Grain-Free Sugar Cookies (Paleo and SCD)
My birthday falls just 3 days apart from Valentine’s Day, so I’ve told Ryan over the last 11 years to not stress about V-day and just focus on my birthday. It’s also so close to Christmastime so I’ve always wanted to give him a break. However, as these last two years have shifted to being about us to 100% about our rambunctious little Asher, I think it’s time we start celebrating again and taking a day to commemorate our marriage and friendship. I am also just realizing that while I may have been trying to save him the headache, he was actually missing out on a day of feeling special as well! So many people despise Valentine’s Day because of the commercial aspect, but it is kind of fun to be all lovey dovey once a year.
I have been wanting to create a grain-free ‘sugar’ cookie for a long time now and felt like this Valentine’s Day was the perfect occasion. These buttery cookies are chewy and the frosting, while a total stoke of luck on my first try, is killer and pipes better than any dairy/sugar free frosting I’ve ever tried. Use this recipe all year round for your various holiday celebrations!
- Ingredients (yields 1 dozen medium sized cut-out cookies)
- 2½ cups blanched almond flour
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons unsalted butter or coconut oil
- ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon coconut flour – for dusting
- Frosting
- 6 tablespoons coconut butter (also called coconut cream concentrate)
- ¼ cup raw cacao butter, chopped
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup cold coconut milk
optional: food coloring (this brand is all natural or use 1 tablespoon finely ground freeze dried strawberries or raspberries – you may need to add extra liquid to achieve desired consistency if using the dried fruit)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine the dough ingredients in a food processor and process until a smooth ball of dough forms, about 30 seconds. Alternatively, mix all of the ingredients in a stand mixer or by hand. The food processed dough will be ultra smooth and the most like a conventional sugar cookie.
- Flatten the ball of dough into a ½” thick disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 20 minutes.
- Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper, keeping it to a ¼” thickness. Remove the top sheet and sprinkle the top of the dough with 1 teaspoon coconut flour, rubbing it in slightly with your fingers. Dip a cookie cutter in a little flour then cut your shapes, peeling away excess dough as you work. Gather the excess dough into a ball and re-roll it. If it starts to dry out or crack as you work with it the second or third time, lightly wet your hands before kneading the scraps to add a little moisture back into the dough.
- Bake the cookies on a tray lined with parchment paper for 8-10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Frosting - Warm the cacao butter and coconut butter over low heat until melted, but not boiling. Pour it into a bowl and whisk in the cold coconut milk and honey. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to set.
- Scrape the frosting into a blender or food processor and pulse a few times until the frosting is smooth and fluffy. Add any food coloring if desired or leave white.
- Pipe designs or spread frosting onto cooled cookies.
*For the glossy look that I achieved with the dark pink heart, I first piped a thin border around the outside of the cookie and placed it in the fridge to harden for 10 minutes. Then I melted a little bit of the frosting until it was liquid and poured a little inside the border. I tilted the cookie around until the frosting “flooded” the space and stopped at the border. The others are just spread with an offset spatula then piped with designs.
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[...] Danielle Walker’s Grain-Free Sugar Cookies [...]
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[...] I made these cookies with the boys. Well, I made them by myself, but we frosted them together after school. [...]
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[...] made these cookies with the only shapes I had. The icing was an epic fail. Sprinkled them with cinnamon and cocoa [...]
Hi Danielle,
Thanks so much
These look fantastic. I have 2 questions for you. The raw cacao butter – is that a purchasable item at like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s or does it have to be ordered? I am not familiar with that product. Also, I have a coconut butter at my grocery for about $9 … it should just contain coconut, correct? I can’t wait to make these but don’t want to buy the wrong ingredients. And, let’s be honest here, I am in far too big of a rush to make them to wait for delivery
Hi Jill – I believe that Whole Foods sells the Artisana brand of Cacao butter. It keeps for a long time in the fridge so if you do end up ordering it online, don’t worry about the large amount. You’ll use it over time! Coconut butter should only be made from coconut. I like to buy the Let’s Do Organic Boxes or the Artisana Packets (both in my Amazon store) because they come in smaller portions.
Thank you. I will check at whole foods tomorrow after I drop the kids to school. Just out of curiosity, have you been having trouble finding the Let’s Do Organic Coconut Flour? I have the shreds and and the shelves seem to be empty of the flour. I tried my local Sprouts( which carries it usually) and Whole Foods- both were out of the flour. Found that strange. I appreciate your reply. I can’t wait to make these … Mmmmm.
Hi Jill… About the raw cacao… isn’t that like chocolate? Do these have a chocolate frosting? If I didn’t want the chocolate flavor, could I substitute coconut oil?
Thanks!
It’s raw cacao butter. Not chocolate. It’s the fat that’s extracted from the cacao bean, similar to how coconut oil is made from a coconut but definitely not interchangeable. There’s no chocolate flavor
Just voted for you! I checked out the competition first, just to be sure I was being fair, and your photos are far superior (also, I like your recipes best, which doesn’t hurt)!
You are brilliant! These looks so good (AND CUTE!!), I can’t wait to try to make them.
