It’s not Christmas without sugar cookies. Several of you have a sensitivity to gluten. That doesn’t mean you need to miss out on chewy, soft, and crumbly cookies! I’ve tried, tested, and failed a few times, but I finally created the perfect flourless sugar cookie recipe.
The key and secret ingredient are garbanzo beans! I’m OBSESSED with using garbanzo beans in my cookies because they’re mild in flavor, have a great binding quality (so they don’t completely crumble apart), add fiber and protein, keep cookies moist, and perfect for gluten-free cookies! They also eliminate the need for xanthum gum, flaxseed, or other gluten substitutes. Love them!
It took me a few experimental failures before I figured out less ingredients is MORE with these sugar cookies. I once again put them to the test with my husband (and even his brother this time too). They were a hit! My brother-in-law thought they were soft and chewy (I’m not sure whether or not he meant that as a plus or negative), BUT he quickly ate another one. So… I’m feeling pretty confident it was a good thing.
Gluten-free Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup honey or organic agave
- 1 15 oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed well
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 cups oat flour or ground oats possibly up to 1 additional cup
- 1/2 cup sugar
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375 F.
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In a Vitamix blender, add vanilla, honey/agave, garbanzo beans, and baking powder. Blend until smooth.
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Transfer blender contents to medium-sized bowl. Add oat flour and sugar. Stir well. If dough is still very sticky, add additional oat flour (1/4 cup at a time) until dough easily forms a large ball.
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Place dough on floured surface (I used additional oat flour) and with a floured rolling pin, roll dough until about 1/4 inch thick. Cut cookie shapes as desired and place on lightly sprayed cookie sheet. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes until slightly golden. Remove and allow to cool before frosting.
If you LOVE these gluten-free sugar cookies, you’ll die for my Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies and my Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites too.
These look amazing!! P.S. I had a thought last night while eating entirely unhealthy. I don’t know how to SHOP healthy. To even just make simple meals or have healthy snacks I get quite overwhelmed. Perhaps you could give an example of your grocery list for the basics {fruits, veggies, etc.}. I think shopping for a single person is hard, let alone trying to shop healthily! Just an idea. 🙂
Thank you for your comment, Mindy! I would love to help you learn how to grocery shop. I’ve been working on a menu plan which will include a grocery list. Thank you for the great request.
Thank you! 🙂
Oooohhh I can’t wait to try these!!!! YES!!!!!
I know a few people that would love to try this recipe out! Sharing for sure!
I would love to try this recipe but I am a little confused about the directions. In the instructions it calls for an egg, yet that is not listed in the ingredients. Also it says to add the brown sugar which is not listed in the ingredients.
Tina, THANK YOU for catching my mistake! I’ve updated the recipe. Remember how I said I had a few fails before I got a winner? Well, I forgot to remove some of the ingredients out of my instructions on my ‘failed’ recipe. Let me know what you think!
Hi, this looks great but I am wondering if I could substitute regular sugar for the honey? Thanks
It’s would be fine to use regular sugar instead of honey, Evie. However, it will more difficult to get the garbanzo beans blended smooth without the moisture of the honey. Also, you’ll want to use less oat flour.