Holiday Cookie Cutter Recipe (wheat, gluten, grain, dairy and sugar-free)

Gluten, grain and sugar free cut-out holiday cookies

I had so much fun making these holiday cookie cutter cookies AND they taste great!  They are a little crisp but chewy, spiced and sweetened just right. If you can’t eat gluten or grains or dairy or sugar, these cookies will satisfy your holiday craving for cookies without making you feel yucky.  Even if you can eat these foods, don’t let the “free of everything” scare you off.  These are very yummy and very healthy for you if you’re trying to keep off the extra pounds this season.

I first tried making them with my toddler because I thought it would be a fun project.  He ended up just wanting to eat the dough and when I was cutting the cookies, he kept destroying the cut-outs!  My first batch didn’t turn out that great in appearance – they had finger print indentations all over them.  But they still tasted yummy, so I made some more when he was sleeping and made sure not to pat the dough at all after it was rolled out.

I had never made cookie cutter cookies, much less gluten, grain, dairy and sugar free ones!  A few things I learned may help you out on your cookie cutter adventure:

• When you cut the dough with the cookie cutters, move them back and forth just a tad before lifting them away from the dough.  This creates some space around the cookie and makes it easier to remove the excess dough.

• Don’t use cookie cutters that are too small – medium to large ones work well for this recipe.

• Don’t make the cookies too close together – this makes it hard to remove the excess dough.
• Don’t pat the dough once it is rolled.  This will create finger prints and then cracks when baking.

• If you don’t finish all of them in one day, freeze the dough for later – I still have a lump of dough left in the freezer for later.

So here’s the recipe for you to enjoy!  Also, my Just Desserts for Limited Diets recipe e-book is almost complete and will be available this Wednesday, December 9.  There is a 20% off pre-order offer happening right now if you preorder the e-book and the Holiday Menu Planner by Tuesday night.  These also make great gifts!

Cookie-Cutter Christmas or Holiday Cookies (gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free, dairy-free)
Adapted from: Pecanbread.com
TOTAL TIME:   1 HR. & 30 MIN. * MAKES 24 cookies, or more depending upon size

Ingredients:
3      cups almond flour, almond meal or other finely ground nut meal (nuts are best soaked and dehydrated)
1      stick unsalted softened butter, OR 1/2 cup softened coconut butter
1      egg
1/3 – 1/2 cup honey, to taste
2       teaspoons vanilla
1/4   teaspoon salt
1       tsp cinnamon
½      tsp ginger
¼      tsp nutmeg

Steps:
1. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, cinnamon, ginger powder, nutmeg, and salt.  In a smaller bowl, mix together coconut oil, honey, vanilla, and egg.

2. Stir wet ingredients into dry.  Chill dough in freezer for 1-2 hours or in the refrigerator for several hours.

3.  Preheat oven to 300 F.  Place a ball of dough on the parchment, and cover with another sheet of parchment. Roll out dough between sheets of parchment with a rolling pin, until 1/4” thick. Peel off top sheet of paper.

4.  Using cookie cutters with open centers, cut shapes directly on the parchment-covered cookie sheet. Press firmly and move the cookie cutter back and forth a little bit. Don’t make them too close other wise it is hard to remove the dough between the cut-outs.  Remove excess dough between the cut-outs carefully.

5. Transfer with the parchment paper with the cut-out cookies to a baking sheet.  Bake 10-15 minutes Watch carefully, edges brown quickly. Cool thoroughly to preserve shape before removing from parchment.