Oat Flour Sugar Cookies
Oat flour sugar cookies are the ultimate gluten free vegan sugar cookie recipe. These oat flour cookies are the perfect combination of sweet, caramel and vanilla and are perfectly soft and chewy on the inside and have a crisp edge.
These gluten free vegan cookies can be made as drop cookies or you can roll out the dough and make cut out cookies with your favorite cookie cutters.
Why you will love this recipe
- Easy to make – all you need to make these oat flour sugar cookies is a bowl and a spoon and a baking sheet. No stand mixer or hand mixer required. If you want to make these into drop cookies, you don’t even have to refrigerate the dough. This is a great recipe for beginner bakers.
- Simple ingredients – Unlike many of the gluten free vegan sugar cookie recipes, this recipe uses simple ingredients you likely already have on hand. No butter or vegan butter and it doesn’t require things like aquafaba (chickpea brine) or xanthan gum. This recipe for oat flour cookies is gluten free, vegan, dairy free, nut free and egg free.
- Versatile – you can make these oat flour sugar cookies into drop cookies or take the time to roll out the dough and make cut-out cookies perfect for frosting this holiday season! Gluten free vegan sugar cookies are not just for Christmas though! Make these any time of the year!
Ingredients
- Avocado oil – avocado oil is very neutral tasting and is easy to always have on hand. You could also use melted coconut oil (which may give the cookies a slight coconut undertone).
- Coconut sugar or organic sugar – I always have coconut sugar on hand. It gives the cookies a slightly caramel flavor and is slightly less processed than regular organic sugar. If you want your cookies to be as close to traditional sugar cookies as possible, use organic sugar instead of coconut sugar.
- Oat flour – oat flour is made by finely grinding up oats into a powder. You can buy oat flour in many grocery stores, or you can make it yourself using a food processor or high speed blender. Note that if you need this recipe to be gluten free, use certified gluten free oat flour or oats.
- Arrowroot powder – this replaces the eggs in this recipe and also helps to make the cookies tender when baking. You don’t need much but it really can help the texture. You could also use tapioca starch or cornstarch.
- Baking powder – baking powder helps the cookies to rise slightly when baking. Be sure your baking powder is fresh (opened in the past 6 months) for the best results.
- Dairy free milk – the dairy free milk helps to give just enough extra moisture to the cookies, so the dough comes together properly. You can use whatever your favorite dairy free milk is: almond milk, oat milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, flax milk, etc.
- Vanilla extract – the vanilla extract is a big contributor to the flavor of the cookies. Don’t skip it! You could also use half vanilla extract and half almond extract if you love almond flavored cookies.
- Salt – add a pinch of salt to help the cookies taste even sweeter. All you need is a small pinch!
How to make oat flour sugar cookies
Start by preheating the oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, combine the avocado oil and coconut sugar. Stir well.
Add the oat flour (be sure to properly measure out the flour by spooning it into the measuring cup and scraping off excess flour with a knife). Stir the oat flour into the coconut sugar mixture. It will be lumpy but you want to hydrate the flour with the oil.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl. Stir well.
Let the dough sit a minute or two to allow the oat flour to hydrate and all the flavors come together.
Spoon out the cookie dough mixture using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. This recipe makes 12 cookies.
Flatten the cookies with your hand to about ½ inch thick. Be sure to pat them down a few times gently to remove your finger marks on top.
Bake in a 350F oven for 10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool at least 10 minutes before moving them.
How to make these into cut out sugar cookies
To make these gluten free vegan sugar cookies into cut out cookies, follow the steps above to make the dough.
Once the dough is mixed, transfer the bowl to the fridge for 15-30 minutes.
After 15-30 minutes, lightly flour the surface with oat flour (I like to put down parchment paper or wax paper for easy clean up). Add the cold dough to the floured surface and roll it out. Note: The thinner the dough, the crispier the cookies will be.
Once the dough is an even thickness, use your cookie cutters to cut out the shapes you desire. Continue rolling the dough back together to make as many cookies as you can. You may need to put it back in the fridge if the dough gets too warm and starts sticking.
