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Allergy-friendly, Soft, Roll Out Sugar Cookies + VIDEO

by Megan Lavin » 60 Comments

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Can it really be Christmas without the iconic roll out sugar cookies? Well, now you don’t have to find out because I have soft, roll out sugar cookies that are allergy-friendly–which means these have no: wheat, gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut or tree nuts. They’re vegan AND top-8-free. So, go get all your sprinkles and get ready to bake up a Christmas storm!

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You’ve asked for it…and I’m happy to deliver. Consider this my Christmas present to all of you, my dear readers. You wanted a gluten-free, vegan, nut-free, top-8-free roll out sugar cookie–that wouldn’t crumble, would keep it’s shape and would still be soft.

MERRY CHRISTMAS YA FILTHY ANIMAL.

Sorry–we’ve been watching a lot of Home Alone lately. And, I have to say that I can’t even take credit for this recipe! This wonderful recipe comes from a dear friend, Julie! Yes, that same genius Julie that gave me the cornbread recipe too. 

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This is why it pays to have allergy mom friends. I find it helps to have allergy mom friends that are in the same age range–so that you can both lament together about current things happening to both of you. And, it’s also especially important to have allergy mom friends that are further down the path. Julie’s boys are teenagers, and so she has tons of wisdom on recipes and handling social situations. I am forever grateful for all of the wonderful allergy moms who have lifted me and taught me on this journey. If you don’t have any allergy mom friends just yet–I will be that for you!

It’s so validating to have people who get it! That’s one reason why I have my private Facebook group, so that if you need to bounce ideas off of other allergy moms, like–“has anyone eaten at this restaurant”, or “what do you do when XYZ”…and so forth, you can connect with moms all over the country. I do request that you answer some questions to join, just to make sure we don’t get any spammy accounts. I’d love to see you over there. If this link to the group doesn’t work, just type in “Allergy Awesomeness Info Sharing Group” into the Facebook search bar to pull it up.

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Back to the cookies–we’ve definitely made these on Christmas Eve for the typical “(rice) milk and cookies” for Santa. Kids find sugar cookies so fun to decorate and it’s a good time filler for when kids are antsy for the big man to make his delivery.

As you can tell–I don’t care for royal icing. Maybe someday when I don’t have kids I’ll bother–ha! I need something quick that can hold candy and sprinkles–which is why I go for my classic vanilla buttercream. If you’re looking for an egg-free royal icing, check out my friend Tip from a Typical Mom’s recipe.

So, whether you need allergy-friendly sugar cookies for a Christmas party, neighbor treats, school function or for Saint Nick himself, I hope these help you bring back a tradition you may have lost when you first found out you (or a loved one) had food allergies.

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Now, onto frequently asked questions about this allergy-friendly sugar cookie:

Do I have to chill the sugar cookie dough?

It’s quite sticky unless you chill it, so I’d definitely recommend it. 

If I don’t have egg allergies, can I use eggs in these allergy friendly sugar cookies? 

The applesauce is the egg replacer in this recipe. You can try making it with two eggs, but honestly–I’d recommend just using the applesauce as I’ve only been able to recipe test it with applesauce since my son has anaphylaxis to eggs. Plus, applesauce is healthy!

If I don’t have a gluten allergy, can I use regular flour? 

Yes, you can use the same amount, and then omit the xanthan.

If I don’t have a soy allergy, can I use vegetable shortening?

Yes. I just listed palm shortening, because it’s the most inclusive–but you can use any shortening substitute you like.

If I can’t find rice milk, what other milk substitutes can I use?

You can use any safe milk that works for your diet.

Can you use something other than xanthan gum?

Yes, you can use guar gum.

Can you use a store-bought, pre-blended gluten-free flour instead of your homemade version?

Yes, I like to recommend Bob’s, or Better Batter. If they run a bit drier than my blend, just add a bit more rice milk until you have the typical sugar cookie consistency.

