15 Classic Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies (Dairy-Free)

You can bake all your Christmas favorites with these Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies. You’ll be able to make special memories baking and decorating these cookies with your family and friends. Enjoy all the delights that Christmas cookies bring without worrying about gluten or dairy!

I’ve also included special tips throughout this post as well as my favorite ingredients to make the best gluten-free & dairy-free cookies and the equipment I use that helps make baking a breeze! I’ve also included freezing tips so you can make cookies ahead pre-baked or baked.

Let’s get started with the cookies! 

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Snowball Cookies (Pecan Snowballs)

Snickerdoodle Cookies

Special Ingredients for Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Cookies:

• Gluten-Free Flour: 2/3 cup gluten-free flour mix: My favorite gluten-free & dairy-free flour blends to use are Pamela’s Artisan Blend and Better Batter. I’ve been using them both with great results. They are both a 1-1 substitute. If you use another gluten-free flour blend be sure that it contains xanthan gum. If not add 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum per cup of flour.
• Dairy-Free Butter: Use Smart Balance or Earth Balance. Simply sit it out on the countertop for about 10 minutes to allow it to soften at room temperature. Using softened butter makes mixing your cookie dough easier and helps it combine with the other ingredients. And if you’re taking the Smart Balance out to soften go ahead and grab your eggs and let them come to room temperature too.

Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies

Maple Brown Sugar Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies

Baking Tips for Gluten-Free Cookies:

Some recipes call for the dough to be chilled but if it doesn’t call for it to be chilled it should be fine but…. if the dough is too sticky to work with go ahead and chill the dough for 30-60 minutes.

You can tell your cookies are ready when the sides look set and it’s best to slightly underbake than overbake cookies unless you’re wanting a more crisp cookie.

When you remove the cookies from the oven leave them on the pan for about 5 minutes. This helps them to finish “baking”. After 5 minutes remove the cookies from the pan and place them on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Chocolate Crinkles

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Soft Molasses Cookies

My Favorite Cookie Baking Equipment: 

• Stand Mixer – I’ve had my KitchenAid stand mixer for 24 years and it’s still going strong. This makes mixing cookie dough easy peasy.
• Hand mixer – The next best thing to a stand mixer is a hand mixer. You might find that for some recipes the dough might end up being a little too thick so you may need to finish mixing with a large wooden spoon.
• Baking pans – My favorite baking pans.
• Silicone baking mats – These keep everything from sticking and help keep the cookies from spreading too much and they fit perfectly in the pan above. You can also use parchment paper.
• Cookie scoop – Cookie scoops are a must! They make the whole process so much easier.

Vanilla Sugar Cookies

Thumbprint Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

How to Freeze Cookie Dough and Baked Cookies:

Freeze cookie dough: Cookie dough and baked cookies normally freeze very well. If you are freezing the dough the easiest cookie doughs to freeze are the cookies that are drop cookies or rolled into balls. Place them on a baking sheet that will fit in your freezer. Freeze cookies and after they’re frozen place them in a freezer bag.

To bake frozen cookie dough:  No need to thaw; bake according to the recipe.

Freezing baked cookies: Be sure to let them completely cool before freezing. Baked cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Cookies with icing or cut-outs should be frozen on a cookie sheet in a single layer and then placed in a freezer bag or solid container. And you can place a piece of parchment paper in between the layers to keep the icing from sticking.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Oatmeal Cookies

No Bake Cookies

Happy Baking and Merry Christmas!