These Healthy Christmas Cookies are naturally refined sugar-free, gluten-free, and egg free. It’s an easy, cut-out recipe full of goodness for the season.
Ingredients and Substitutions
This recipe is really easy to whip up with just 4 base ingredients and can be transformed with add-ins and flavors.
- Almond Flour – The base ingredient for these cookies, providing a naturally gluten-free structure and a nutty, buttery flavor. Substituting with almond meal creates darker, grainier cookies.
- Cornstarch – Cornstarch adds a soft and tender texture to the cookies. It can be replaced with tapioca, arrowroot, or corn flour for similar results.
- Dairy-Free Butter – Butter adds richness and helps bind the dough. Refined coconut oil works as a dairy-free alternative but avoid unrefined oil to prevent a strong coconut taste.
- Maple Syrup – It’s a natural sweetener that also moistens the dough. You can substitute it with other liquid sweeteners like agave syrup or date syrup.
- Vanilla & Almond Extracts – These flavors are optional but they boost the holiday flavors. Almond extract pairs beautifully with almond flour.
- Cinnamon – Cinnamon adds a warm Christmassy touch It’s optional but recommended for seasonal spice.
How to Make Healthy Christmas Cookies
This recipe is amazingly easy to make and it’s so delicious. If you like pictures more than words, here are photos of key steps!
Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Use a silicone spatula to combine the ingredients into a sticky texture.
Combine the dough into a large dough ball and place it on a sheet of parchment paper.
Place another sheet of parchment paper and roll it with a rolling pin.
Use your favorite cookie cutter to make small cookie shapes, gather the rest of the dough and make more cookies.
Bake the Christmas cookies for 8-10 minutes at 350 °F (180 °C).
Carine’s Baking Tips
Let me give you my most important tips for perfect cookies every single time.
- Use Parchment Paper for Rolling – Rolling the dough between parchment paper prevents sticking and makes it easy to achieve an even thickness.
- Chill the Dough if Needed – If the dough feels too sticky to handle, refrigerate it for 10-15 minutes before rolling.
- Cut Out Shapes Carefully – To ensure the cookies hold their shape, lift them gently with a thin spatula after cutting.
- Do Not Overbake – Almond flour browns quickly. Keep an eye on the cookies and remove them from the oven as soon as the edges turn golden.
- Cool Completely Before Decorating – These cookies firm up as they cool. Decorating them too soon might cause breakage.
Flavor and Decoration Ideas
These cookies are easy to decorate and color to make a whole variety with a single recipe!
- Vegan Royal Icing – Use my vegan royal icing recipe to create cut and fancy designs on the cookies. This recipe is easy to color, so you can make many different styles.
- Dipped Edges – Dip the cooled cookies halfway into melted dairy-free chocolate and sprinkle with crushed nuts or coconut flakes.
Storage Tips
Like many other dairy-free and egg-free cookies, this recipe can be stored easily.
- Refrigeration – Store the cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days to maintain freshness. They can also be kept in a cookie box for a couple of days.
- Freezing – Freeze undecorated cookies in layers separated by parchment paper in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before decorating.
Serving Suggestions
These cookies are perfect to serve with a mug of vegan hot cocoa, peppermint hot chocolate or pumpkin spice Chai latte for a cozy holiday treat. You can also pack them in decorative tins or boxes as homemade holiday gifts for your friends and family. If you need that box to be full, try some of my other cookie recipes!
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
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Healthy Christmas Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Almond Flour - note 1
- 2 tablespoons Cornstarch - note 2
- 3 tablespoons Dairy-Free Butter (Unsalted) - note 3
- 3 tablespoons Maple Syrup - note 4
Optional – highly recommended for flavors
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Almond Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper. Slightly oil the paper with cooking oil spray. Set it aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the almond flour, cornstarch, and cinnamon, if used.
- Stir in maple syrup, melted plant-based butter, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
- Stir the batter with a rubber spatula, then knead it with slightly oiled hands until it forms a sticky dough ball.
- Place a large piece of parchment paper on your working surface, place the dough ball in the center, and press another large piece of parchment paper on top.
- Press the dough ball with the palm of your hand to form a circle of dough that is encased between the two layers of parchment paper.
- Roll with a rolling pin into a 1/4 inch (1/2cm) in thickness, peel off the top piece of parchment paper, then use a cookie stamp cutter to cut out cookies.
- Place each cookie into the prepared cookie sheets, leaving a thumb of space between each of a them. They won't expand in the oven.
- Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes max at 350 °F (180 °C) until just golden brown. If you overbake them, they get dark and crunchier.
- Cool on a cooling rack for 1 hour before decorating or serve plain. Can be decorated with my vegan royal icing recipe.
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