Bake in a 350F oven for 8-10 minutes depending on how thick the cookies are. 8 minutes for ¼ inch thick cookies, 10 minutes for ½ inch thick cookies.
Top tips
- Properly measure the flour: When measuring out the flour, don’t scoop and compress the flour. Instead add air to the flour by stirring it up with a spoon then spoon it into the measuring cups then scrape off any excess flour with the back of a knife. This helps ensure the flour isn’t too compact (which would dry out the cookies).
- To make cut out cookies: If you want to make cut out cookies with this dough, you will need to refrigerate it for 15-30 minutes before rolling out the dough. I suggest you make a double batch of the dough to make a substantial number of cookies. Roll the dough thin but not too thin. ¼ inch to ½ inch.
- Baking time will depend on how thick the cookies are. The thinner the cookie, the quicker they will bake. If you roll the dough to about 1/4 inch, the cookies will bake in about 8 minutes, 1/2 inch will bake in about 10 minutes. Anything thicker will cook in about 12 minutes. Allow them to cool at least 10 minutes before handling for best results.
- If you want traditional looking sugar cookies, use organic sugar instead of coconut sugar. When you use coconut sugar, you will see specks of the sugar in the cookies and the dough will be a bit darker than traditional sugar cookie dough. When the cookies bake, they are a slight brown caramel color. The coconut sugar has a slight caramel flavor that pairs so well with the vanilla extract.
- To ensure your cookies are certified gluten free, be sure to use gluten free oat flour or make your own oat flour from gluten free oats. Oats are naturally gluten free but can be contaminated during processing.
- If making drop cookies, you can roll them in granulated sugar or coconut sugar before pressing them down on the baking sheet.
Other additions
- Cinnamon (make these like snickerdoodles)
- Almond extract, coconut extract, lemon extract, orange extract
- Chocolate chips or white chocolate chips (like in these oat flour chocolate chip cookies)
- M&Ms
- Sprinkles
Common questions
How to make your own frosting for sugar cookies
You can make your own icing by combining about 1 cup powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon of dairy free milk. If this seems thin, add 2-3 tablespoons more sugar. If it seems thin, add 1 teaspoon dairy free milk at a time until you achieve the right texture.
If you want more of a frosting than an icing, you can use my maple cashew frosting for a healthy frosting to put on top of the oat flour sugar cookies.
How to make oat flour
Make oat flour at home using a high-speed blender or food processor.
- Add the oats to the blender or food processor.
- Blend on high 1-2 minutes, pausing every 20-30 seconds as needed to redistribute the oats in the blender.
- Pour oat flour mixture through a fine mesh sieve to catch any big pieces of oatmeal that didn’t get finely ground.
- Store leftover oat flour in a cool, dark place in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
How to freeze baked sugar cookies
Allow the cookies to cool completely then stack them in a freezer safe bag or container. To ensure the cookies don’t stick together, you can put a small piece of parchment or wax paper between each cookie.
Wait to add frosting until after defrosted, as the frosting can make the cookies moist when defrosting.
How to freeze cookie dough
For cut out cookies: Chill the dough in the fridge then transfer to plastic wrap. Freeze the oat flour sugar cookie dough in 1 inch thick disks wrapped in plastic. Defrost completely before rolling out the cookies.
For drop cookies: Scoop out the cookie dough out onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Press them flat (or leave them in large mounds if you don’t want flat cookies). Freeze solid on the baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer safe bag or container. When you are ready to bake, bake at 350F for 15 minutes from frozen.
Storing cookies
- Countertop: These gluten free sugar cookies can be stored at room temperature for about 24 hours.
- Fridge: The cookies are best stored in the fridge in an airtight container. Be sure to allow the cookies to cool off completely on the counter before putting them in the container though. Store for up to 5 days in the fridge.
- Freezer: Freeze leftover oat flour cookies for up to 6 months in a freezer safe bag or container.