How to decorate sugar cookies

There’s really no wrong way to decorate sugar cookies. I’ve seen many of my readers use all sorts of shapes and colors of frosting to make their cookies come to life. My favorite way is to use a tree cookie cut out, and then to dye my frosting green.

You can use actual frosting bags, or in a pinch, even a plastic sandwich bag with the corner cut off. I use a  Wilton 104 tip to zigzag the frosting from the top to the bottom. Then, I add sprinkles to mimic the lights. I top it with a yellow Skittle (so that it’s larger than the sprinkles) to mimic the yellow star on top.

Another popular way to decorate sugar cookies is to use royal icing. Some people like this better because it dries hard and flat, so that they’re stackable. I have an egg-free royal icing recipe too.

Use whatever safe candy and sprinkles you have on hand if you want to add embellishments.

And don’t worry about making it look professional. The fun is the decorating.  Plus, they’ll be eaten so quickly you won’t have much time to admire them. We’ve even done it with just butter knives and spread it on that way. Go as fancy or as easy as you like–either way, you’ll have lots of fun.

What food coloring do you use? 

I use Wilton food coloring gels. For those who want another option, I’ve heard TruColor is allergy-friendly. Be sure to always do your own research and find what you’re comfortable with!

What sprinkles do you use?

I used the Great Value Sequin mix. Remember–you can use sanding sugar, or skittles or your other favorite allergy-friendly candies too!

Are these sugar cookies dairy free and egg free?

Yes, these are dairy and egg free sugar cookies! I use a gluten-free all purpose flour and applesauce as the egg replacer. If you don’t need them to be gluten-free, just dairy and egg free, you can swap back in regular flour 1:1 and omit the xanthan gum. Milk and egg allergies are very common, especially in little kids. My son had milk and egg allergies, so that is why I made these sugar cookies for him.

Have fun making these gluten and dairy free sugar cookies!

Be sure to watch this recipe video, to see how to make this recipe from start to finish! And lastly, don’t feel stressed to frost it perfectly! The fun is just getting to eat it. I know I’ve felt the pressure with social media to only have perfected cookies. So many people worry about having a million kinds of frosting and toppings. I like to stick to one shape per every time I make it and just keep it simple. It doesn’t have to be magazine worthy to be a memorable experience with your loved ones!

Do you have other allergy friendly cookie recipes?

Yes I do! What would life be without lots of allergy friendly cookies? All of my cookies are gluten free, dairy free, egg free, peanut free and tree nut free, and very often soy free too. You can check out my allergy friendly cookie index, or try these top favorites:

Be sure to share these allergy friendly roll out sugar cookies with any other allergy parents you know of! Happy baking!

 

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Allergy-friendly Soft, Roll Out Sugar Cookies

Yield: 24 cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Additional Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 48 minutes

Can it really be Christmas without the iconic roll out sugar cookies? Well, now you don't have to find out because I have soft, roll out sugar cookies that are allergy-friendly--which means these have no: wheat, gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut or tree nuts. They're vegan AND top-8-free. So, go get all your sprinkles and get ready to bake up a Christmas storm!

Ingredients

COOKIE INGREDIENTS:

TOPPINGS:

