why does sugar cookie dough need to rest? ›
The primary reason for a brief resting period to redistribute the liquid in the dough. While the dough sits, turning from loose and soft to drier and more scoopable, the flour is hydrating, yielding cookies that will bake and brown more evenly.
