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    Home » Recipes » Cutout Cookies

    Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cut-Out Cookies

    Published: Dec 22, 2014 · Modified: May 15, 2019 by Audrey · This post may contain affiliate links · 61 Comments

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    Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cut-Out Cookies Recipe {Refined Sugar-Free}

    Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cut-Out Cookies Recipe {Refined Sugar-Free}

    This basic gluten-free vegan vanilla cut-out cookies recipe is super easy to make and is perfect for gifting and holiday cookie swaps. It's one of my favorite cut-out recipes as it can be made and ready within half an hour {no chilling required} and it's a very sturdy and easy to work with dough that will get you nicely shaped {and tasty} cookies every time!

    Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cut-Out Cookies Recipe {Refined Sugar-Free}

    I used a snowflake press cookie cutter to get the detail on the pictured cookies, but these look just as lovely when made with plain and simple cookie cutters too. They can be frosted or iced {try the easy vegan royal icing from this recipe, for instance}, or turned into Christmas ornaments {if you pierce a hole with a skewer close to one of the ends for threading before baking}.

    Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cut-Out Cookies Recipe {Refined Sugar-Free}

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    Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cut-Out Cookies

    Print Recipe

    ★★★★★

    4.3 from 13 reviews

    A classic gluten-free vanilla cut-out cookie for the holidays. Simple, quick to whip up, and free from refined sugar. Vegan and dairy-free.

    • Author: Audrey @ Unconventional Baker
    • Prep Time: 20 minutes
    • Cook Time: 11 minutes
    • Total Time: 31 minutes
    • Yield: 26 - 28 2" cookies
    • Category: Cookies
    • Method: Baked
    • Cuisine: Dessert

    Ingredients

    • ½ cup non-dairy butter, at room temperature OR coconut oil, softened
    • ½ cup maple syrup {or liquid sweetener of your choice}
    • ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
    • ¼ tsp ground vanilla bean {or scrape out contents of ½ a vanilla bean pod}{this ingredient is optional but highly recommended for fragrant vanilla cookies!}
    • dash of salt
    • 2¼ cups gluten-free flour blend {I recommend Pamela's Artisan Flour Blend} {or make your own by combining: 1 cup brown rice flour, ¾ cup tapioca starch, ½ cup sweet rice flour, ½ teaspoon guar gum}

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Prepare a rolling area with two additional sheets of parchment paper for that, and have your cookie cutter(s) handy.
    2. Place butter in a large mixing bowl and whip it with a mixer until it's creamy. Add sweetener, vanilla extract and bean, and salt and mix once again to combine. Add in flour and use a wooden spoon to mix. Then get in there with your hands and mix everything together by working the dough until you can shape it into a ball {note: as depending on the flour mix you use there may be a slight variance, know that the consistency of the dough should not be sticky but should press together when pinched -- be sure to knead it really well first for some time -- if it's a little sticky, add a little more flour (try 1-2 tbsp); if it's a little dry add a little more sweetener (try 1 tbsp)}. Shape the dough into 2 balls and then flatten each into a disk.
    3. Roll out one of the dough balls between two sheets of parchment paper to ¼" thickness {or thinner or thicker depending on how you want your cookies to turn out}. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Carefully transfer to a prepared cookie sheets, spacing them ½" apart {they won't spread as they bake}. Gather up any dough scraps and repeat until all dough is used up. Repeat the process with the second dough ball.
    4. Bake in a pre-heated oven for approximately 11-13 minutes, until the edges just begin to become golden. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. {Note: cookies will harden a little within minutes of cooling, so don't overbake}. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes and enjoy!

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    Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cut-Out Cookies Recipe {Refined-Sugar-Free}

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jamie says

      February 12, 2023 at 12:15 pm

      I made these yesterday for a friend. I found the recipe quite easy and my friend loved them. We were decorating Valentine cookies with our kids! I may make more to share with other friends who are gluten and dairy free. Thanks for the great and easy recipe.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        February 18, 2023 at 5:01 pm

        Hi Jamie. Thanks so much for the lovely feedback. So glad your friend enjoyed these! :)

        Reply
    2. Di says

      May 22, 2022 at 3:05 pm

      Tried this recipe, couldn’t cut out shapes and it tasted awful when baked, had the exact ingredients and followed the recipe. I was baking for students end of year treat and it was expensive, time consuming and pointless as I couldn’t let anyone eat something so awful.