Instructions

  1. Mix shortening, sugar, vanilla, applesauce, and rice milk until smooth.
  2. Add in the salt, xanthan, baking powder and half of the gluten-free flour. Mix well.
  3. Add in the rest of the gluten-free flour and blend well.
  4. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
  5. Once the 30 minutes are up, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
  6. Place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
  7. Generously (and I mean GENEROUSLY) sprinkle a clean surface with gluten-free flour or powdered sugar and place your chilled dough on top of it. (Otherwise they will stick when you try to lift the shapes. If you think you've done too much, you've probably done enough.) Sprinkle even more flour on top of the dough and sprinkle your rolling pin with flour. If your cookies are sticky still, it means you haven't dusted the dough with enough flour. Keep adding flour/powdered sugar on top, and below the dough until the dough is not sticky and you can roll it (or even better--simply pat it with your hands) into a uniform thickness. (I find rolling it can sometimes cause it to get sticky again.
  8. Roll your dough until it's 1/4 of an inch thick.
  9. Dip your cookie cutter in the gluten-free flour, and then place it in the rolled dough. Wiggle your cookie cutter to make sure it's all of the way through.
  10. Fit as many as you can in your dough, and then remove the scraps.
  11. Carefully move the cut shapes onto the parchment paper.
  12. Bake for 7-9 minutes until just barely set. DO NOT OVER BAKE! These will not turn golden.
  13. Take the pan out of the oven, and allow the cookies to rest on the pan/finish cooking for 5 more minutes.
  14. Carefully lift them onto a cooling rack to finish cooling. Cookies are fragile when warm.
  15. Make the buttercream. (Or, my egg-free royal icing.)
  16. Decorate as desired. (See the FAQ for how I did mine.)
  17. Keep covered room temperature.

Notes

I prefer more flavor in my sugar cookies--especially since gluten-free flour tastes slightly more starchy than regular wheat flour. You can see how I add lemon flavor to this same recipe, in my Easter Bunny Cookies and would recommend it for these too!

*OR: To give the sugar cookies more of a regular flavor (versus tasting more like gluten free flour) I like to add a 1/2 tsp cake batter extract. Some people may not feel comfortable with cake batter extract because it is a combo of vanilla butter and nut. We have been fine using it because we feel OK that it is all artificial flavors. But, if you don't feel comfortable using it, that's fine too!

*Our allergies, while severe and that get re-tested frequently, are such that we can go strictly by what's on the label. I do not call companies to see what things are derived from, or call manufacturers to see about potential cross contact. If your allergies require you to do so, please do your own homework. I cannot assure you of any ingredient's safety, only you can do that. I simply share what works for our family

**If you are going to feed this to someone with food allergies, and you yourself do not have food allergies, I HIGHLY recommend having them check every single brand and ingredient you are using, to ensure they're OK with each part of the recipe. And, to make sure you've talked to them about how to avoid cross contamination in your kitchen.

DON’T FORGET TO PIN IT, SO YOU DON’T LOSE IT! BE SURE TO ALSO CHECK OUT MY OTHER ALLERGY-FRIENDLY PINTEREST BOARDS.

allergy-friendly-roll-out-sugar-cookie-recipe-by-allergy-awesomeness

Looking for more Christmas cookies? Check out my other favorites:

Cherry Chocolate Cookies

Cherry Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies (GF, DF, Egg, Soy, Peanut, Tree nut Free, Top 8 Free, Vegan) by Allergy Awesomeness

Chocolate Orange Cookies

allergy-friendly.chocolate.orange.cookies

Christmas Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

Christmas Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies--from Allergy Awesomeness

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sang-hee

    Saw you on the Allergy Living Live on Insta, so I tried these. Turned out great! I also have your Insta pot cookbook. Thank you!

    Reply

  2. Lindsey

    I’ve made these in the past and they’re awesome, but I can’t remember how many they made! I’m making them for 7 young kiddos to decorate a couple cookies each. Four moms will probably want to also! Should I double the batch?

    Reply

    • Megan Lavin

      I just did a snowman cookie party for 9 kids (no moms made any) and most kids could make 2-3 cookies with a double batch. (It also depends on how thick you roll the dough, and how big of cookie cutters you have…we were making small circles.) Hope that helps. Never hurts to have extra dough to snack on (wink, wink.)