Agreed!! GENIUS!
Thanks! I feel the same way. My b’day is the 16th. I feel like a boyfriend’s worst nightmare. Christmas, then Vday, then my birthday. It’s like celebration whiplash. Thanks for the recipe! Perfect!
These look amazing. Can’t wait to try them. Do you use whole fat coconut milk or the Trader Joes Light coconut milk?
Thanks,
Whole fat
Oh, those are adorable! It’s hard to believe they are grain free. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
What is blanched almond flour?
Is there any reason to use parchment paper over waxed paper? I’ve seen it called for in the recipes where dough must be rolled out. But my grandmother used to bake on waxed paper. I, on the other hand, have tried neither! Is there a difference? Is one less sticky than another?
I just made these yummy goodies and used wax paper. Once the cookies had cooled and I was peeling them off the wax paper, the bottoms stuck a bit. That might be the reason to use parchment paper, and it’s thicker! Hope that helps!
Genius frosting. I have used coconut butter in frostings before, but the combo of cacao butter and coconut butter? How awesome.
Gorgeous cookies! And a thick, white, SCD-compliant frosting?! It’s almost too good to be true! Thank you SO much! The frosting recipe will really come in handy. You’re brilliant! Happy Birthday and Valentine’s Day!
Just voted for you for best photography, you deserve it! Thanks again for another great recipe, I’m going to be making these next week!
Lovely and colour full cookies. I am going to try this recipe for Valentine’s Day celebrations. Thumps up photography.
These do look amazing and I’ve been wanting ‘sugar’ cookies lately. One concern is that the colourings used in the frosting contain glycerin and citric acid, both of which are typically derived from corn.
The natural coloring that I listed in the recipe is all natural and only uses food such as beets and turmeric for coloring. You can also make your own or use the freeze dried strawberry idea I gave in the recipe.
According to the ingredient list at the link provided the food coloring includes citric acid and glycerin. Is there a chance the link takes us to a different product?
Thank you so for sharing the sugar cookie recipe!
I was really missing baking goodies to give as gifts. My unhealthy but amazing sugar cookie pops
are often requested treats. Now, thanks to you, I can give a scrumptious, beautiful gift and say it
REALLY is good for you!
Love, love your blog
Kelli
I just made these for my daughter’s birthday which is Valentine’s Day and they are DELISH! The kids were all eating them before I could make the frosting – which I wasn’t going to do until Wed in hopes they wouldn’t eat them. Thanks for another great recipe!! Lots of smiles in our house – along with happy bellies
for the cold coconut milk – should we use the canned stuff or coconut milk in a carton? if from the can – do we use just the solids (as if making whipped “cream”) or include the liquid, too?
thanks!
Canned coconut milk always!
And you can use the combined milk. It will be thickened from being cold
Should these be stored at room temp or in the fridge? Do you know how long they keep? I’m planning to make some for my daughter to have at school during the class Valentine’s Day party and I’m trying to figure out how early I can make them. Thank you!
I gave them all away the day I made them so I’m not entirely sure how long they will last but I would assume a few days in the fridge. I would frost them as late as possible though so they don’t get soggy
When making the icing, is it possible to use coconut “spread” instead of the coconut butter? This is what I already have, http://www.earthbalancenatural.com/product/organic-coconut-butter/.
Thanks!
It may work but I can’t say. I stay away from lecithin and canola oil.
Thank you for so many amazing recipes. I baked the cookies today for Valentine’s Day, but when It came to the frosting, my honey turned the cacao butter/coconut butter mixture a deep, amber color. Any tips that will help me get white frosting?
It will be a tan color until you blend it and then should turn back to white. I use a raw honey that is much lighter in color though than the kinds in the bears.
Thanks! I did use a local raw honey — and yes, the frosting did get lighter, but not like the white in your photos. Still — these were a big hit on Valentine’s Day! I experimented with making the frosting pink/red using a little beet juice in one batch and a little pomegranate juice in another. Both worked well. Thanks again for sharing your great recipes and for responding to comments.
My icing came out runny. Not a fluffy icing at all. What did I do wrong? Too cacao butter and cocount cream maybe?
Did you follow the recipe exactly? Try putting it in the fridge and see if it hardens.
I just made these last night and I had to comment. They are fantastic. I ran out of coconut oil, so I used butter instead, and wow were they good. What I like most about the recipe is how simple it is! Thanks
Hi, these cookies look totally fab and I can’t wait to try them. Quick question.. when you say coconut milk… do you mean the cans of coconut milk like in the asian cooking section of the grocery store (that you have to shake up really well) or the coconut milk in the refrigerated section (like soy and rice milk)?
Always use the can. The coconut milk “beverage” in the fridge has tons of additives
thanks!!
How adorable are these! Who ever you gave them to must have been so very happy
Can you please provide the details if we wanted to substitute coconut flour in place of almond flour?
Coconut flour has very different properties than almond flour, so it wouldn’t really work.
Made these on Valentines Day and I plan on making bunny and egg shapes for Easter. Super easy and yummy recipe!