Substitutions
- Avocado oil – avocado oil is best because it’s so neutral tasting. You could also use melted coconut oil or melted butter (vegan or regular) or ghee (not vegan).
- Coconut sugar – coconut sugar is made from the sap of coconut palm tree. Its sweet and has a slight caramel flavor. You can also use organic granulated sugar or light brown sugar.
- Oat flour – if you don’t have oat flour on hand, you can make your own oat flour using a high speed blender or food processor. See how to make oat flour at home above.
- Arrowroot powder – arrowroot powder helps to bind the cookies (since they are egg free) and also helps make them a chewy texture. You can also use tapioca starch or cornstarch in place of arrowroot.
- Dairy free milk – use your favorite dairy free milk in this recipe (almond milk, coconut milk, cashew milk, oat milk, flax milk). You can also use regular milk or even water if needed.
- Vanilla extract – vanilla extract really helps make the flavor of these cookies pop. You can also use a vanilla bean paste.
Other vegan gluten free cookies to make
Peanut Butter Air Fryer Cookies
Almond Butter Peanut Butter Cookies
Oat Flour Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup avocado oil
- 1.25 cups oat flour
- 2 tbsp arrowroot powder (or tapioca or corn starch)
- 2 tbsp dairy free milk
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a large bowl, combine the avocado oil and coconut sugar. Stir well.
- Add oat flour to the bowl with the coconut sugar and stir well. The oat flour will be clumpy, that is ok.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl, stir well.
- Allow the cookie dough to rest 1-2 minutes before scooping out the dough (refrigerate for 15-30 minutes if you are doing cut-out cookies).
- Scoop out 12 cookies, using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop. Press down the cookies to about 1/2 inch thickness.
- Bake in 350F oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely before moving the cookies (they are fragile).
Notes
- To make these gluten free vegan sugar cookies into cut out cookies, follow the steps above to make the dough.
- Once the dough is mixed, transfer the bowl to the fridge for 15-30 minutes.
- After 15-30 minutes, lightly flour the surface with oat flour (I like to put down parchment paper or wax paper for easy clean up). Add the cold dough to the floured surface and roll it out. Note: The thinner the dough, the crispier the cookies will be.
- Once the dough is an even thickness, use your cookie cutters to cut out the shapes you desire. Continue rolling the dough back together to make as many cookies as you can. You may need to put it back in the fridge if the dough gets too warm and starts sticking.
- Bake in a 350F oven for 8-10 minutes depending on how thick the cookies are. 8 minutes for ¼ inch thick cookies, 10 minutes for ½ inch thick cookies.
- Properly measure the flour: When measuring out the flour, don’t scoop and compress the flour. Instead add air to the flour by stirring it up with a spoon then spoon it into the measuring cups then scrape off any excess flour with the back of a knife. This helps ensure the flour isn’t too compact (which would dry out the cookies).
- Baking time will depend on how thick the cookies are. The thinner the cookie, the quicker they will bake. If you roll the dough to about 1/4 inch, the cookies will bake in about 8 minutes, 1/2 inch will bake in about 10 minutes. Anything thicker will cook in about 12 minutes. Allow them to cool at least 10 minutes before handling for best results.
- If you want traditional looking sugar cookies, use organic sugar instead of coconut sugar. When you use coconut sugar, you will see specks of the sugar in the cookies and the dough will be a bit darker than traditional sugar cookie dough.
- To ensure your cookies are certified gluten free, be sure to use gluten free oat flour or make your own oat flour from gluten free oats.
- If making drop cookies, you can roll them in granulated sugar or coconut sugar before pressing them down on the baking sheet.
- Countertop: These gluten free sugar cookies can be stored at room temperature for about 24 hours.
- Fridge: The cookies are best stored in the fridge in an airtight container. Be sure to allow the cookies to cool off completely on the counter before putting them in the container though. Store for up to 5 days in the fridge.
- Freezer: Freeze leftover oat flour cookies for up to 6 months in a freezer safe bag or container.