      ★

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        May 24, 2022 at 1:50 pm

        Hi Di, thanks for the feedback and sorry the recipe didn't work out for you. If the cookies couldn't even be cut out then it sounds like something went wrong in the dough mix/ingredients stage. May I ask what flour mix you used? And what type of vegan butter? And whether you used maple syrup or something else? I'd love to figure out what might have gone wrong.

        Reply
    3. Audrey K says

      July 25, 2021 at 6:58 pm

      Loved the recipe. It was easy to make, it used simple ingredients and it cut out perfect cookies.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        July 26, 2021 at 11:44 am

        Thanks for the lovely feedback, Audrey! I'm so glad you enjoyed these.

        Reply
    4. Lindsay Considine says

      December 04, 2020 at 3:14 pm

      Thank you for this recipe- it’s been my go to cookie recipe for a couple years now! Today my kids and I used this recipe and your chocolate cutout cookie recipe to make checkerboard cookies. They turned out great and they were so fun to make!

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        December 04, 2020 at 5:30 pm

        Hi Lindsay, that sounds amazing! :) I can picture the cookies and the making of process being fun. So glad the recipes are working well for you.

        Reply
    5. Gillian says

      May 17, 2020 at 5:23 am

      I can see this is gluten and dairy free, but is the recipe wheat free as well? I'd love to make them for my brother if they are

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        August 08, 2020 at 5:00 pm

        Hi Gillian, all wheat contains gluten by default, so when a recipe is labelled gluten-free you can rest assured it's wheat-free also. I hope your brother enjoys these :)

        Reply
        • Helen says

          December 20, 2020 at 12:43 pm

          Had to point out that this isn’t always true - some gluten free products, including gluten free flour mixes, contain gluten free wheat starch, which would be very bad for someone with a wheat allergy.

          Gluten free is not always wheat free so always best to double check!

          ★★★★★

          Reply
          • Audrey says

            March 05, 2021 at 9:12 pm

            Fascinating. I have never heard of this, nor ever seen wheat starch in a gf product. Live and learn :) Thanks for pointing it out. I stand corrected.

            Reply
    6. Margaret Harrison says

      February 02, 2020 at 2:08 pm

      These were simple and good. Sprinkled tops of cutouts with Demarara sugar before baking. Dough was easy to work with; I use combo of White rice and brown rice flours, arrowroot and tapioca for my all purpose flour. Mine didn't brown though.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        August 08, 2020 at 4:59 pm

        Hi Margaret. Thanks so much for sharing. So glad these worked out well for you :)

        Reply
    7. Sabrina says

      November 22, 2019 at 11:29 am

      Is it a self raising flour blend or plain? I want to make these for my friends for Xmas. So easy looking

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        November 25, 2019 at 12:31 pm

        Hi Sabrina, the flour is plain. Enjoy :)

        Reply
    8. GM says

      November 17, 2019 at 11:46 pm

      Hi, these look amazing. Do you think honey as a replacement for maple syrup would work?

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        November 18, 2019 at 4:07 pm

        I haven't tried these with honey myself, but I think a clear and runny variety should work just fine.

        Reply
    9. Megan says

      November 16, 2019 at 4:05 pm

      This recipe turned out great using Bobs 1:1 flour and coconut oil. My little GF kiddos are so happy with our first cookies this holiday season!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        November 16, 2019 at 5:11 pm

        Thanks so much for the lovely feedback, Megan. Glad it worked so well with Bob's flour too! Enjoy them :)

        Reply
        • Chris says

          December 21, 2019 at 9:10 am

          This recipe worked so well for us - we made our own mix up using your guidelines and subbed xanthan gum for guar gum. Totally amazing to find a cookie that works so well and that both my boys LOVED! Think that’s a first!! Thanks 💖

          ★★★★★

          Reply
          • Audrey says

            August 08, 2020 at 5:01 pm

            Awesome -- so happy you've been enjoying these :) Thanks for sharing your subs too!

            Reply
    10. Leora says

      November 14, 2019 at 6:07 pm

      Hi there- can I use "almond flour" or does it need to be a blend? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        November 14, 2019 at 11:37 pm

        Hi Leora, yes the recipe needs to be made with a flour mix, as almond flour on its own is not absorbent enough. However, if you're looking for some almond flour-based cookies, here are a few other recipes I have on the blog:

        https://www.unconventionalbaker.com/alfajores-gluten-free-grain-free-dairy-free-refined-sugar-free/

        https://www.unconventionalbaker.com/autumn-acorn-cookies-gluten-free-grain-free-dairy-free-refined-sugar-free/

        https://www.unconventionalbaker.com/gluten-free-vegan-and-paleo-cherry-almond-biscotti/

        Reply
    11. Maria says

      December 22, 2018 at 5:34 pm

      Not sure what I did wrong. Dough was super sticky even after adding 2 extra tablespoons of flour. I couldn't get them to roll out and kept sticking to the parchment. I even tried refrigerating the batter. I used regular butter so maybe this the problem?

