These AIP/Paleo Christmas Sugar Cookies are a classic! They’re crispy and delicious, vegan, grain-free and coconut free, and perfect as cut-out cookies all year round!
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It’s challenging to find delicious holiday cookie recipes when considering dietary requirements and food sensitivities, allergies and intolerances. Don’t worry, I got you! 😉
These are the best and simplest cut-out sugar cookies ever!
You’ll hardly believe they’re AIP and your friends and family members won’t be able to guess either, I promise!
They’re also paleo, gluten free, grain free, vegan, dairy free, egg free, nut free, refined sugar free, allergy friendly, and taste just as delicious as traditional holiday cut-out sugar cookies.
This recipe is great all year round as you can use any cookie cutter you’d like!
Here are the main ingredients in these AIP/Paleo Cutout Christmas Sugar Cookies
- cassava flour, tapioca starch – I don’t recommend any substitutions to this grain-free, gluten-free flour combination
- palm shortening – palm shortening creates a cookie that is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. You can substitute coconut oil for the palm shortening but the texture of the cookie will be a lot drier. My preference is the shortening!
- maple syrup – the unrefined, natural sweetener that also helps to bind the dough and provides moisture
- vanilla extract – ensure it’s pure vanilla without any “natural” flavors
- sea salt
Tips for making these vegan, AIP/paleo Christmas Sugar Cookies:
- For best results, I suggest rolling these to a minimum of 1/4 inch thick so that they don’t crack while baking or post baking.
- Ensure your cookies are all the same thickness so that they bake evenly.
- Allow them to cool completely once baked before handling.
Icing your grain-free, Paleo/AIP Cut Out Sugar Cookies
- First, I portioned out the Vegan Vanilla Buttercream frosting recipe below into five bowls.
- Then, I added different colors to each by making my own all natural, homemade food dyes:
- For green icing, I added 1 TBSP of matcha powder
- To make a yellow icing, I added 1/4 tsp turmeric
- For a deep pink/red icing, I grated 1/2 a small red beet and squeezed its juices into the icing
- To make brown icing, I added 1 TBSP carob powder to the icing
- Pro Tip: The icing doesn’t harden much once it’s set, so ensure that you lay these out flat on a plate/dish to serve rather than stacking them or they will stick together.
- Check out my AIP frosting post for more suggestions for dairy-free, refined sugar-free, nut-free icing.
FAQs for these gluten-free, paleo/AIP Christmas Sugar Cookies
Can I substitute the cassava flour in these AIP cut-out sugar cookies with another grain-free flour?
No. This combination of grain and gluten free flours creates the best result and I do not recommend any substitutions. If you’re looking for cassava free AIP/paleo holiday cookies, you can try my Gingersnaps, Paleo Chocolate Crinkle Cookies or my Paleo Thumbprint Cookies.
Can I substitute the palm shortening?
Yes. I’ve tested these using melted coconut oil instead of palm shortening. The cookies are slightly more fragile and won’t get lightly golden brown as they bake, but if you can’t find shortening, it is a decent substitute.
How do I store these?
Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month. If freezing, allow to come to room temperature before enjoying.
Can I freeze these AIP/paleo cut-out holiday sugar cookies?
Yes! These freeze really well (even with the icing on them). I make a large batch and freeze them, layering parchment paper between the cookies to prevent the icing from smearing everywhere. Once you remove the cookies from the freezer, lay them flat on a plate and bring to room temperature before serving.
Looking for more grain-free, AIP/paleo Holiday cookies? You might enjoy
- Paleo Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- AIP Gingerbread Cookies
- AIP/Paleo Holiday Cookie Roundup
- AIP Linzer Cookies
- Dairy-free, Paleo/AIP Snickerdoodles
You might like these other festive, AIP/paleo holiday treats:
If you try these grain-free AIP/paleo Christmas Sugar Cookies I would love if you could give the recipe a star rating and short review. Be sure to snap a picture of the finished product and share it with me on Instagram by tagging @healmedelicious
Print
grain-free, Paleo/AIP Christmas Sugar Cookies (vegan, GF, DF)
- Total Time: 42 minutes
- Yield: 12–14 average-sized cookies 1x
Description
These AIP Christmas Sugar Cookies are a classic! They’re crispy and delicious, paleo, vegan, grain-free and coconut free, and can be enjoyed as cut-out cookies all year round!
