13 Gluten-Free Christmas Cookie Recipes to Bake for Your Holiday Celebration

peppermint-meringue-cups-d106273.jpg

Christmas is just around the corner, which means that it's all about cookies in every shape, size, and flavor. Here are more than a dozen delicious gluten-free Christmas cookie recipes to enjoy during the holiday season. Some of these recipes, like Basic French Macarons and Chocolate-Chestnut Meringues, use a flour alternative, such as almond flour or chestnut flour, to add body to the cookie dough. Others, like Flourless Peanut-Chocolate Cookies, don't use any flour at all. If fact, they taste fudgy, moist, and sweeter than ever.

While many of our gluten-free cookie recipes are designed for the holiday season—the Mini Peppermint-Meringue Cups with Ganache pictured here are the perfect example!—they are delicious all year long. Cut gluten-free sugar cookies into any shape you please depending on the time of year and decorate with icing and sprinkles for the occasion. For example, these Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies can be shaped into stars for the holidays or cut into hearts and decorated with red icing for Valentine's Day.

If you can't decide between baking coconut macarons or traditional French macarons, these flourless, nut-free Macaroon Sandwich Cookies are a winner. Mini mounds of coconut are flattened and baked in the oven, then filled with jam (use any flavor that you like such as raspberry or apricot).

Whether you're celiac, gluten-intolerant, or just want to try a new recipe this holiday season, these gluten-free cookie recipes are sure to help you spread the Christmas cheer.

01 of 12

Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies

gluten free star sugar cookies
Bryan Gardner

We're not going to say this is the only gluten-free cookie recipe you'll ever need because this gallery is full of spectacular ones. But when you need a basic, all-purpose sugar cookie recipe for any occasion, this one will certainly do the trick.

02 of 12

Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies

gluten free oatmeal
Romulo Yanes

These big, chocolate chip-studded cookies combine the best parts of an oatmeal cookie with a chocolate chip cookie. Instead of store-bought alternative flour, old-fashioned gluten-free oats are ground into a fine powder, which binds the dough together.

03 of 12

Sugar-Dusted Macaroon Trees

coconut trees
Seth Smoot

A dessert that doubles as a festive holiday centerpiece? Tell us more! Coconut macarons are shaped into Christmas trees and then dusted with powdered sugar for a display that looks like a snow-covered Christmas tree farm.

04 of 12

Basic French Macarons

Basic French Macarons
Linda Pugliese

No compromise here. The elegant cookies that rose in popularity stateside in the mid-2000s just happen to be gluten-free (they're made with almond flour!). And the flavor combinations are endless.

05 of 12

Flourless Chocolate-Coconut Drops

des-cookies-010b-med109135.jpg
Johnny Miller

Rich. Fudgy. Decadent. Indulgent. Sweet. Heavenly. We could go on and on, but that just about seems to sum up these chocolate coconut cookies.

06 of 12

Chewy Fruitcake Meringues

chewy fruitcake meringues
Mikkel Vang

Two holiday favorites—meringue cookies and fruitcake—mix, mingle, and jingle to create these gluten-free delights.

07 of 12

Pecan, Oat, and Dark-Chocolate-Chunk Cookies

oatmeal-pecan-cookies-050-d111738.jpg
Lennart Weibull

These nutty, sweet cookies offer a twofer—they're gluten-free and vegan which means practically anyone can enjoy this healthy dessert.

08 of 12

Flourless Peanut-Chocolate Cookies

flourless peanut chocolate cookies
Johnny Miller

Need a quick gluten-free cookie that's also super-fudgy and moist? This 30 minute recipe that only requires 10 minutes of prep work is the dessert for you.

09 of 12

Cherry-Date Oat Bars

wk2-s-cherry-oat-bars-023-mbd109439.jpg
Bryan Gardner

When you are craving something sweet but want it to also be a little bit healthy, dig into these nutritious bars. They're chock-full of almond butter, dried fruit, oats, flax meal, citrus, and contain no refined sugars (they're sweetened by dates, dried cherries, and honey).

10 of 12

Almond-Coconut Chewy Chocolate Cookies

almond coconut chewy chocolate cookies
Chris Simpson

Rolled in sweetened flaked coconut that resembles freshly fallen snow, these cookies are perfect for the holidays, including Hanukkah (they're kosher!).

11 of 12

Macaroon Sandwich Cookies

macaroon sandwich cookies

In between a classic, voluminous coconut macaron cookie and a petite French macaron are these jam-filled sandwich cookies. Bonus: They're nut-free!

12 of 12

Chocolate-Chestnut Meringues

matcha tea biscuits

A combination of chestnut flour and chopped walnuts create nuttier-than-usual meringue cookies. Dip them in chocolate for a sweeter bite.

Was this page helpful?
Related Articles