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        November 14, 2019 at 11:40 pm

        Hi Maria. Hm, that's odd. What flour blend did you use?

        Reply
        • Jessica says

          December 16, 2022 at 5:13 pm

          I had the same issue with stickiness after using Bob's All Purpose GF flour blend. I was hoping to find Pamela's locally, but I could not. I ended up rolling the cookies into balls then flattening them out with my palm in order to bake them.
          Since I did not use the flour that was recommended I still wanted to give the recipe 5 stars, since this was the first issue I've had with any recipes from your website.

          ★★★★★

          Reply
    12. Lavender Goomes says

      November 08, 2018 at 12:45 am

      They taste a bit like crackers... but in a good way! They are possibly the first cookies(gf/v) to easily cut out into shapes and place on the tray!! 10/10 would recommend on yelp.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        November 14, 2019 at 11:39 pm

        Thanks so much for the awesome feedback. And agreed -- they're pretty sturdy for cutouts!

        Reply
    13. Sara says

      September 06, 2018 at 8:32 am

      is it possible if I used vanilla extract?? I'm making these cookies soon.

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        September 07, 2018 at 1:26 am

        Hi Sara. I'm not sure what you mean? There is vanilla extract in the cookies recipe. Do you mean use it in place of the ground vanilla as well? If so, then yes, but you will lose the vanilla speckles and the fresh vanilla flavor. You'll need to use a bit more of it too, since fresh (raw ground vanilla) is much more concentrated. I'd add another tsp of it to replace the ground vanilla.

        Reply
    14. Deniece says

      April 18, 2018 at 9:41 am

      Love these! I recently cut sugar and white flour out of my diet and I didn't miss either of those things in these cookies ( and I LOVE sugar). I made them with 100% real maple syrup and white whole wheat flour and they turned out great. Thank you for a great recipe!

      ★★★★

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        April 29, 2018 at 7:31 pm

        That's wonderful -- and thanks so much for sharing that it worked with regular wheat flour and maple syrup (a lot of people ask, so it's always good to hear that confirmed).

        Reply
      • Jenna says

        December 13, 2018 at 9:39 pm

        Deniece, how much maple syrup did you use?

        Reply
        • Audrey says

          November 18, 2019 at 4:09 pm

          Hi Jenna. Not sure how much Deniece used, but I always use 1/2 a cup in this recipe.

          Reply
    15. Kymberli says

      February 13, 2017 at 10:57 pm

      I followed directions but they came out dry and crumbly. Cardboard would have tasted better.

      ★

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        February 21, 2017 at 12:38 pm

        Sorry they didn't work out for you, Kymberli. It sounds like something went wrong -- like there was too much flour in the batter? Either that, or they may have been over-baked (oven temp too hot or uneven -- it happens). Were they dry and cracking before they went into the oven? Was the dough easy to work with or too dry? Did you change anything in the ingredients? Just trying to figure out where things might have gone wrong.. They definitely don't come out dry and crumbly for me.

        Reply
        • Kylie says

          November 07, 2018 at 10:48 am

          I thought this was recipe was great. It’s the first one I’ve found that’s vegan and gluten free where I could cut decent shapes out. However mine did come out crumbly, but they weren’t when they went in. Any thoughts on how I can improve? I used honey instead of maple syrup.

          Reply
          • Audrey says

            November 18, 2019 at 4:11 pm

            Hi Kylie. Was the honey clear and very runny? Maple syrup (what I use normally) is usually quite runny so you want to find an equivalent. If your honey is a bit thicker, can always add a touch more vegan butter to the mix to compensate for that. However, based on your comment, if they cut out nicely and went in fine but came out crumbly, it might be that they over-baked (either baked for too long, or the oven temperature is a bit too hot -- most ovens tend to be somewhat off in temperature) so you can try baking them for a slightly shorter amount of time or at a slightly lower temperature next time and see how you do.