      Reply

  3. Kristin

    I made these for our Vacation Bible School and they came out great! I used extra vanilla and rolled them out in loads of powdered sugar- thanks for that tip! I think that really made them taste better, but the texture was wonderful! My daughter was so excited to have a snack like everyone else and she thought they were the best! 🙂

    Reply

  5. Christy G

    Hello.
    I have a question. I have a sister who is allergic to almost everything including sugar. I’m wondering if yall know a substitute similar to sugar. I use coconut sugar for a lot of stuff, but I’m worried it has too strong of a flavor for this recipe. I also use Stevia, but then again, it also has a strong flavor, and texture as well. What do y’all think???
    -Christy G.

    Reply

    • Megan Lavin

      Hi Christy. What a great sister you are, and how tough for your sister. I’m sorry, but I’ve never had to work with anything but sugar, so I am not familiar with that, nor do I feel I have any good suggestions. Wishing you luck!

      Reply

  6. Kym

    Am I missing something? I have read this post at least 4 times and cannot find the actual recipe for these (or any other cookies either). What gives?

    Reply

  8. Susan Zilke

    I’m trying to make these with my son and the dough is so soft that we try to get the shapes onto the baking sheet, they totally squish up. We chilled the dough for at least 30 minutes. Do you have any suggestions? I’m afraid I am just terrible at cutout cookies!

    Reply

    • Megan Lavin

      Hi Susan. That’s frustrating. I’m sorry you had that experience. They are a soft dough, so that the end result is soft. But, it should be workable. My suggestion would be to really flour the surface you’re rolling them on, flour the top as well, and flour the rolling pin. Make sure it gets a good dusting. That will help absorb the extra stickiness. I hope they work better for you next time!

      Reply

      • Susan Zilke

        Thank you! We will try that. We went ahead and just made them circular and they baked well and my son loved them! Thank you so much for your blog- I cried when I recently found it because I’ve been struggling to find recipes for my son for 8 years now!

        Reply

  9. Sarah Aguiar Wallis

    LOVE these cookies! We actually haven’t used them for cutouts, but have just rolled them into a ball and placed them on a cookie sheet. They come out looking like a regular, circular sugar cookie. They’re so soft and delicious!!!

    Reply

  10. renae

    Hi there.These look super yummy and I cannot wait to make them.I was wondering though,is it possible to use liquid oil,such as rice bran oil instead of the shortening? Hope to hear from you.Thank you 🙂

    Reply

      • Renae

        Hi again.I tried with liquid oil but scaled waaaay back.I used about 1/4 cup and added some more rice milk.Did NOT work.I did expect to fail though,so i’m not too heartbroken 😛 If I used an allergy free butter sub,would I use the same amount as shortening? If not,what would you recommend? Unfortunately here in australia they don’t sell a shortening without coconut oil( I can’t have coconut) otherwise that would make life much easier! LOL.Thank you so much for replying to messages. 🙂

        Reply

          • renae

            I tried using vegan butter this time and for some reason it did not work.The dough was almost like cake batter,even after chilling.I guess I’ll try again with less butter next time 🙂 Oh,and I know iherb has spectrum shortening but they’re always sold out! Having allergies is very inconvenient.Anyway,thank you for reading and replying to my messages.

  13. Emma

    Would adding more vanilla ruin the cookies? I know you mentioned adding more flavor with lemon, but my little guy does not like lemon.

    Reply

      • Emma

        I was really more wondering about adding extra vanilla because I got worried that my dough was relatively flavorless. I didn’t want to compromise the consistency of the final product by adding too much vanilla. Gonna go for it anyway! Thanks for the quick response!

        Reply

    • Joslyn Lowy

      I want to make these for my daughters class for Valentine’s Day. I’m planning on pre-making frosting and baking them and letting the kids decorate them. Would it be safe to fully bake them and freeze them until Valentines Day? Or freeze the dough in heart shapes and take them out and bake them? Thanks!!!

      Reply

      • Megan Lavin

        Hi Joslyn, I’ve never frozen the dough or cookies, but my bet would be to cook the cookies, cool and then freeze. I would make the frosting day of, and keep it air tight until ready to use. That sounds like a fun party. What a nice mom to go to all that trouble!

        Reply

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