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 1/2 cup + 2 TBSP cassava flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup palm shortening
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Vegan Vanilla Icing
- 1 cup palm shortening
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch of sea salt
Instructions
Icing
- In a stand mixer or food processor, combine palm shortening with tapioca starch, maple syrup, vanilla extract and pinch of sea salt. Whisk or pulse until combined. Add natural food colorings as desired.
Cookie Dough
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a large bowl combine cassava flour, tapioca starch, baking soda and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or hand held mixer combine palm shortening, maple syrup and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
- Use a spatula to fold palm shortening mixture into flour mixture and then your hands to bring the dough together.
- Place dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll out to a rectangle 1/4-inch thick*
- Refrigerate sheet of dough 5-7 minutes.
- Cut out cookies from dough using cookie cutter of your choosing.
- Transfer cookies on parchment paper to a large baking sheet. Bake in the middle rack of oven for 11-12 minutes until slightly golden.
- Allow cookies to cool completely before touching them/removing from cookie sheet, or they will break apart.
- Once completely cooled, ice and decorate as desired.
Notes
* Be careful not to roll out the dough too thin or your cookies will crack.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Cookies
Keywords: aip, paleo, vegan, coconut-free, holiday, cookies, christmas cookies, cut-out cookies
the cookies are amazing, and I used them for a thumbprint cookie too, which turned out incredible!
The icing I had a lot of trouble with. I put some peppermint extract in it to try and get away from the taste of the shortening, which helped, but then the icing separated, so I only iced a few of the cookies. Luckily the cookies are good enough that they’re ok without the icing.
★★★★★
YUM!
This is the best sugar cookie recipe I’ve found for AIP. So simple and so good! It’s my go-to. Thank you!
★★★★★
I made these at the 2x amount but ended up with double amount of icing for some reason and I actually used the 1x amount cause I was going to do some un frosted, great dough for the cookies, the icing was a bit struggling as I was trying to get away from the pal shortening taste as it kind of made my stomach woosy but next time I may make them just without the icing all together cause they are a perfect amount of sweet and would be great to dip in my morning dandy blend
★★★★★
These turned out well! I subbed half the maple syrup with date syrup so they were a little darker. The cookies reminded me of graham crackers which I love! I used my own icing. I will definitely make these again! Thanks.
★★★★★
These cookies are absolutely delicious! Having to navigate the holidays this year on AIP was going to be a challenge and these are just one of the recipes that will ease this season and let me feel like I don’t have to sacrifice the traditions of holiday cookies and baking while being on a more limited diet. These will be on our list of cookies to make year after year!
★★★★★
I made these tonight and they are so incredible! Thank you so much! I have fought with the AIP diet on and off for years. Your recipes have helped me stick to it this time around. I don’t feel deprived at all and I’m not afraid of getting together with family for the holidays now that I have these bad boys to bring along. Thank you again! <3
Thank you for this allergy free tasty recipe, I’m now able to provide my daughter with allergy free biscuits! My daughter loves them! Much appreciated 🙂
★★★★★
These cookies were so simple and delicious!! We made a double batch and the kids helped with icing. Everyone loved them. These are for sure going to be a tradition in our house!
★★★★★
Thanks so much for leaving a review Rebecca, so glad you all enjoyed <3
Any thoughts on a replacement for vanilla. I have an allergy 🙁
You can simply omit!
I am very happy that you put in an icing recipe. I was researching coconut whipped cream just yesterday. Do you think the coconut cream could be used instead of the palm shortening?
Hi Tonya! No coconut cream won’t work the same way and needs to be kept cold, but instead of this icing recipe you could just use melted coconut butter which “sets” and firms up at room temperature unlike palm shortening