            Reply
    16. Heather says

      December 23, 2016 at 11:47 pm

      I made Christmas cookies with my grandma ever since I had to stand on a step stool to reach the cutting board. Now my family saves the tradition for Christmas Eve. 2 days ago I was told I'm allergic to eggs & dairy but I was determined not to miss out on one of my biggest memories! THANK YOU for creating & sharing this recipe!!! I made them tonight so I can decorate them tomorrow with my family! These cookies are so tasty I'm enjoying a few with a glass of cashew milk right now :) I used the Earth Balance in the tub since my store was out of the sticks & Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free flour. Thanks again & Merry Christmas!!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        December 28, 2016 at 12:24 am

        Hi Heather, thank you so much for sharing both your experience, and your substitutions. I'm so happy you could enjoy these -- your comment made my day :)

        Reply
    17. MEGAN says

      December 05, 2016 at 5:58 pm

      Anyone try Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 flour for this recipe, do you know?

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        December 07, 2016 at 6:49 am

        Hi Megan. I haven't tried, but a few readers told me they made these with regular flour -- so if that works, I don't see why Bob's wouldn't :) I'd give it a try.

        Reply
      • Lauren Jackson says

        December 11, 2016 at 2:44 pm

        Do we need to add anything to use regular flour?

        Reply
        • Audrey says

          December 16, 2016 at 11:25 am

          Hi Lauren, no it should work fine as a measure-for-measure substitute for the gf flour mix.

          Reply
    18. Marimba says

      November 17, 2016 at 2:23 am

      Hi these look amazing do you know if the dough freezes well or could the cookies be baked then frozen?

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        November 18, 2016 at 9:56 pm

        Hi Marimba -- I actually never tried freezing these, so to be honest I'm not 100% sure, but I think if you were to go ahead and cut them out, lay them out on a baking sheet ready-to-be-baked, and then freeze, you should be ok to then bake them at a later time.

        Reply
    19. Sharon @ What The Fork Food Blog says

      January 26, 2015 at 8:45 am

      These look so perfect, love the snowflakes!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        January 27, 2015 at 12:09 am

        Thanks Sharon! :)

        Going to check out your vanilla chia pudding now -- I can already sense it's going to be a delicious treat ;)

        Reply
    20. Elise @frugalfarmwife.com says

      January 21, 2015 at 3:01 pm

      Wow, these cookies look amazing! You are so talented! And I love the addition of the vanilla bean. I have some in my pantry, but I always forget to use them!

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        January 21, 2015 at 3:08 pm

        Thank you, Elise! Baking is my creative outlet and my way to tell food allergies to beat it ;) . These cookies are super easy to make though and probably "the most untalented baker" can make them no problem -- most of the "pretty effect" is thanks to the beautiful cookie cutter and the easy to work with dough. And of course the vanilla specks make them extra special ;)

        Reply
        • sahar says

          August 06, 2020 at 2:25 pm

          Hello i have a question ..my husband hates anything made with coconut oil and we do have vegan butter where I live...can I use olive oil instead?

          Reply
          • sahar says

            August 06, 2020 at 2:26 pm

            **sorry meant we do not hsve vegan butter

            Reply
    21. jules says

      January 21, 2015 at 10:34 am

      I love the recommendation for vanilla bean pods in these cookies - it really makes all the difference in the world. Beautiful cookies, Audrey!
      ~jules

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        January 21, 2015 at 2:22 pm

        Thanks, Jules! Seeing vanilla bean specks makes me happy :)

        Reply
    22. gretchen | kumquat says

      January 20, 2015 at 11:28 am

      wow.. these are so lovely! what a fun cutter... and you can't beat those specks of vanilla beans peeking out of those cookies.

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        January 20, 2015 at 12:01 pm

        Thanks, Gretchen! These cutters are actually super fun to use -- I got them on Amazon and absolutely love them.

        Love your blog by the way -- thanks so much for stopping by! :)

        Reply
    23. Rachel E says

      January 19, 2015 at 10:16 pm

      these are pretty and would be great all year round using te various cookie cuttes and presses for different seasons.

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        January 19, 2015 at 10:48 pm

        Thanks Rachel! I made these during Christmas season {obviously ;) } hence the look, but yes, they can definitely be dressed up for any occasion {in fact I make these all the time in various shapes}.

        Reply
    24. Thalia @ butter and brioche says

      December 23, 2014 at 10:51 pm

      These vanilla snowflake cookies look PERFECT. Seriously wish I had a couple to devour right now, great recipe!

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        January 26, 2015 at 10:22 pm

        Hi Thalia -- Thank you so much for the lovely comment!

        So sorry for the super late response here, btw. I just discovered my site has been throwing a whole lot of genuine comments into the spam folder and I just noticed them all in there today -- and yours was amongst them! : /

        Reply

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